GTA:SA First Impressions & reviews

[CrimsonGhost]

L5 wrote:

with graphics this bad, i think its a joke that this game got a 9.9 from IGN, and a 9.6 from gamespot. It should automatically lower the score to at least 9.0

TROLL, you dont play games cause they look nice. You play them for the experience, and that is what GTA:SA is all about.

Swifty

Sounds cool. I'm not too bothered about the below average graphics they didn't bother me in the other two. I hear there's some great random quotes off people on the street. Read on some forum that a guy just shouted "Steroids make your dick do WHAT?!" out of nowhere when he approached him.. sounds hilarious

I'm looking forward aswell to seeing myself zip away from gangbangers on my trusty BMX! Hopefully I'll have a copy Friday.

ObeyGiant

Retr0gamer wrote:

For me graphics don't count as long as they are functional. If the game is great fun then it doesn't matter if it looks crap. Classic examples are mario 64 and Doom. They look dire now but are still ridiculously good fun.

To be fair, L5 isn't just saying that the graphics "look bad" or "look antiquated", he's addressing Tusky's reports of ridiculously bad popups - a significant flaw in the game.

And regardless of the people who are calling L5 a troll, he's got a fair point. If the graphics (or rather, the graphics engine) is this flawed, how on earth is it receiving such earth-shattering scores? 9.9 is near-flawless. Unless the only .1 point you're deducting is for awful popup, then something's definitely rotten in the state of Denmark.

bush

If you read the review you will know why he gave it 9.9

ObeyGiant

bush wrote:

If you read the review you will know why he gave it 9.9

Oh, I did. I read the second paragraph where he listed a number of flaws in the game, but dismissed them because they "didn't matter". Now I can understand his attitude here; I've made more than my fair share of concessions for game flaws, trying to convince people to buy Ico in spite of its brevity (I finished it in 5 hours), but this is completely different. If someone asked me to 'score' Ico, I'd have to take this into account, realising that this would turn people away from the game, or worse, disappoint them. With a score of 9.9/10, the IGN reviewer is basically saying the game is near-flawless, in spite of listing many glaring technical flaws.

Which means his entire review is suspect.

cregser

agreed

steviec

ObeyGiant wrote:

Oh, I did. I read the second paragraph where he listed a number of flaws in the game, but dismissed them because they "didn't matter". Now I can understand his attitude here; I've made more than my fair share of concessions for game flaws, trying to convince people to buy Ico in spite of its brevity (I finished it in 5 hours), but this is completely different. If someone asked me to 'score' Ico, I'd have to take this into account, realising that this would turn people away from the game, or worse, disappoint them. With a score of 9.9/10, the IGN reviewer is basically saying the game is near-flawless, in spite of listing many glaring technical flaws.

Which means his entire review is suspect.

But he made the point that the game is so good that none of that matters. Being only 5 hours long is a big flaw for a game to have(I havent played Ico so cant say anything else), if San Andreas finished after five hours it would get a very different score. If the game lasts dozens of hours and is fun all the way through, aswell as full of variety, then why shouldn't it get a top score?
That's like a movie reviewer scoring Lord of the Rings lowly because of that scene where a car drives by in the background.

ObeyGiant

That's like a movie reviewer scoring Lord of the Rings lowly because of that scene where a car drives by in the background.

It's not really. It's along the same sort of lines, but it's not.
The difference here is that the car, in the background, is so small and barely-noticable and out of the way of all the action that most people (myself included) didn't notice it. However, the popup, the dodgy AI, the erratic collision detection... all these are very much in your face during the gameplay and can occasionally (only occasionally, mind you) ruin your experience. Not only this, but they're long-standing complaints that still haven't been addressed, which makes them even more annoying.

Please, please, don't get me wrong about all of this. I'm not begrudging GTA:SA, nor am I trying to say that isn't going to be the best game I'll probably ever play on PS2. I'm merely concerned about the lack of objectivity going into these reviews. For example, let's see what kind of backlash comes out of Edge's alleged 10/10 score for Half-Life 2.

Hell, I even just started out trying to prove that L5 had a legitimate point and shouldn't just be dismissed as "trolling".

Swifty

In most cases you really should just ignore scores and judge from the actual words what the game is like yourself. They're a nice way to sum up vaguely how good the game is but that's all. The reviewer just gave the game 9.9 because he got great enjoyment out of the game. 9.9 is a little over the top because a game never IS that perfect but you should just take that score as a general idea of how much enjoyment that reviewer thinks you will get from the experience.

But anyway, currently creaming my pants at the prospect of owning this game tomorrow

DRakE

One mother****er in my class already has SA, and its not out til tomorrow.. basterd works in xtravision

EVEN THE MANUAL LOOKS ELITE.

Gonna try and hit up gamestop for a copy this evening, getting my ps2 today too! xD

balkieb2002

Starting playing the missions then, got kinda sidetracked after a while, mainly when i went for a drive but ended up half-way across the map (i was looking for a tractor (which i eventually found)) but realised it would take about 10 minutes to get back to the home save point.

just couple of questions though (for people with game):

How long before you get to leave los santos as in how many missions?**

how do ya get the breakins to work? or does it only work after certain point in game?

also did anyone go into the toilets in the los santos police station HQ? theres an "interesting weapon" in there....

Things i noticed about the game:

theres more interaction as tusky said even with the prostitutes

Four star police are almost impossible to lose but those police jeeps are cool and make welcome addition.

The new punching moves make a lot of difference when your're fighting but if ure using the lock-on to a civilian to punch him, its hard to lock onto the right person.

The one shot explosion on the cars are cool but fairly hard to do as cars seem to pick ure sum speed out in the country but are possible in the city.

**

i'm just after completing the lowriding jumping contest so just trying to figure out is there many mission left in los santos

Stormfox1020

There a **** load of missions in Los Santos over 25 anyway. Missions are savage, had a 'lil trouble with the lower rider contest though but now its sorted. . Sometimes you get distracted from the main missions and in awe just wonder around the city wondering how the hell the PS2 can keep up with the game.

LegacyUser

Brock wrote:

there right the graphics are alot worse than vice the gameplay itself has alot more variety on first impressions the game is alot like vice city for bout 10 mins then its all about the homies with having to do all kinds of diffent **** overall already i can see this been a corker but i aint gonna spoil u all with the details
Brock

Don't listen to Brock. He doesn't know what he is talking about.

I really hope the graphics are slightly better than vice city then again, it is just a ****ing ps2. Can't wait for pc version. I really hope I am not bored of this game by the time it comes out for pc like I was with Vice City.

LegacyUser

Brock wrote:

aint sure i mainly listen to radio x with guns n roses and stuff i dont like hip hop

PS: brock loves hip hop like a fat kids loves cake...or paris hilton loves cock.

chillywilly

no!stop telling me all of this!SPOILERS!!!!!!!!AHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Tusky

ObeyGiant wrote:

It's not really. It's along the same sort of lines, but it's not.
The difference here is that the car, in the background, is so small and barely-noticable and out of the way of all the action that most people (myself included) didn't notice it. However, the popup, the dodgy AI, the erratic collision detection... all these are very much in your face during the gameplay and can occasionally (only occasionally, mind you) ruin your experience. Not only this, but they're long-standing complaints that still haven't been addressed, which makes them even more annoying.

Please, please, don't get me wrong about all of this. I'm not begrudging GTA:SA, nor am I trying to say that isn't going to be the best game I'll probably ever play on PS2. I'm merely concerned about the lack of objectivity going into these reviews. For example, let's see what kind of backlash comes out of Edge's alleged 10/10 score for Half-Life 2.

Hell, I even just started out trying to prove that L5 had a legitimate point and shouldn't just be dismissed as "trolling".

Well the pop-up is quite bad....but overall I would give the game 10/10 withotu a doubt.

Tusky

balkieb2002 wrote:

Starting playing the missions then, got kinda sidetracked after a while, mainly when i went for a drive but ended up half-way across the map (i was looking for a tractor (which i eventually found)) but realised it would take about 10 minutes to get back to the home save point.

just couple of questions though (for people with game):

How long before you get to leave los santos as in how many missions?**

how do ya get the breakins to work? or does it only work after certain point in game?

also did anyone go into the toilets in the los santos police station HQ? theres an "interesting weapon" in there....

Things i noticed about the game:

theres more interaction as tusky said even with the prostitutes

Four star police are almost impossible to lose but those police jeeps are cool and make welcome addition.

The new punching moves make a lot of difference when your're fighting but if ure using the lock-on to a civilian to punch him, its hard to lock onto the right person.

The one shot explosion on the cars are cool but fairly hard to do as cars seem to pick ure sum speed out in the country but are possible in the city.

**

i'm just after completing the lowriding jumping contest so just trying to figure out is there many mission left in los santos

I finished that mission ages ago and Im still in Las Santos. I didnt know about the weapon in the toilets , I'll check it out !!! Have you been up to Vinewood and the countryside ? or on the freestate motorway thingy...also the Massive junctions are amazing !

GoneShootin

TheGreatOne

Ok, posted this in other thread but no1's answering my call.
How much is it gonna cost me in Game with a rewards card, any discount?

Cactus Col

no discount for card holders it seems

but this has the best soundtrack to a game ever ... FAITH NO MORE!! G'N'R!! RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE!!! SOUNDGARDEN!!! and that's just one station!

steviec

Cactus Col wrote:

no discount for card holders it seems

but this has the best soundtrack to a game ever ... FAITH NO MORE!! G'N'R!! RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE!!! SOUNDGARDEN!!! and that's just one station!

Yep, that's the good station

There's actually a good few songs on other stations that I like and didn't know it when I'd looked at the track listings previously though, still generally have to flick thru the stations away from hip hop though.

quarryman

Stormfox1020 wrote:

Sometimes you get distracted from the main missions and in awe just wonder around the city wondering how the hell the PS2 can keep up with the game.

it doesn't really. this game needs an xbox imo.

JP Mulvano

DAMN work DAMN DAMN why didnt I take the day off, no strike that why didnt I take the month off, cant wait until 2 (Skivving off home early. haha). Then its goodbye outdoors!!

full forward

AVERAGE RATIO: 98.9%
GameDaily 100.0%
Playstation Magazine 100.0%
Game XC 100.0%
UGO 100.0%
Yahoo! Games 100.0%
Gamer Feed 100.0%
GameMethod 99.0%
IGN 99.0%
Telefragged 97.0%
PGNx Media 97.0%
GameSpot 96.0%
To The Game 90.0%
Console Game World 90.0%


Hmmm, best game ever?

Absolam

TheGreatOne wrote:

Ok, posted this in other thread but no1's answering my call.
How much is it gonna cost me in Game with a rewards card, any discount?

Game aren't discounting, but you can get your points back off it..no waiting for vouchers, in Henry St today they were saying you have €xx on your card, do want it off the game? Saved me €15

sound_wave

TheGreatOne wrote:

Ok, posted this in other thread but no1's answering my call.
How much is it gonna cost me in Game with a rewards card, any discount?

i got 10% off with my loyalty card, well actually i forgot mine but i just filled out another form. Smiths pre-ordering system seems a little outta synch too.

me: "Hi! i pre-ordered GTA"
assistant: "Here ya go"

no name, no nothing... kinda defeats purpose of prebooking no?

oh yeah first impressions are from only ten mins play, had to go back to college! , so i think ill have to back and give it a good play before i report back here! the BMX rocks tho!

Swifty

I've been playing for the last 3 or 4 hours and I'm definately satisfied so far! Some of the set pieces in the missions are just classic. The poor frame rate and minor graphical glitches are the exact same as they were in III and VC so if you didn't mind them before you shouldn't now, but at the same time the game looks slightly better too and you can notice the difference in the new car and human models. The first few missions left me bored but it really does get into it after the first hour, the last few missions I've played had me grinning from ear to ear after completing them. Character customisation is cool too, I went for the Afro and beard look.. it's classic

The map is HUGE, I took a drive around on one of the cruiser motorbikes and it took ages, tried the bridges onto the other islands but they're blocked. The size of the map will amaze you. One thing I'm wondering about a little is how to earn money as you dont earn much of it through missions, you only get added respect points for missions. I'm usually just plowing over prostitutes and gang members for money ATM

I couldn't beleive it when I got into one car and it said "Press L3 to begin Pimping missions"

There's so much to do.

I'm happy with it overall.

Tusky

Ok Im about 20% into the game now and it just gets better and better. The countryside to the South West rocks, loads of small towns. 100s of bikers and truckers going around. Red necks ETC ETC. The missions get really good too, much more detailed than the ones In Vice City...mianly due to the variety of landscapes available.

Driving up a mountain on a motorbike in the rain while being chased by the cops listening to cheesey rock with the moon shining in the distance !!! lol

balkieb2002

such great fun, i can't stop posting about it

never knew about that mini-game swifty, must try it out.

i'm ashamed to admit it but i'm currently stuck on a mission in it but if it was the pc version with a mouse would be lot easier. its a two part mission, with the end part including two brilliant set-pieces, inlcuding something i saw coming but still didn't expect it

its that mission where you're on back of the bike escaping from russians on bikes + truck, then head into the sewer bowl thing ala terminator 2 with the truck chasing. i'm just finding it really hard to shoot bikes before they give me too much damage.

i keep going to the gym building muscles and stamina between mission, its cool beating someone to death when really strong as it only takes a couple hits (espec with a bat )

just completed mission as well where you learn those stealth moves, its very easy and fairly bloody stealth move as well plus a nice change to the game also silenced pistiol is fairly cool

i can see that house being the diaz mansion of san andreas, there a gym which you can use as well as being able to play a video game in it as well so looks take-overable.

Did ya listen to that guy playing the video game, he was talking to himself and said something along the lines went something like "i can't belive reflections made a game this poor" "tanner you **** ass" it was a pure dig at driver

classy

shinzon

hi

first impressions are more of the same but much bigger play area, i was trying to get back to the gangs hideout after a mission and must have taken a wrong turn cause i ended up out in the stix driving a truck, eventually found my way back to the hideout after about 15 minutes


Must mention the soundtrack its brilliant, the english explorer guy had me in stitches

Gonna get back to it after my shift

Shin