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Games Entertainment

Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas Launch 419

Posted by Zonk from the grand-theft-dating-simulator dept.
The first of this year's AAA titles has launched, and the first reviews are in. Gamespot, IGN, and OPM all have looks at the game, and it sounds great. If you want to keep track of the pool-shooting race track driving everything-under-one-roof extravaganza, the GameRankings page is available as well. When you play the game this week make sure and tune in to WCTR News to catch Anchorman Richard Burns, TV's Wil Wheaton. More seriously, reviews aren't the only thing the developers are looking for. Commentary regarding Take Two Interactive's slipping stock is available on CNN Money's Game Over.
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Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas Launch More

Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas Launch

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  • Awesome! (Score:5, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday October 26, 2004 @03:23PM (#10634631)
    I'm planning to run out to the store and steal it as soon as soon as I can, even if I don't own a Playstation 2.

    And TV's Wil Wheaton? Excuse me! I think you mean Slashdot's Wil Wheaton [slashdot.org]! Is he the first Slashdotter to do voicework for GTA?

    • Re:Awesome! (Score:2, Funny)

      by jr87 ( 653146 )
      no he meant fark's Wil Wheaton :-P

    • Re:Awesome! (Score:3, Insightful)

      by Krypto420 ( 652140 )
      I'm planning to run out to the store and steal it as soon as soon as I can, even if I don't own a Playstation 2.

      Why don't you just steal one of those while your at it? Sheesh!

    • Re:Awesome! (Score:5, Funny)

      by Hatta ( 162192 ) on Tuesday October 26, 2004 @03:52PM (#10635014) Journal
      When you play the game this week make sure and tune in to WCTR News to catch Anchorman Richard Burns, TV's Wil Wheaton.

      Dick Burns? Maybe Wil's spent too much time, uh, recovering health.

    • Empowering (Score:5, Interesting)

      by prell ( 584580 ) on Tuesday October 26, 2004 @04:37PM (#10635482) Homepage
      GTA:SA does not fall into the thoughtless exploitation of "the hood," which many people may have expected from a series that sports almost comical violence and detachment from reality. This lack of exploitation is in stark relief when played against the lyrics sung by Snoop about killing cops. Rather than experiencing a bunch of empty-headed black charicatures in a consequence-free environment spurting "ebonix," drinking 40s and shooting each other, there's a definite desperation in this game that you sympathize with immediately, to the point that you almost feel you know how Laurence Fishburne's character felt when he proclaimed that rich white men are infecting the hood with drugs in order to destroy its inhabitants. And the characters are complex, wallowing in the self-destruction that they're so desperate to destroy. And it's obvious the effects that their environment has on them. While GTA had you initially sickened with, and eventually lavishing violence, this game bound my emotions to every kill, every chase, and just about every action. When my mission was to kill a crack dealer in broad daylight, I really felt it; I really wanted him dead.

      • Re:Empowering (Score:4, Interesting)

        by loopback_127001 ( 695885 ) on Tuesday October 26, 2004 @07:33PM (#10637293)
        In a similar vein, I've barely begun the game (done perhaps 7 or 8 missions thus far), and I've amassed a total of ... almost $1k.

        Compare that to Vice City, where you were making 1k-5k PER MISSION right from go. Going to the clothing store and buying a new outfit is a hard choice. You go in and the shit costs what feels like 'real' money.

        I'm sure as the game continues, money becomes less of an issue. But I'm very pleased that they did successfully map the relative poverty level of "the hood" so that the player didn't have thousands of dollars to begin with.

        I do have one problem with the game however, and it's a problem that I'm surprised slipped through QA & product evaluation.

        In a very early mission, you take a baseball bat, and you have to fight multiple enemies. The manual does _not_ tell you how to switch targets when in 'lock on' mode. In a mission that happens several missions _after_ that one, you are walked through shooting a gun, locking on targets, and cycling through all available targets.

        -1 : failing to document the target cycle controls in the manual

        -1 : ordering the 'tutorial' missions such that the useful knowledge comes after the mission when you would first need it.

        Still, total score: 98/100.

    • Re: (Score:3, Informative)

      by account_deleted ( 4530225 )
      Comment removed based on user account deletion

    • Re:Awesome! (Score:4, Informative)

      by phiz187 ( 533366 ) on Tuesday October 26, 2004 @04:40PM (#10635507) Homepage Journal
      Bernie S. [imdb.com] and Emmanuel Goldstein [imdb.com]

      Were both voice actors in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City.
      -PHiZ

    • WHERE ARE YOU WIL? (Score:5, Funny)

      by Wraithlyn ( 133796 ) on Tuesday October 26, 2004 @06:56PM (#10636973)
      "And TV's Wil Wheaton? Excuse me! I think you mean Slashdot's Wil Wheaton!"

      Captain's log, stardate 3.14159265

      Ensign Crusher has been missing for nearly 6 months, which has been confirmed by the lack of entries in his personal log [slashdot.org].

      Tomorrow, I will instruct Commander Data to assemble an away team to look for our wayward ensign. He's probably hanging out with that Traveller nut again.

      Still not Admiral. Riker may be sexier than me.

      End log.
      _________

      Seriously though, he's probably staying away from Slashdot because of all the lame Star Trek references.

  • Comment removed (Score:4, Funny)

    by account_deleted ( 4530225 ) on Tuesday October 26, 2004 @03:23PM (#10634635)
    Comment removed based on user account deletion

    • Re:New Features (Score:3, Insightful)

      by eln ( 21727 )
      Eating food to survive? Did they get a bunch of ex-DIKU mud coders for this one or something?

      At any rate, I've never played a GTA game. Is this one different enough to pay full price for, or would I get substantially the same gaming experience buying GTA3 or Vice City for less money?

      • Re:New Features (Score:4, Interesting)

        by spoonyfork ( 23307 ) <<moc.liamg> <ta> <krofynoops>> on Tuesday October 26, 2004 @03:31PM (#10634763) Journal
        Anti-social behavior aside, GTA3 is one of the best console games I've ever played. Stike that. I think the anti-social content in GTA3 makes it one of the best console games in recent history. It is truly a classic. You owe it to yourself to barrow a copy and drive around for a bit.

        Vice City, while enjoyable, is just a variation on the theme. GTA is the rilla.

        • Re:New Features (Score:3, Insightful)

          by homer_ca ( 144738 )
          VC is somewhat more of the same. It's an update built on the same game engine. But aside from the new city and new missions, the big new thing in VC was all the new drivable/flyable vehicles, the helicopter, seaplane, motorcycles. It's no simulation, but all the vehicles have unique handling, and the basic controls on the plane and helicopter are correct.

      • Re:New Features (Score:5, Funny)

        by smclean ( 521851 ) on Tuesday October 26, 2004 @03:46PM (#10634951) Homepage
        In diku muds you don't really die if you don't eat, you just lose the ability to regenerate your hit, movement, and mana points. Same with thirst.

        God, did I really just bother pointing that out?

      • Re:New Features (Score:3, Insightful)

        by mekkab ( 133181 )
        Just wait 6 months. They'll release the $20 version. I can wait to get that one! (besides, despite getting to the end of GTA3, I've barely gotten ANYWHERE in GTA:VC...)
    • San Andreas introduces a host of new features that including eating food to survive...

      They don't mean new to gaming right? I can think of plenty of old RPG's that made you do this (the Early ultima's come to mind). What also comes to mind, is how annoying this was. No matter with GTA, all the fun in GTA is in putting in cheatcodes and randomly playing in the virtual crime sandbox. :)
      • Before one of my kids stepped on my Vice City CD, I actually had finished all but one event (The top level race), and had 3 tanks in different garages. It was a blast to be able to just run in, grab a tank and kill everything in your path.

        Once you get the first tank, it's painfully easy to get more :)

    • Re:New Features (Score:2, Insightful)

      by Anonymous Coward
      What next? Have to run around the corner to pee? What does eating matter to a game like this? Pointless.

      • Comment removed (Score:5, Funny)

        by account_deleted ( 4530225 ) on Tuesday October 26, 2004 @03:37PM (#10634844)
        Comment removed based on user account deletion
      • What does eating matter to a game like this?

        I guess it's just something else to do to pass the time. You know, depth.

        • Re:New Features (Score:2, Informative)

          by qlippoth ( 446729 )
          Taken from gamefaqs.com:

          if you eat too much, you get fat. Eat too little, you go gaunt and lose stamina. Work out a lot early in the game to build up some nice guns and just go back every once in a while. Treadmills and the Stationary Bike remove fat and impove stamina, while a bench and dumbells just increase muscle. More muscle, more stamina, and less fat are all very good things. Work out in gyms and in dojos to improve your fighting,running,and biking abilities.

          • Innovative! (Score:3, Funny)

            by Thud457 ( 234763 )
            Just what I want, all the drudgery of real life!

            Oh well, at least I can still beat up and rob hookers, right?

            • Re:Innovative! (Score:3, Funny)

              by Anonymous Coward
              Better yet: beat up, rob, kill, cook, and eat the hookers. Covers excercise, money, and food all in one clean series of button presses.
      • "What next? Have to run around the corner to pee?"

        Yes, but in this game if you pee on another guy's territory, "gangstas" will be on your ass so fast... it's a strategy game, you see?
      • I heard there will be an expansion pack were you not only have to feed your GTA character, you also have to purchase various household items with various stats such as "Hygiene", "Environment", etc. and your GTA character will have several meters showing what his mood is related to each of these values. If your GTA character's mood falls too far, he will simply refuse to pop a cap in someone and instead make a puddle on the floor and/or set himself on fire.

  • Which month is it? (Score:5, Interesting)

    by SuiteSisterMary ( 123932 ) <slebrun@[ ]il.com ['gma' in gap]> on Tuesday October 26, 2004 @03:24PM (#10634649) Journal

    It's the end of October, and you think that 'GTA 3.2' is the first of the year's AAA titles?

    Meh.

  • Rally Driving? (Score:5, Funny)

    by fembots ( 753724 ) on Tuesday October 26, 2004 @03:25PM (#10634669) Homepage
    catch Anchorman Richard Burns

    So we can finally drive world rally championship cars in GTA?
    • And I just spent my last mod points yesterday on a "Funny" posting when I could have created a whole new "Clever" moderation for this post. ;-)

      Chances are I won't see mod points again for a few days, and by then, someone will realize who Richard Burns is and mod this "Insightful".

      Damnitman...cursing the day...

  • Study? (Score:5, Funny)

    by Grayden ( 137336 ) on Tuesday October 26, 2004 @03:27PM (#10634698) Homepage
    GTA: San Andreas, Halo 2, and Half-Life 2 all coming out within a short span?

    Man my GPA is screwed.

  • Australia? (Score:3, Interesting)

    by Pan T. Hose ( 707794 ) on Tuesday October 26, 2004 @03:28PM (#10634710) Homepage Journal
    Is it legal to release Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas with its crime and violence apotheosis in Australia [slashdot.org]? I hope so, but does anyone know any formal decisions and rationale?

  • Hmm... (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Sheetrock ( 152993 ) on Tuesday October 26, 2004 @03:31PM (#10634745) Homepage Journal
    Although I'm probably going to be right out there with the rest of you picking this up, am I the only one that's a bit concerned about seeing all the parents buying the game for their kids?

    Supposedly the ESRB stuff is supposed to stop retailers from selling the game to people under 18, but I know that many parents don't have the time or the willpower to look into what media their children consume. And I know this series gets pretty bad, with things like picking up prostitutes, car theft, and massacre being rewarded in what some have termed a "pornography of violence".

    As fun as the game is, maybe this is something that should be hidden behind the counter or maybe only sold in adult venues/online. We all know where to find it, and we're old enough not to be profoundly affected by murder simulations, but apparently there are still a bunch of chuckleheads out there that are completely unable to determine what's appropriate for their kids. And society pays the price.

    I sure can't wait to play it, though.

    • Re:Hmm... (Score:5, Insightful)

      by Maestro4k ( 707634 ) on Tuesday October 26, 2004 @03:42PM (#10634902) Journal
      • Although I'm probably going to be right out there with the rest of you picking this up, am I the only one that's a bit concerned about seeing all the parents buying the game for their kids?
      No you're not, I've seen the game and even as an adult find the level of language in this one to be disturbing. I'm not easily offended either, but the constant amount of cussing gets old fast. Even a lot of the NPC comments you hear going about the game world are more cuss-filled than in the last two GTA games. Perhaps it's authentic, but this is a case where I'd have liked a less-cussing option myself. I only saw it for a few hours and was already thinking that the mute button looked like a great idea.
      • Supposedly the ESRB stuff is supposed to stop retailers from selling the game to people under 18, but I know that many parents don't have the time or the willpower to look into what media their children consume. And I know this series gets pretty bad, with things like picking up prostitutes, car theft, and massacre being rewarded in what some have termed a "pornography of violence".
      Well the ESRB is working as it should in that case. If parents aren't willing to check into the game before they buy it for the kid, it's certainly not the ESRB or Rockstar's fault. You have to blame the parent there, it doesn't take much time to look at the package and see M (Mature) on it, then flip it over to see the sub warnings (which I'm sure include violence, adult language, adult situations, etc.) I worked at a Wal-mart for a few years in Electronics and I'd always point out that a game was Mature to parents in case they didn't realize it. Some parents didn't know about the ratings system (which is amazing as it's posted on every freaking game case at Wal-mart) and when they asked what it meant and found out they'd put it back and tell the kids they had to pick something else. Some would say "I know, I don't care" and buy the game for their 6yo. (Quite literally I saw someone buy Vice City for their 6yo.)

      But in any case there's a recent article that was in Computer Gaming World or Electronic Gaming Monthly one where they sent a young-looking 15yo kid into several stores to try to buy M rated games to see what happened. (They showed a picture of him, he looked about 12.) Some stores sold him M rated games without even blinking, others refused from the start. Unfortunately a lot of stores and/or employees don't even try to enforce the ESRB, providing fuel to the anti-gaming camp. :(

      • Re:Hmm... (Score:5, Insightful)

        by NaugaHunter ( 639364 ) on Tuesday October 26, 2004 @04:25PM (#10635371)
        Normally I enjoy reading Slashdot, and your post seemed very insightful at first, but your constant use of "the" disturbed me to no end and I was completely unable to finish reading this thoroughly well thought-out post.

        Sorry, but I just cannot understand how people can be offended by words without considering context at all. Would a rose smell any less sweet if it were called a dingleberry*? Is the value of a thought to be judged by the words that express it?

        Further more, is deploring one's speech for its 'colorful idioms' any better than believing everyone should speak English, or French, or whatever? Both views hold the implication that one doesn't want to hear what one wouldn't say, so is there any distinction whatsoever?

        I would be willing to grant you that it is easier to evoke an emotional response with strong language then with strong arguments, and that with fights over ratings and money it's almost self-propagating between popular culture reflecting and shaping reality. But I prefer to judge a statement for itself and not by the words used to make it. Maybe it's the logical part of my mind asserting itself, but I have hopes that I'm not unique in this respect.

        In regards to GTA:SA, changing the language would be akin to air brushing out George Burns' cigars. The player is essentially role playing a character in an historical environment, and the language is part of it. Editing out specific words from a game with drive-by's, corrupt cops, drugs, etc. seems a little selective to me.

        * - I had a much better word to make my point the 'dingleberrys', but in the interest of a civil discourse I have edited myself.

        • Re:Hmm... (Score:3, Interesting)

          by Maestro4k ( 707634 )
          • In regards to GTA:SA, changing the language would be akin to air brushing out George Burns' cigars. The player is essentially role playing a character in an historical environment, and the language is part of it. Editing out specific words from a game with drive-by's, corrupt cops, drugs, etc. seems a little selective to me.

          You certainly didn't read my post terribly well, I said I wasn't one to be easily offended, in fact I tend to offend sensitive people, I cuss like a sailor. Yet still, parts of San

    • At some point people have to be responsible for their actions and realize that a game is just a game. A better question is if those who are buying and playing the game are more predisposed to violence than those who are not?

      But it's damn tempting to squeeze in between those lanes of traffic just ahead, and to strafe those slackers in the minivan...

    • Re:Hmm... (Score:4, Insightful)

      by The Good Reverend ( 84440 ) <michael@mQUOTEichris.com minus punct> on Tuesday October 26, 2004 @03:44PM (#10634928) Journal
      This is exactly how the system should work. This way, parents make the choice about what their kids watch/read/play, and it's up to them to decide how informed a choice this should be. I think plenty of "parenting" is already done by the government and industry in stopping sales to minors, there shouldn't be any regulation on a parent purchasing a game for their child.

    • Re:Hmm... (Score:4, Insightful)

      by NaugaHunter ( 639364 ) on Tuesday October 26, 2004 @03:49PM (#10634985)
      No, I'm sure all kinds of conservatives are way overworked about parents letting their kids have this game. But they're also overworked about them telling their kids the truth about drugs, sex, etc., and yet wouldn't have any problem with them allowing their children to see The Godfather or the like.

      If parents do their job passing their values in context and without sugar coating, then they can trust their children to make them, if not 'proud' then at least not ashamed. If parents simply say don't do this or that without addressing why they might want to in the first place, they're just asking for trouble.

      "Behind the Counter" is definitely not the solution - games get the MA rating merely for language in today's world. How is that worse then, say, American Pie's PG-13 completely irresponsible attitude towards teenage sex? At least Fast Times at Ridgemont High showed some negatives. Of course, it had to cut out a frontal shot of a penis to not get an XXX rating. Heaven forbid girls see one before their wedding night!
    • Show me proof by someone that isn't biased towards banning any video game that is more adult than barny and that shows a trend of people who play video games are more violent. People being idiots and doing stupid stuff does not count. I and many people I know have been playing First Person Shooters since before we were 10 and have turned out better adjusted than many "normal" people I know. When you get that proof let me know and in the mean time quite trying to take away something that I like to do.

      Sur

    • Re:Hmm... (Score:3, Insightful)

      by Osty ( 16825 )

      I know that many parents don't have the time or the willpower to look into what media their children consume.

      As fun as the game is, maybe this is something that should be hidden behind the counter or maybe only sold in adult venues/online.

      Because some parents can't be bothered to take an active role in their childrens' lives, we should increase the nanny state and "hide" items like GTA? I'm sorry, but no. Besides, you said it yourself that parents are buying this, so what would hiding it serve? All t

      • Re:Hmm... (Score:3, Insightful)

        by demi ( 17616 )

        hiding GTA behind a counter isn't much "punishment", but where do we stop?

        Slippery slope arguments don't hold water. Where do we stop? We make sure we check with the parents of a child when we're planning on giving them things that are generally accepted to be adults-only. That's it. The idea that this is somehow onerous or restrictive is absurd.

        The fact is, parents aren't perfect. They make mistakes. Time and mental energy are at a premium when you are a parent. I know roughly what' s in the GTA game

  • Best holiday season in gaming history (Score:5, Insightful)

    by SilentChris ( 452960 ) on Tuesday October 26, 2004 @03:31PM (#10634750) Homepage
    This is shaping up to be the best holiday season in gaming history, from a breadth of titles standpoint. Tons of great games for all kinds of systems (some which have been in development forever).

    Halo 2
    Metroid Prime 2
    GTA: San Andreas
    Half-Life 2
    World of Warcraft

    I've been playing for years, and this is the first holiday season I can truely say "Where am I going to find the time/money for all the good games?" Other years we've had one or two blockbusters, but this years there's a ton.

  • First AAA title? (Score:5, Insightful)

    by chamblah ( 774997 ) * on Tuesday October 26, 2004 @03:31PM (#10634753)
    I don't think that GTA:SA is the first AAA title of the year(it is October).

    A few titles immediately come to mind are Doom 3, Unreal Tournament 2004 and even Sims 2.

    If you are meaning fist AAA title to come out for the console, you might be right. I don't follow console releases very closely. But I think that Fable probably fits into that area.

    Please keep in mind that there are games that are released on the PC & Mac as well. Consoles are not the only gaming market out there.

  • yay (Score:4, Insightful)

    by ColonBlow ( 120356 ) on Tuesday October 26, 2004 @03:34PM (#10634794) Journal
    I got tired boning and killing the same old hookers.

  • Not just more of the same (Score:5, Informative)

    by thesandtiger ( 819476 ) on Tuesday October 26, 2004 @03:36PM (#10634825)
    I've played it, and at first expected it to be just more beating the crap out of random passerby and screaming "Git' out tha car, byotch!" at the screen.

    Fortunately, it isn't - I found the main game much more interesting than the previous two, so it'll probably have a longer play-life for me.

    I have to admit being surprised that they've managed to keep it mostly fresh - it seems like people can't make a sequel without fucking up the mojo these days.

    • I have played the GTA series since the original was released for DOS in 1998. Most people don't realize this, but the game has been basically the same thing since the original GTA. The basic formula has not changed at all with one exception (multiplayer), only the presentation has improved.

      The graphics and sound have dramatically improved, multiplayer has been dropped, and the game has been split and sold in separate chunks... yes the first GTA had Liberty City, Vice City, and San Andreas all in one!

      Mos

  • Cool! (Score:3, Insightful)

    by d_jedi ( 773213 ) on Tuesday October 26, 2004 @03:36PM (#10634827)
    Too bad it'll be several months till I'll be able to play it.. damn PS2 only releases!

  • GTA Source (Score:5, Interesting)

    by TiggertheMad ( 556308 ) on Tuesday October 26, 2004 @03:37PM (#10634845) Journal
    I love the GTA series, and I keep thinking that it could be the next 'doom' if rockstar would open up the .exe source code for modders. Even if it was something older like GTA3, there is no end to what could be done with a game like this by the mod community.

    • Re:GTA Source (Score:4, Interesting)

      by NightWulf ( 672561 ) on Tuesday October 26, 2004 @03:41PM (#10634896)
      Well they might, but not for a while. San Andreas is technically GTA 3.2. They use the same GTA 3 engine. Think of Vice City and San Andreas as large expansion packs. Possibly when GTA 4 comes out on the new consoles with a new engine, they might open up the old code, since by then it won't be a big issue.

      • Re:GTA Source (Score:5, Informative)

        by okayplayer ( 670828 ) on Tuesday October 26, 2004 @04:03PM (#10635119)
        And while many are saying that the engine in SA is the same as the one in VC and III, this isn't quite true. The engine has been modified greatly to allow for the much larger, fully streamed (no loading no matter where you travel) huge map.

        For example now a "tree" like system is used for drawing in the various levels of details rather than the linear system that was used in the previous games. Yes, the look of the game is similar, but it is certainly a greatly improved engine to handle the new game's massive size. I mean you wouldn't say that an AMG V8 is the same engine as that honda 4 cyl would you?
    • You could have GTA3:Grand Forks! And you replace the fast cars with tractors and cows! Think about it - you could be a "cattle rustler".

    • Re:GTA Source (Score:3, Informative)

      by okayplayer ( 670828 )
      Those crazy modder don't need our help...

      Multi-Theft Auto http://www.mtavc.com/ [mtavc.com]

      So go play your online GTA and stop bugging us to change the opus that has been created.

      Actually I've spent a couple of good hours on MTAVC and have enjoyed it... Personally I think the GTA series is what it is because of the stories. They work well with 1 "hero/villan" not with 40,000 of them running around causing chaos.

    • Re:GTA Source (Score:3, Insightful)

      by DeadScreenSky ( 666442 )
      GTA3 and up all use the Renderware engine, licensed by Criterion (who is now owned by EA). So Rockstar would need EA's position to release the source...which kind of seems unlikely to me.

  • Started playing last night...best GTA ever! (Score:3, Informative)

    by Flagellan ( 463714 ) on Tuesday October 26, 2004 @03:39PM (#10634862)
    My local Game Stop started handing out pre-ordered copies last night. Well, I haven't had much sleep but I can lucidly say this game rocks! Huge environment, many many sub-games, really too much to take in overnight...maybe even over a week. Now if Bungie could just hurry up with Halo 2 and Valve with Half-Life 2...my year would be complete. Job...what job?

  • Wake me when the PC version ships... (Score:3, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday October 26, 2004 @03:39PM (#10634865)
    ZZZzzzz...

  • The mall was insane last night... (Score:5, Interesting)

    by NightWulf ( 672561 ) on Tuesday October 26, 2004 @03:45PM (#10634938)
    Happened to be in the local mall last night to find out GameStop and EBX were going to start selling at 8pm that night. There were roughly 3000 people waiting online between the two stores. I love GTA but yeesh, you think people would have better things to do, considering I walked right in this morning and picked up a copy.

    Wait time for line losers= 5 hours

    Wait time for me=5 minutes

    • Huh; must not be too many options where you live. I only waited 15 minutes, and there maybe 100 people tops. But this is at one store in one mall in Pittsburgh; I have no idea how the other store in the mall did or any of the other hundreds of stores around here.

      Play time before you played = 5 hours; and that's only because I have a job and couldn't stay up all night. Of course, I work from home and snuck some in at lunch, but don't tell anyone!

    • Re:The mall was insane last night... (Score:4, Interesting)

      by micromoog ( 206608 ) on Tuesday October 26, 2004 @04:30PM (#10635413)
      Perhaps some of the "line losers" remember events like when Super Mario Bros. 2 came out for NES. The wait time for that, after the first run sold out, was more like 5 weeks.
  • Can someone throw a bone to us non-console folks and tell us when the PC version is due out?

    TheFrood
  • My roommate is playing this right now. And I am working what may be a 16 hour day. By the time I get home the controller is gonna be stuck to her hand and I won't get to play until she passes out from exhaustion.

  • hard to get excited (Score:3, Interesting)

    by kin_korn_karn ( 466864 ) on Tuesday October 26, 2004 @03:58PM (#10635066) Homepage
    I played GTA3 on the PC and Vice City on the PS2 and loved them (Vice City in particular) but I'm getting a real "been there done that" vibe from this San Andreas. It sounds like they've just added more stuff to do on top of the same old shit and thrown new skins and voices onto the same old graphics engine.

    There's such a thing as too much realism. I mean, who wants to eat and work out and ride a bicycle in a video game? I play games to feel like I'm doing something that I can't do in the real world, and between GTA3 and Vice City I've already done all the crazy shit that I wanted to do.

    Finally, the early 90s L.A. setting isn't what I'd personally call fun. If GTA3 is comparable to The Sopranos and Vice City is like Miami Vice or Scarface, then San Andreas is like the LA gangsta scene and that wasn't fictional. Lots of young people really died in the places that movies like "Boyz in The Hood" were about. Yeah, eventually that gangsta rap stuff got to be cliche and Snoop Dogg is funny and all that but it all comes from a place where innocent people died. You can't say anything about Tony Montana is real other than there were Cuban cokeheads in Miami in the early 1980s.

    The geek part of me says "ooh, shiny new game" but the rational side says "don't believe the hype."
    • GTA3 is comparable to The Sopranos and Vice City is like Miami Vice or Scarface, then San Andreas is like the LA gangsta scene and that wasn't fictional.

      Woah, and you think that the Sopranos was based on some totally fictional Itallian crime family? The Mafia was very real. The only reason you probably identify with south central, is I am guessing that you grew up sometime around the 90s. During the 1960 and 1970s, the FBI mounted a massive effort to break up organized crime in the US. During the 1980s,

  • Reaching out to Rockstar (Score:5, Interesting)

    by DrXym ( 126579 ) on Tuesday October 26, 2004 @03:58PM (#10635071)
    When you get around to porting this to the PC, please, please with a cherry on top sort out the frigging pedestrian / car behaviour.


    In the previous two games you could stand still, do a 360 turn and pedestrians / cars who were visible a moment ago have been replaced with other pedestrians / cars. Such behaviour might be unavoidable in the PS2 version, but it's seriously annoying in the PC version.


    There were some very dumb pathing issues too. A common thing in previous games was to stand under a bridge and watch as police etc., jumped straight off it to their deaths to get you. Or they would drive straight into the water etc.


    It's amusing but it screws up some missions too. One mission had you rescuing your buddy from a scrap yard. I did that part and he followed me out. I ran across a bridge and turned around to see him fall straight into the water and drown. The pathing had him make a beeline straight for my character without checking whether he would drown in the process.


    Still, GTA games are excellent, but that AI needs work.

    • Re:Reaching out to Rockstar (Score:4, Funny)

      by MustardMan ( 52102 ) on Tuesday October 26, 2004 @04:22PM (#10635336)
      I never noticed any of these issues in the xbox version. I know there was a bug in the ps2 version, where if you completed certain quests to get items to appear at your savepoints, those items wouldn't appear at savepoints you bought after completing the quest. This bug was fixed on the xbox version also. Perhaps it's worth waiting the extra year for the xbox version to be released.

      Note to people who are about to attack me for using an xbox: i software modded it to run linux and play mp3s illegally downloaded off the internet, so im not an MS fanboy. Get off my nuts.

  • I purchased the game last evening and played till wee hours of the morning. I love the game even though the graphics department fell short. I love that you can swim. I hate that i have to feed my character now and then lest he should lose his stamina.

    I love the country-side and the fact you can outrace a car on your little BMX bicycle. I love the farm tractors and getting on the freeway (highway) with a lawnmower - that's what i just did for a good two hours - get on vehicles and drive around. There was th

  • The game is great. I find it amazing that all the naysayers on this board, as usual, haven't tried it and are complaining about it without having done so. Typical and pitiful.
  • I heard the retail version of this game is a dual-layer DVD.

    However, the one that was "leaked" last week fits nicely on a plain ol' DVD-R. Odd thing, I've put a ton of hours into it and nothing seems missing. Textures are fine, music sounds great, and all the movies/cutscenes are there.

    Does anyone happen to know exactly what the differences are?

    (oh wait, I admitted to downloading a game, does that mean the moral crusaders are coming after me to mod me down?!)
  • If you run a red light next to a cop, will he start chasing you?

  • Some interesting game behavior... (Score:5, Informative)

    by Thedalek ( 473015 ) on Tuesday October 26, 2004 @05:05PM (#10635807)
    I've been playing around with it for a few hours. You can swim now, which makes for an intersting addition. If you try to leave the SA (Yeah, we all know it's really Los Angeles: Check out the Vinewood sign) area, you encounter road construction. So I decided to try to swim under the closed-off bridges. Bad Idea. When you arrive on the opposite shore, you are instantly a super-wanted criminal, four stars.

    Another intersting change is the geography-relevant vehicles. You're not likely to encounter a fancy import car in CJ's home neighborhood, nor will you find any two-tone beaters in the glitzy parts of town. If you drive out into the countryside, you'll encounter 10mph tractors, and on the highways, you might even see some 18-wheelers (although I have yet to see any carrying a trailor: If they are present, it might be another optional mission type, like the vigilante, rescue, and fire missions in other GTAs).

    Also, car surfing is alive and well. You can ride on someone's hood clear around town, and this is a good way to quickly explore the city. It is a bit confusing, however, to see the particular pathways some drivers take. Also, it's interesting to note that since the clock goes at 1 game-minute per real second, several traffic lights take 15-20 minutes. Man, that's awful.

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