Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas has consumed the majority of my gaming time as of late, and with good reason. It's almost bittersweet really, seeing and playing a game of such quality while at the same time realizing that the GTA series has essentially run its course on the PS2 console. Don't get me wrong. My Playstation 2 has provided me with hours and hours of entertainment, but the fact of the matter is that the developers at Rockstar are clearly being handicapped by the constraints of Sony's hardware.
Here's the thing though: San Andreas is amazing. It is designed with such polish and with such an immense scope in mind that it's difficult to even to classify it in the same category as other titles. We all know the GTA series has become the champion of non-linear game design in recent years, but San Andreas takes this aspect of the series to another level by removing some of the boundaries that artificially keep players within the limitations of the game's exploratory experience. First and foremost, is the newly added ability of your character to scale walls, fences, and other things within the city, which makes traversing the unique cities feel virtually seamless. Second, is the ability to swim through water, and not instantly die the second you stumble into a puddle of H2O. Not only were these limitations to the design of previous GTA games, but they also detracted from the feeling of immersion that players experience when playing the game.
It's difficult to realize how small additions such as these can make the GTA experience feel almost new again, that is, until after you pop the game in and three or four hours of wonderous exploration and blissful killing rampages ensue - before you even attempt the first mission. I'm sure I'll be posting more thoughts and impressions regarding GTA: San Andreas very soon. After all, it's only appropriate. It seems to be slowly but surely consuming my life, and there's much more to say about it.
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