GTA: San Andreas The 'Spoilers all over yo face' Thread

[Frinky]

The clue is in the title, Captain NO READ

[InfiniteFury]

I think the other thread is likely to be locked once everyone's got the game but it was to stop game-spoilers going into the other thread and giving away stuff to people like Mundays, Neil who haven't received their copy yet.

Bit of a spill-over but I'm sure it will all settle down soon.

[terminallyrelaxed]

Because the other thread is still used for slagging off Play.com by some people who still havent recieved theirs yet, and they don't want to see spoilers.

Theres a perfectly good Halo 2 thread here:

http://www.cookdandbombd.co.uk/forums/index.php?topic=5013

[Munday's Chylde]

I've been told I have enough respect to run a gang of three... woohoo... but how does one recruit gang members and run a gang of three or more? I have no clue what this means or what i do with it.

[Huzzie]

Anyone heard any more about the eclipse that's supposed to be in there or bigfoot?

Thats fake though.

[Rubbish Monkey]

Am I just shit at driving or is it really difficult to raise your driving levels? I want to do races in the stadium, dammit!

For anyone who wants to go a pimpin' theres a pimp car (broadway) parked at the carwash near the pizza place / pay n spray in Idlewood.

[Consignia]

I've been told I have enough respect to run a gang of three... woohoo... but how does one recruit gang members and run a gang of three or more? I have no clue what this means or what i do with it.

Take aim (push R1, I think) at a homie, and then push up on the arrow pad. It's pretty much essential for turf wars, I've found.

[Lord Spong]

Aaaaargggh!

After weeks of looking forward to this, and two days of solid, trouble free,  playing I've unlocked San Fierro, and I've fallen in love with the game. But suddenly, disaster.  The game keeps locking up every time I play, and I get a black screen and a message saying "error trying to read GTA: San Andreas disc". Has my ancient PS2 given up the ghost? Have I got a damaged disc? I dont know, either way I'm going to be without the game for a few days.

Why couldn't this happen with another game? Everything else I own is working fine. Suffice to say, I'm gutted, I feel like a little boy who's Christmas presents have been stolen!

I'm going to have to find something else to take my mind off it for a few days. I'm already starting to feel like Renton going cold turkey in Trainspotting. I fully expect to wake up in the middle of the night, in a cold sweat, to see CJ and Big Smoke crawling across my bedroom ceiling.

What an absolute bastard...

[Timmay]

Oooh, anyone else get a morbid satisfaction from causing a minor accident on the main motorways, and then standing back to watch car after car pile into it?

[Frinky]

Where does one find the parachute, so I can jump out of my lear jet?

[chand]

Ooh, I loved the motorbike missions, particulary chasing that train.

The train-chase mission is annoying the piss out of me, because I'm relying on Big Smoke to be able to shoot the guys. There's always one left...

[Rubbish Monkey]

Ooh, I loved the motorbike missions, particulary chasing that train.

The train-chase mission is annoying the piss out of me, because I'm relying on Big Smoke to be able to shoot the guys. There's always one left...

Steer yer bike on the far right of the tracks rather than in the tracks and don't take his high road advice judt dodge the obsticle, thats how i did it.

[VegaLA]

I've got to confess i'm getting a kick out of reading these posts. The Camera one is hilarious. That poor johnston family having complete strangers breaking into their house and stealing the same goddamn camera in the same freaking location day after day, i'm p1ssing myself with laughter. I wish this was an online game. Frinky walks up to the Johnstone house to get himself a Camera only to find TR leaving out of a window with it !! Awesome. Can I have some pics of dead hookers please. Its a fascination me and Norm Macdonald share ! thanks muchly.

[VegaLA]

I've got to confess i'm getting a kick out of reading these posts. The Camera one is hilarious. That poor johnston family having complete strangers breaking into their house and stealing the same goddamn camera in the same freaking location day after day, i'm p1ssing myself with laughter. I wish this was an online game. Frinky walks up to the Johnstone house to get himself a Camera only to find TR leaving out of a window with it !! Awesome. Can I have some pics of dead hookers please. Its a fascination me and Norm Macdonald share ! thanks muchly.

[Sulphagne]

Not a spoiler as such, but my flatmate, who has lived in Edinburgh for a lifetime longer than I have, noticed while I was driving around in the countryside that one of the bridges off in the distance looks exactly like Edinburgh's own Forth Rail Bridge. It seems this was first picked up on when a http://www.san-andreas.us/article.php?story=20040928062231509">screenshot of the bridge surfaced in September, but since the full layout of the map's only been revealed with the game's recent release, I can't find anyone else who's noticed that if you pinpoint both bridges on their respective maps and use them as a geographical whatsit, the Rockstar North offices in Edinburgh are positioned right where San Andreas has... wait for it... Northstar Rock. We'll be on the lookout for more of these things as more of the state opens up.

[Rev]

I'm shite at all of Catalina's cluster of missions.  Are you supposed to destroy the car in the tanker nicking mission or just out-run it?  I've shot the shit out of the shitter and it just keeps going.  Wah.

[El Unicornio, mang]

Is anyone else a bit disappointed with the soundtrack? There's some good music, but I just don't think it's half as good as the one on Vice City, too much funk/soul/hip hop, not enough alternative and pop methinks.
Loving the game though, there's so much to do! The burglary mission was pretty fun, gonna do a few more of them when I next play.

[falafel]

What happens when you get all the territory in LS? I just got quite close, but fatigue stopped me seeing the screen properly and I'm going to bed now.

I bet nothing happens and it's just a big anticlimax, after being gunned down repeatedly by a bunch of hooligan thugs for no reason but to change the colours on a little fucking map.

Eh?

Am I right?

[falafel]

Is anyone else a bit disappointed with the soundtrack? There's some good music, but I just don't think it's half as good as the one on Vice City, too much funk/soul/hip hop, not enough alternative and pop methinks.

I keep finding myself tuning into the Country channel...

" And I lurrve a rainy night..."

[Rev]

I prefer the soundtrack on this one, which is a surprise as I wasn't too impressed when the radio station spread was revealed a few weeks back.  CSR's the only station I'm not keen on.  K-Jah and Master Sounds are ace, and I too have discovered that I like a bit of country after all.

[Munday's Chylde]

The musics an interesting one. I loved the soundtrack to Vice City with all its cool 80's pop - I'm not a big fan of gangster rap at all but when im playing i find i HAVE to put it on instead of country western or whatever because it gets you into the spirit of the game - you know that its what CJ would listen to.

[RFT]

Nah, CJ likes the old-school rare-groove funk of Master Sounds.

on catlina's Truck-jacking mission, you just have to stay ahead of the chasing car.

I've got to the San Fierro Missions now (and still only 20% complete overall.)

I've started to noctice a lot more how the radio reflects the game state- not just weather, but sometimes you'll hear a news report about a mission you just completed...

[terminallyrelaxed]

I think the radio's the best so far in the last three games - I really didnt much like the radio in GTA3, and it alsways seemed to default to that awful Shania Twain bubblegum song when you first got in half the cars.
I loved Vice City radio but only really listened to the pirate station, Radio Espantoso (Arriba! Muchas Musicas todos las commerciales!) and the public chat station - although I loved how they stayed 'in genre' with Video Killed The Radio star etc on the other stations.
San Andreas radio for me is just awesome. I'm not into Gansta Rap either although I've always said my favourite music is rap music without the rap (so Ninja Tune then), so I've always liked trip-hop and lo-fi etc and breakbeat and bass-heavy stuff in general. I like the way when you'r e on a mission with Smoke or Ryder it defaults to radio Los santos the gangsta rap station as it really adds to the cinemtaic feel of the whole thing - their chat in tha car is pretty good too, it doesnt seem to stop!
I think the thing they've done here, and to a lesser extent in Vice City is where money allows they've included the best of each genre represented.
I'm the kind of musically clueless scrote who likes the most mainstream, accessible examples of each musical genre - I don't really give a fuck what they're going on about on Radio Los Santos but "its always Dre day" and the beats from tunes like '187' just rock when you're cruising in a low-rider.
This is probably why we're all finding that we like the Country tunes, they are just very good examples of country music, with crossover appeal.
A case in point is K-Jah West. The Maytals, Lee Perry and many others, but not only that but some of their best work - I nealry cried with joy when I was just cruisng along and Funky Kingston came on, and then it just got better with Pressure Drop!

[terminallyrelaxed]

The BBC say so, so it must be true....

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/3972957.stm

The Grand Theft Auto series of games have set themselves the very highest of standards in recent years, but the newest addition is more than able to live up to an increasingly grand tradition.

GTA: San Andreas for the PlayStation 2 could have got away with merely revisiting a best-selling formula with a more-of-the-same approach.

Instead, it builds and expands almost immeasurably upon the last two games and stomps, carefree, over all the Driv3r and True Crime-shaped opposition.

Even in the year that will see sequels to Halo and Half-Life, it is hard to envisage anything topping this barnstorming instant classic.

The basic gameplay remains familiar. You control a character, on this occasion a youth named CJ, who sets out on a series of self-contained missions within a massive 3D environment.

CJ can commandeer any vehicle he stumbles across from a push-bike to a city bus to a plane.
All come in handy as he seeks to establish his presence in a tough urban environment and avenge the dreadful deeds waged upon his family.

To make things worse, he is framed for murder the moment he arrives in town, and blackmailed by crooked cops played by Samuel L Jackson and Chris Penn.
The setting for all this rampant criminality is the fictional US state of San Andreas, comprising three major cities: Los Santos, which is a thinly-disguised Los Angeles, San Fierro, aka San Francisco and Las Venturas, a carbon copy of Las Vegas.

San Andreas sucks you in with its sprawling range, cast of characters and incredibly sharp writing.

Its ability to capture the ambience of the real-world versions of these cities is something to behold, assisted no end by the monumental graphical advances since Vice City.

The streets, and vast swathes of countryside, are by turns gloriously menacing, grungy and preppy.

Flaunting awesome levels of graphical detail, the game's overall look, particularly during the many unusual weather conditions and dramatic sunsets, is stupendous.

The outstanding bread-and-butter gameplay mechanics provide a solid grounding for the elaborate plot to hang on.

Cars handle more convincingly than ever, a superb motion blur kicks in when you hit high speeds, and there's more traffic to navigate than before. Park your vehicle across the lanes of a freeway, and within seconds there will be a huge pile-up.

Pedestrians are also out in force, and are a loquacious bunch. CJ can interact with them using a simple system on the control pad.
They will pass comments on his appearance and credibility, aspects that the player now has control over.

Clothes, tattoos and haircuts can all be purchased, and funding these habits can be achieved by criminal means or by indulging in mini-games like betting on horses and challenging bar patrons to games of pool.

The character will put on or lose weight according to how long he spends on foot or in the gym. He will have to pause regularly in restaurants to keep energy levels up, but will swell up as a result of over-eating.

And at last, this is a GTA hero who can swim.
At a time when games are once again under fire for their supposed potential to corrupt the young, San Andreas' violence, or specifically the freedom it gives the player to commit violence, are sure to inflame the pro-censorship brigade.

Developers Rockstar have not shied away from brutality, and in some respects ramp it up from past outings.

GRAND THEFT AUTO: SAN ANDREAS

Format: PlayStation 2

Graphics: 9

Sound: 10

Gameplay: 9

Enduring appeal: 10

Overall: 9.5


When hijacking a car, for example, CJ will gratuitously shove the driver's head into the steering wheel rather than just fleeing with the vehicle.

Indeed, the tone is darker than the jokey Vice City. The grim subject matter here hardly lends itself to gags in quite the same way as the cheesy 80s setting of the last game.

This title, incidentally, is set in 1992, but that is really neither here nor there apart from the influence it has on the radio playlists.
The wit is still present, just more restrained than in previous outings.

A further reason for this is that the incredible range of in-vehicle radio stations available means you will spend less time happening upon the hilarious talk radio options, where GTA games' trademark humour is anchored.

The quality of voice acting and motion capture is simply off-the-chart. The game's rather odious gangland lowlifes swagger and mouth off in a way that rings very true indeed.

It is a testament to San Andreas' magnificence that it has a number of prominent flaws, but plus-points are so numerous that the niggles don't detract.

The on-screen map, for instance, is needlessly fiddly, an unwelcome change from past editions.

There is also a very jarring slowdown at action-packed moments.

And the game suffers from the age-old problem that can be relied upon to blight all games of this genre, setting you back a vast distance when you fail right at the very end of a long mission.

But the gameplay experience in its entirety is overwhelmingly positive. You simply will be bothered by these minor failings.

San Andreas is among the few unmissable games of 2004.

So there you go.

[chand]

I really like the radio stations well, on every station the banter is funny but it's worth listening to talk radio every now and then for a laugh. There are only really two hip-hop stations, so they've been quite conservative I thought and tried to cater for everyone. The funk and reggae stations are great, and the alternative station is cool just cos I never expected to play a game with Helmet on the soundtrack.

Slightly off-topic, did anyone see Tonight With 'Trevor McDonald' last night? It was a half-hour of amusing scaremongering about Vice City and Manhunt, complete with menacing 'Do you know what your kids are REALLY playing?' voiceover and some kids playing GTA shouting 'Run him over!' with the implied tone that they were going to go out and do it afterwards.

[Huzzie]

What version of Fools Gold is on this? The long Single version or the SHorter CD/Radio version?

Also, has anyone bumped into Shaun Ryder/Maccer yet? Without going into detail, is he a good character?

[RFT]

It's LOL NO short version of Fool's Gold.

So far, I've only come across Maccer on the radio plugging his tour.

[rjd2]

my ps 2 broke


fuckkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk


get around now and fix this bi-at-ch

[terminallyrelaxed]

It's LOL NO short version of Fool's Gold.

I don't care if its the case or not, I'm going to assume you did that on purpose ;-)

[Huzzie]

hehe.

I'm not alone in this mate:-)

It's a fucking hit man! Stronger than that drug from Robocop two.


LOL NO Pleasure, LOL NO Euphoria!!


Edit: Cheers RFT, you are very good at answering my questions.