August 19th, 2011
By MegaGamer

Genre: Action Adventure
Systems: PS2
Developer: Rockstar North
Publisher: Rockstar Games
Release Date: October 2011

Part One: Los Santos

The Grand Theft Auto series from Rockstar Games is truly unique in the wide array of feedback it has received. It is only of the only game series in existence that has been met with the love and admiration of gamers (which has made it sell millions upon millions of copies worldwide), the hatred of mothers, and banning in many countries due to angry politicians who seem to have a grudge against video games. Oh yeah, and don't forget about the murders that people claim, "Grand Theft Auto made me do it!" and the countless lawsuits that have followed suit. Oh, what a wonderful world we live in.

Now Rockstar is ready to drop another bomb in the world in the form of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. The new title is setting itself to receive just as much controversy as any of the titles in the past. Why? Because all of the stuff you could do in the originals - beat up grandmas with a bat, run over poor pedestrians crossing the street (or on the sidewalk), have a cop shooting frenzy, etc. - has all returned in its usual grandeur while additions, such as being able to break into people's houses (keep an eye out for the next part of the preview for more details) and steal all of their belongings and being able to run a gang and commence drive-by shootings, have been thrown into the mix.

For anyone who hasn't played a Grand Theft Auto game, San Andreas will be the perfect starting point as the GTA series is known for being pretty straight-forward in its controls and missions and is very newbie-friendly. Here is the backdrop of the story for you, just so you can get a grasp on what is going on: the game will start off in "Los Santos" (one of the three cities), which is basically Los Angeles, and it will be set in the early 90's, when gangs were very prominent and starting to get out of control. You will have control of Carl "CJ" Johnson, a man who escaped the crime-ridden city he was raised in but now has to return to his home after his mother is murdered. CJ is framed for murder on his way home by a couple corrupt cops and now he has to return to his old lifestyle, the gang-life, and travel all over the state of San Andreas to save his family and control the streets.

In this first part of the massive San Andreas preview, I will be discussing the areas of Los Santos (sorry, no details on the other two cities. San Fierro and Las Venturas, have been released, but check back in with the future parts of preview for any new information) in which your heinous crimes will be taking place. If you thought there was a lot of area to explore, maim, and murder in GTA 3 or GTA: Vice City, then you are in for a big surprise. San Andreas has been announced to be comprised of three separate cities (with countryside in between them) and those three cities together are five times as big as Vice City - now that's a lot of room.

Area - The Grove
The Grove is the nickname for the area in Los Santos called Orange Grove. It's is CJ's home, the neighborhood he grew up in so long ago. The Grove will be your starting point in the game and this is where you will have to begin your rise to greatness. The streets are mean and unforgiving in The Grove, so CJ will just have to be meaner. Gang life takes pity on no one, and in order for CJ to successfully take control of his old gang, the Orange Grove Families, he will have to be witty and ruthless. Although CJ's mother and younger brother are dead, he will have the support of his older brother, Sweet. You will need all the help you can get on the tough streets of The Grove.

Area - Vinewood
Tired of the poor, crime ridden streets of Orange Grove? Head up to the rich, high-class lifestyle of the area known as Vinewood. Tourists can be found exploring the streets, walking down the legendary "walk of fame", the Cathay Theater, and the Vinewood sign sitting high up in the Vinewood Hills. If you haven't guessed it yet, you must be pretty dull. Vinewood is based off none other than Hollywood (whether or not pink and purple will be regularly seen in "West Vinewood" remains to be seen). Looking for some good places to rob? (breaking into houses will be discussed in detail in a later preview, be sure to check back in!) Vinewood Hill's is full of glamorous mansions of the rich and famous. You'll definitely find some good looting places up there, but be careful, getting caught by the cops is never fun and the cops are a lot tougher when they are being paid off by the local residents.

Vinewood isn't all glitz and glamour, there are also plenty of poor, destitute people living in the lower sides of Vinewood (basically, the "Black Sheep"). And while those areas aren't the best places to rob, they are more filled with gangs, crime, and destruction, all the things you love.

Area - Rodeo
Beverly Hills...er...I mean, Rodeo, is the third main area in Los Santos. Here you will find the rich and famous doing all of their shopping, getting their nosejobs, breast implants, facelifts, $1000 manicures and pedicures, etc. Trust me, there is plenty of Botox in this town. While Vinewood is famous for its glamorous look, Rodeo has most of the rich snobs. If you're looking for a nice, new, stolen car, or a good house to rob, Rodeo is your one stop shop.

Area - Downtown
Downtown is, well, downtown. It features all of the skyscrapers that you can see from any of the other areas. There is a lot of business and a lot of money floating around here. Walking around downtown you will see plenty of businessmen, ranging from bankers to lawyers to everything else, walking around town in their snazzy suits and carrying their leather briefcases. Here you will find such landmarks as the Los Santos Convention Center (just replace the words "Los Santos" and you'll understand) and the Doc G Records Building (think Capitol Records). If you live in or have been to Los Angeles, you will find a lot of the major landmarks present in the downtown area. Although the names will be changed, the layout and look will be the same.

Downtown is a huge area and in order to get around town you can use the Brown Streak Railroad. You can use it to zig and zag through the city to get to the different sections of the Downtown area.

Area - The Beach
Beaches in previous Grand Theft Auto games have been dreaded (thanks to instant drowning). Now, the Beach area will be a hot spot. Thanks to the fact that CJ is the first GTA character who knows how to swim, the Beach is no longer a place to fear. (Swimming is a very cool thing and you'll have to check back in on the next part to find out more about it!) The Beach area is crowded with tourists sporting their usual Hawaiian shirts and cameras around their necks. You will also find plenty of sunbathers and plenty of bikinis on the Beach. There are also some very interesting places to visit, such as the Santa Maria Boardwalk and an amusement park out on the pier. You will be spending a lot more time here than you did on the beach in Vice City.

Getting around town
Getting around the different areas in Los Santos will be a little trickier in San Andreas than in previous titles. Similar to True Crime: Streets of L.A., the streets of San Andreas will have names (most likely very similar to their real-life counterparts), and it will be a lot easier to find your way if you become familiar with the names of the streets. You can actually find buildings this time around by their actual street addresses. Don't worry though, veterans of the series will be happy to know that the arrow will still point you to where you need to go.

Need to get somewhere fast? Want to travel to one of the other two cities, San Fierros or Las Venturas? Just hop on the freeway! The freeway will serve as the quickest route when heading to a different area or city. Your speeds will mostly go unchecked as you can speed along and you won't have to worry about traffic or street lights slowing you down. In addition, unlike the real freeways in Los Angeles, the freeways in San Andreas will never be bumper-to-bumper.

Your ride
Alright, so now you know what kind of locales you will be seeing as you cruise around Los Santos, but will you be able to ride in style? Well, GTA: San Andreas will offer a different way of keeping your car looking good this time around. In previous games, you were basically encouraged to just steal a new car every time you went somewhere and to steal another one when you got to your destination, and sometimes you would slip in a steal or two in between, just for fun. In San Andreas, you will definitely want to keep just one car (and finally you will have a means to do so, probably in a way similar to GTA 3's garage setup).

As time passes, your car will begin to get dirty and look older. Dents and dings will make your car look used and ugly. Of course, if you want to sport that look, by all means, go ahead! In previous games you could just steal a brand new looking car every time yours starting to get banged up, but not this time around. Now, the cars you see on the streets will also have their fair share of dents and dirty windshields. Some will even have broken windows, loose bumpers, scratched paint, and even bullet holes! So, the easiest way to keep your car looking good is to roll up to the car wash. The car wash will make your car look like new - for a price, of course.

I hope after reading this first part of GTM massive preview that you came out knowing a little more than you already did. But trust me, this is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to GTA: San Andreas. Be sure to check back soon for the next part of the preview. We still have to discuss swimming, breaking and entering houses, bike tricks, the food and workout system, and tattoos! You definitely won't want to miss it. See you then!