July 21, 2005 - With reviews for both the PlayStation 2 and Xbox editions of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, there really isn’t a whole lot more to say about the game itself. It’s expansive, varied, vulgar, defining, addictive and able to impress even the harshest of critics. What Rockstar has been able to do with this series, time and time again, it’s simply mind-boggling. But the formula works, and this third outing of Grand Theft Auto in a completely 3D world is nothing short of perfection. What other game on the planet allows you to do, well, everything?

I’ve never been much a fan of the direct console to PC ports, point in case the release of Conflict: Desert Storm in one of the worst PC ports I’ve ever played. With so much power on the PC, good optimization can truly harness these qualities and produce a visually stunning appearance. I’ll say it right from the start, GTA San Andreas is an exceptional PC title, but when standing next to its console counterparts it seems to stumble a bit. That is not to say it’s a bad title, in fact quite the opposite, but when given the choice your best bet is likely the Xbox edition.

So where does the PC edition of San Andreas falter? For starters, the menu system is a more-or-less a direct conversion, the same old mouse unfriendly thing we are used to seeing. Bland, and a little bit too simple, with a lot of the restrictions you’d find on a console.

Secondly, the control schema on the PC edition of GTA San Andreas is awful, and this is coming from a true PC gamer. I prefer to play practically every shooter, strategy game, and even titles as varied as Battlefield 1942 with a trusty mouse and keyboard (including Grand Theft Auto 3). Unfortunately, San Andreas just doesn’t seem to work well with this setup. In fact, the only way I was able to really enjoy San Andreas was to setup a modified Xbox controller and, with the help of the outstanding open-source XBCD driver utility project, tirelessly mapping the different axis and triggers to the controls. San Andreas just has so many options that memorizing key combinations and regurgitating them in the heat of battle is no easy task. Using a controller simply seems the most intuitive way of dealing with such varied vehicles and movement (especially drive-by shootings), one area where the console versions show their strength.

San Andreas follows the story of CJ (Carl Johnson) who is returning from Liberty City in the early 90’s, after a five year exodus, to bury his mother, clear his name and reclaim his territory. If San Andreas only followed CJ’s story it would still be enough to warrant a purchase. The story is gritty and mature and eclipses many of Hollywood’s current offerings. But the GTA series has always been about letting you do anything you want and San Andreas furthers this concept with so many ideas that you’d expect it to stumble. But the simple fact that it succeeds with such authority and determination at everything it attempts is proof enough that Liberty City and Vice City were no accidents. Rockstar Games loves making Grand Theft Auto and they will not compromise in any way regardless of the scope or difficulty of their ideas.

And where GTA3 and Vice City allowed you enough freedom to fill 10 different other titles, San Andreas easily trumps them both. How many games will let you drive any car, bike, plane or boat, sky dive, play basketball, date, pimp your ride, play DDR-type games, play mini videogames, work out, eat out, get tattoos & haircuts, buy clothes, take over a neighborhood, be wanted by the cops, do drive-by’s, travel anywhere, burglarize houses and so much more? None, until now.

Sound-wise, San Andreas sounds really similar to its console counterparts. It’s a funny, rude mix of songs, commercials, voice-overs and noise. In all cases, if you closed your eyes, you’d never know it was a game. The radio stations sound loud and crisp but some of the in-game voiceovers sound muffled. This is common when in a car (with the radio blaring) but also during cut-scenes. This may be attributed to the simple fact that all music levels seem much higher than voice levels. A little tweaking in the Options Menu would fix this, but then the music wouldn’t sound as loud. With the PC edition, managing custom soundtracks is a breeze, as the title supports most of the common formats. Oddly enough, my custom soundtracks have never sounded so good, even in Windows Media Player itself. Whatever audio settings Rockstar sets its EQ’s to, they sound great.