[Re-Play] Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas

When not playing Mass Effect 3 (due to lack of an HDTV), I have been once again exploring the world of San Andreas on my MacBook. Admittedly, I am not a big computer gamer, so if it exists on a console, I’ll probably play it there first. What better way to become familiar with an unfamiliar medium than to play a game I already completed on console years ago. After a few minutes of configuring controls and learning how things worked with a keyboard and mouse, I quickly got my groove back and was able to start progressing through the pseudo-Golden State.

Just another day in the neighborhood | www.teamxbox.com

A shake of a spray can and the RockStar Games “R” logo appeared. This is the peak of open-world gaming in the GTA3 era. In control of Carl Johnson (CJ), the player is taken through a whole mess of events that keep the player on their toes and even managed to surprise me the second time around (like reading a good novel, I’ve forgotten some of the details). In fact, the sheer amount of “stuff” to do seems to be so overwhelming this time around. Aside from the main story (which includes everything from car jacking to shoot outs with rival gangs and a whole plethora of other less-than-legal activities), you can moonlight as a police officer, save some lives in the Ambulance, volunteer as a firefighter, or become a professional pimp. Aside from these odd jobs, you might even be interested in spending time shopping in downtown Los Santos, sightseeing in San Fierro, or gambling your savings away in Las Venturas. Whatever your interest, there is a lot to see and do in this huge, huge game.

gta.wikia.com

The Idea: Create three massive open-world sandbox urban environments based on Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Las Vegas and throw them all together. Fill in the in-between areas with rural country settings that help mix up game play and scenery. Add in the humor and delinquency that Grand Theft Auto titles are known for and you’ve got yourself a game. Sweeten the pot with the ability to swim (finally) and gang wars (which are really as fun as they sound).

Running after a car where the passenger is shooting at you? Good idea. | fileforum.betanews.com

The Look: The graphics don’t really redefine the word “amazing” but they are very good, especially given the time the game was released and the size of the world the player was exposed to. The level of customization in CJ was also extremely impressive given the size of the game (roughly 4 times larger than Vice City). While my CJ is pretty buff and likes to rock shades at all times of day, your CJ could be extremely overweight, wear only sweatshirts, and have a giant afro. Customization comes through the ability to change clothing, hair, tattoos, weight/muscle, and more, which gives players a ton of possibilities to play with.

The Sound: The soundtrack is awesome. Cruising around, watching the scenery while jamming to Ice Cube’s Today Was A Good Day is nothing short of amazing. Featuring over 11 radio stations with 20 DJs, there is certainly a lot to be heard. All of the voice acting was very convincing, as well. Gimme them duckets!

www.gtasanandreas.net

The Play: Controls are fairly smooth and represent the GTA universe well in this iteration. For some reason, a car turned completely on its side can be hit on the underbelly and completely turn right-side-up again (which let me complete the mission, so I’m not complaining), and of course running red lights and hitting pedestrians (note: not killing) don’t cause any police attention, but hey, that’s why we love GTA. As I noted previously, there is a crazy amount of things to see and do, and most of them work smoothly and without error. Only the lowrider mission (on the computer version) gave me any issue, as I didn’t know how to use the hydraulics at first.

The Entertainment: As I mentioned before, cruising… in a Banshee… listening to Ice Cube… Oh, but aside from that, the gang wars are still incredibly awesome. Once the missions become more complex and the “introductory” part of the game is over (for me, it felt like around the time AmmuNation’s started to become available), it becomes very, very fun. Having access to supplies and not depending on Emmett for a weapon (seriously, 16 shots in a pistol does not go far at all in Los Santos) makes for a much more enjoyable ride. And if you don’t like missions (or need a break) try the “spawn Rhino” cheat or the infinite bike jump cheat. Out running the military on 6 stars is also always a fun challenge.

Oh, ya know... just chillin' with my tank | lparchive.org

The Challenge: The game is fairly similar to what I remember. I don’t remember a lot of the details, though, so it makes the mission-to-mission story interesting and (seemingly) new. It’s hard doing some missions, though, knowing how things eventually play out… But as far as actual issues… Well, the obvious issue I have is that auto-targeting is somewhat different than I remember (if not altogether gone). Besides that, I don’t remember dying nearly as frequently in the PS2 version as I do in this one. And keep in mind; I suck less now than I did back in the day at video games, so… what’s the isssh-ya? These are minor complaints, all in all, though. I really think the game is going to get more and more challenging as I get out of Los Santos, but I’m up for it.

The Legacy: Introducing players to the first GTA game of this size was a major achievement for RockStar back in 2004.  This game is also extremely famous for causing some issues in the legal system regarding proper labeling – apparently there was an issue with some virtual nakedness and coffee!  This is also the first time we get to see San Andreas. For those of you who really enjoyed this game, get excited for a new interpretation of San Andreas later this year when Grand Theft Auto V is released!

static.guim.co.uk 

That about wraps it up. I’d love to stay and chat, but I’ve got territory to watch and a reputation to uphold in my community. Off to Los Santos! While I’m gone, what’s your favorite part of GTA: San Andreas? What do you think about the whole hot coffee scandal that happened back during the game’s initial release?

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[Re-Play] Kingdom Hearts

Walt Disney was notorious for being an innovator in many categories. His legacy, the Walt Disney company, is likewise known for adding magic to every aspect of life. It is for both of those reasons that Kingdom Hearts is a pleasant, but somewhat expected development. For those of you unfamiliar with Kingdom Hearts, it is a hack n’ slash adventure game with RPG elements that mashes Disney characters with some of the basic Final Fantasy principles and even features cameos from characters like Cloud and Tidus.

wikipedia.org

In Kingdom Hearts, You assume the role of Sora, a young teen with a good heart. Sora hails from a far away land called Destiny Island where he enjoys spending time with his friends Riku and Kairi. To make a long story short, Sora’s home eventually gets attacked some creatures called Heartless. Like Kanye West, Sora wonders how they could be so heartless, and is eventually awarded the Keyblade to defend himself. Lots of awful things happen and he eventually ends up in Traverse Town (which essentially serves as the main hub world) and meets up with Donald Duck (a mage) and Goofy (a knight). The three decide to work together and they become your allies for the remainder of the game.

Goofy, Sora, Donald

 As the story progresses, Sora and his pals travel to different worlds, each based on a different Disney movie. You’ll explore several familiar places including Wonderland, Agrabah, and Halloween Town as well as new worlds unique to this game. Most levels offer a world-exclusive ally (such as Aladdin in Agrabah or Tarzan in the Deep Jungle) and they generally have pretty sick abilities which make them worth using. There are also some areas that you can spend time with if you get tired of the main story: on Olympus Coliseum you can partake in tournament-style combat or you can venture into the 100 Acre Wood for some mini-games, but I don’t really recommend the latter. So, now that you know the basics, let’s dive into Kingdom Hearts!

kingdomhearts.wikia.com

The Idea: Combine two unrelated intellectual property to make one of the most unique gaming experiences in recent memory. Redesigning the Disney characters to make them more appealing to a young male demographic while also appealing to consumers as a “family friendly” game.

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The Look: Take the cartoonish animation Disney is known for and apply a layer of grit. Relive childhood memories as you explore your favorite hero’s hometown.

The Sound: The music is mostly remixed tunes from Disney films and tends to fit the mood well. Most are hits (“This Is Halloween” from The Nightmare Before Christmas, the music in Hollow Bastion) but some are better served in smaller doses (“Under The Sea” from the Little Mermaid). Voice acting isn’t bad, although the script is a little cheesy, but that’s to be expected.

The Play: Aside from a few camera issues during boss fights, the controls are extremely solid. Controlling Sora feels natural for the majority of the game. It’s when he leaves the ground that things become a little difficult to manage, but after about 10 minutes with the controls things start to make sense again.

The Entertainment: Watching Goofy run headfirst and smack little goons with his shield is pretty much the only reason I need to play this game. Luckily, there’s a lot more fun to be had here. For completionists, there are several things to collect (from 101 Dalmatians to Torn Pages) and two non-story worlds available to explore.  Aside from journeying to familiar locales and exploring them in greater depth, it’s interesting to see all the characters in the Disney Universe (loosely) tied together. If only I could bring Jack with me for every world…

The Challenge: The bosses are pretty unique and require a bit of trial and error to defeat. Non-boss combat is pretty much just to pass time and make levels feel longer, at least until you get to the later levels and enemies become more difficult. The game isn’t the most difficult and intricate game in recent memory, but it definitely requires some strategy and thought.

The Legacy: Besides spawning countless sequels, this game serves as one of the greatest mash-ups in gaming to this date. In fact, I can personally attest that this game made me reinvest my interest in Disney when I first played it and also got me hooked on Final Fantasy games.

LynxGriffen on deviantART.com

That's all for this week! What was your favorite memory of Kingdom Hearts? What’s your favorite Disney character of all time? Leave any thoughts below in the comments!

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