GRAND THEFT AUTO: SAN ANDREAS is here!

By: Patrick Sauriol
Date: Tuesday, October 26, 2004

If you've gone to the mall already today and don't know why there was that long lineup outside the video game store, it's because one of the year's most highly anticipated video games went on sale starting today. GRAND THEFT AUTO: SAN ANDREAS is the latest chapter in Rockstar Games' controversial and mega-popular GRAND THEFT AUTO franchise where you get to be in control of someone on the wrong side of the law.

Set in the fictional city of San Andreas (made to resemble an early 1990s Los Angeles), you play Carl "C.J." Johnson, a former gangbanger that left his hometown to escape the circle of violence. After learning the terrible news that his mother has been murdered, C.J. returns to San Andreas only to be framed for another crime by a crooked police officer named Tenpenny. Now wanted by both the authorities and different gangs, C.J. has to stay alive and find proof that will clear his name and expose those that framed him.

The game's designers boast that SAN ANDREAS is three times as big as the last GTA title, VICE CITY. Rockstar does seem to have pushed the bar on offering you freedom to move around: for instance, you can travel to three different cities in the game (two of which are locked at the start of the game.) As well, new features include your character's ability to swim, their need to eat food and workout to stay in shape, and new playable vehicles (bikes) and weapons.

Additionally, Rockstar has assembled its biggest lineup of Hollywood talent yet to provide the voices for the game's characters. Samuel L. Jackson provides the voice of Officer Tenpenny, the corrupt San Andreas police officer that frames you; Chris Penn (RESERVOIR DOGS) plays Tenpenny's partner Pulaski; James Woods is Mike Torreno, one of your allies (or is he?); Peter Fonda is a street hippie known as The Truth; and (HEAT co-star William Fichtner reprises his role as mob lawyer Ken Rosenberg. Other actors playing roles in SAN ANDREAS include David Cross, Casey Siemaszko, Bijou Phillips, Charlie Murphy, Faizon Love and Debi Mazar. And, as always, the radio stations heard on the San Andreas air waves are populated by a ton of favorite music tracks from that time period, as well as a new wave of DJs which include Andy Dick (NEWSRADIO) as a talk show host; musician George Clinton as the DJ of a funk station; Public Enemy singer Chuck D. mans a hip hop outlet; and perhaps the most surprising revelation is Guns n' Roses singer Axl Rose portraying Tommy "The Nightmare" Smith, the DJ of rock station KDUST. Chris Bellard, a.k.a. rapper Young Maylay, provides the voice of the game's main character, C.J.

Not surprisingly, GRAND THEFT AUTO: SAN ANDREAS has been rated Mature by the ESRB. The PlayStation 2 exclusive title retails for $49.99.


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