IGN: San Andreas is the best PlayStation 2 game ever made

[\/\/olverine]

Anyone read the review yet? Geeze, I don't know if IGN was paid off by Rockstar or the game really is that damn good... but I sure hope they get cracking on my PC version.

  10 Presentation
If you remember what it was like in the 1990s and have lived in Los Angeles, San Francisco, or Las Vegas, then you'll be able to immediately appreciate how accurate San Andreas truly is.    
 
  8.5   Graphics
The framerate, pop-in, collision and streaming issues that plagued the earlier games are back once again, but at a far less frequent rate. The rest of the game is absolutely beautiful, though.    
 
  9.5   Sound
GTA sports a powerful 90s-era fully licensed soundtrack and a broad range of sound effects. Plus, there's great digital encoding and terrific vocal talents (Samuel Jackson!). It's all you need.    
 
  10   Gameplay
The often-chastised targeting system has been improved, the vehicle physics have been reworked, and the mechanics feel terrific. There's a wide array of gameplay styles too and its hard as hell.    
 
  10   Lasting Appeal
To complete storyline-related challenges, it'll still take you anywhere from 40-60 hours… and that's only half the game. It's five times larger than Vice City and has more sidequests than most RPGs.

[Eco-Logic]

Wow.

I'll get the Xbox version for sure.

[ChaoZ]

I still don't believe a game with 8.5 graphics can get 9.9 in score. 9.7, yes, but 9.9?

[Devil]

The 8.5 in grapchics is a monumental stretch.

[HankRaptor]

I think this should be discussed after you have 60 hours in the game... we are not yet qualified to discuss this.

[Devil]

Bwahhhh!!!

Hank's right - After you get about 40 hours into the game the graphics turn into a cut scene from Final Fantasy X. :lol:

[Lockdown]

Bwahhhh!!!

Hank's right - After you get about 40 hours into the game the graphics turn into a cut scene from Final Fantasy X. :lol:

           (what if it DID!!!!)   Would that not be hilarious!!!!

Either way, you could say, "I told you so!" and be right!  


LD  

[Devil]

Even better - The characters went from gangsters to the actual FF characters and they just kept their voices!!

Samuel L. Jackson voicing one of the FF girls!?

I might like the game better if I had that to look forward to!  :lol:

[HankRaptor]

LOL I was talking about the validity of the game being a 9.9... the graphics will still be dated.

[\/\/olverine]

I was thinking that too, 9.9 is pretty much perfection, and the graphics alone would have to drag the score down half a point I would think. Once again, IGN wimps out to give way to the pay.

[Kevin Grey]

I was thinking that too, 9.9 is pretty much perfection, and the graphics alone would have to drag the score down half a point I would think. Once again, IGN wimps out to give way to the pay.

Or maybe they just really liked the game :wink:

If someone wants to make an argument about score corruption I think a far more plausible one is that sites may feel pressured by their fanbase to score certain games extremely high.  A sub-9.0 score from a major site for a GTA game is likely to inspire legions of hate mail.  

Rumors of pay for reviews have cropped up many times in the past decade or so and I have yet to see documented evidence of it occuring with major US publications or sites.  Their was the recent Driver 3 fiasco but that seemed confined to the UK who are notorious for having laxer standards in review quality with several notable exceptions.  

I fail to understand why people are insistent to chalk up differences in opinion (which is all a review is) to corruption.

[happydog]

Graphics may not be as important to the overall score to some people. That is the problem with reviews, they are opinions.  :wink:

[Destructor]

I was thinking that too, 9.9 is pretty much perfection, and the graphics alone would have to drag the score down half a point I would think. Once again, IGN wimps out to give way to the pay.

McGriddles, anyone?

No game is truly perfect. Is GTA:SA an excellent game? Yes. Is it the best game ever? That can truly be debated.

[-Lord Ebonstone-]

So how's the cat, \/\/?

[Koz]

Caligula?

[\/\/olverine]

I thought I already told you it was dead... just like the subject LoL.

I'm don't disagree that imperfect graphics makes the actual gameplay imperfect, but it should effect the overall score accordingly, otherwise why even rate graphics? Thats why the score should be lowered.

[Greggy_D]

I agree.  Why even rate the graphics if it doesn't factor into the overall score?

[dandylife]

The 8.5 in grapchics is a monumental stretch.

I can kinda see graphics being rated as 8.5.  In the first city, graphics are same old GTA, but once you get out into the countryside, things get pretty nice looking.  Expansive countryside, grass, small plants and shrubs, lots of trees, open highway.  It's acutally pretty appealing eye candy, especially all the grass and foliage.

[Devil]

Sounds good, dandy, something to look forward to!

[-Lord Ebonstone-]

Caligula?

No, that was someone else, surprisingly.

I think IGN rated GTA:SA so well in spite of the graphics score because:

1.)  It's IGN.
2.)  They're trying to say the graphics don't matter that much.
3.)  They think the game is better than GTA3 and GTA:VC and thus wanted to rate it numerically higher than those two games.

Of course, look at Gamespot's review.  They've got some hardass reviewers over there, and GTA:SA got a 9.6.

[Dimmona]

Meh, could have been worse.  Have any of you read the PC Gamer Half Life 2 review yet?

[whiteboyskim]

Meh, could have been worse.  Have any of you read the PC Gamer Half Life 2 review yet?

Yeah, that was the hardest-core handjob this side of a Jenna Jameson home movie.

But there were some things in there I found cool to read about, and the screenshots made me want it even more. It never changed my opinion, but it was cool getting the early "drooling fanboi seal of approval" from PC Lamer.

[hepcat]

Yeah, that was the hardest-core handjob this side of a Jenna Jameson home movie.

this begs the question: what would she do in a home movie that would be any different than her public ones?