The biggest Grand Theft Auto game yet is almost upon us, and like always, the amount of information that Rockstar lets out the gate is barely enough to get our minds reeling, let alone whet our appetites. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas promises to be the most ambitious and expansive entry yet into the pivotal series, and given what's come before, that's saying a lot. Recently, Rockstar gave us a glimpse of one of the game's three major metropolitan areas -- San Fierro, its take on San Francisco, California. Judging from the brief demo, it's simply huge, and it's hard to believe that it's infact one of three major geographical areas in the game. But that's the truth.
California Dreamin'
Rather than present literal representations of the cities that its games are based on, the Grand Theft Auto renders them in broader strokes. Names are changed, sometimes drastically, and while major landmarks are represented and immediately recognizable, more liberties are taken in regards to actual cityscapes. Neighborhoods will blend into one another, and the geography is generally condensed. But as any native of a city whose received the GTA-treatment will testify to, the distinct character of the various hoods that are recreated always emerge intact.
San Fierro is no different. In terms of essential San Francisco landmarks, most made the cut: the Golden Gate Bridge, the Bay Bridge, and the Transamerica Building. There will be working streetcar networks, whose individual lines CJ can jack, and use as instruments of mayhem. The winding streets of Chinatown look every bit as dense and bustling as their real-life counterparts, and the Haight district (called "Hashbury," in San Andreas is populated with just as many "tobacco" shops as it is in the non-virtual world. Of course, it's what's in these worlds that ultimately determines their value, but you can't downplay how amusing it is to drive through these altogether loose takes on real-life cities, and almost feel a familiar vibe.
Smash Your Brain with Your Nosebone
That said, the all-too-brief demo that I was treated to made evident that there will indeed be a whole bunch of stuff to do within the idyllic (relatively speaking, anyway) confines of San Fierro. Some of San Andreas' most intriguing new elements are actually accessed by geographical sites in the city.
Take the Cobra Martial Arts Dojo. Located in San Fierro's Chinatown, this is where CJ will hone his scrapping skills, and the process is far more involved that you might imagine. The resident sensei (who's voice seems like it pulled straight from chop-socky Hong Kong cinema, but that's a whole other story) will drill CJ on the art of the beatdown. This entails going round after round with him, as he teaches the budding warrior-thug new moves and combos that will eventually compliment (and sometimes supplant) the rough and dirty street-style that his upbringing taught him. Among the moves I saw shown during the demo were running front kicks, vicious heel drops, and powerful roundhouses.
Ultimately, it will work like this: the moves CJ learns at the dojo will incorporate themselves into his standard hand-to-hand moveset. As he learns more moves, better ones will replace inferior ones in his repertoire. Presumably, the fully-developed CJ will boast a wicked style the blends the brutality of streetfighting (think all other GTA games) with delicate, and deadly martial arts. CJ will benefit from training in this manner in much the same way as he would from working out in a regular gym, so those of you prone to putting down multiple pizza pies, take note. Oh, and there's also an autolock built into the fisticuffs system, so If you're were one of those people that thought that hand-to-hand combat in previous GTAs was a little bit janky (read: everyone), then feel free to rejoice.
Puttin' in Work
It ain't all recreation in San Fierro, despite the irie vibes. Rest assured: CJ will be put to work, and like any ambitious young man, he'll approach this with relish. In terms of self enterprise, CJ has taken up with a certain Cesar. Cesar is a Chicano homeboy of his from back in the day in Los Santos, who happens to be involved with CJ's sister. Together, they've established a "chop-shop" for stolen automobiles, and one of the missions I was shown focused on one of their outings to, err, increase inventory. Their source: a high-end dealership by the name of Otto's Autos, near San Andreas' version of the bayside Embarcadero district. The setup was typical GTA: Cesar and CJ rolled out together, and there was much in the way of banter as they made their way torward their destination. It's harder to ignore, this time around, however: every line of dialogue in San Andreas, whether it occur during dynamic gameplay, or within a cutscene, is spoken.
In any case, the procurement of the autos was, needless to say, dramatic. Once inside, CJ and Cesar drove them right out the display windows, and hauled ass back to their shop. Many cops had to be avoided along the way, but once in the relative safety of their hideout, I became privy to yet another cool element: car customization. Think of it as Midnight Club: DUB Edition-lite; any car you bring into your shop, you can tweak its appearance. The paintjob is alterable by means of a full-featured Photoshop-style color wheel, and you can even apply decals, change rims, hook up the fenders, spoilers, and panels. Nitrous kits are also available, for those wanting a bit of an edge when escaping heat. All in the name of aberrance and lawlessness.
San Fierro is a big city, though, and in order to make it through the wringer alive, CJ will have to make peace with the underworld's extant powers-that-be. Enter Woozy Mu: Triad gang leader, and entrepreneur. The job he has for CJ ain't easy, but in terms of getting him some of that all-important Bay Area clout, it's vital. As it turns out, some shady characters are keeping a group of Chinese refugees captive on a freighter in the bay, and he needs CJ to free them. This required him to hop aboard a bay-bound chopper, eliminate the guards posted thereon by means of its mounted gun, and swim onto its deck when it was inevitably shot down by an RPG-wielding thug.
Once inside, it was a straight-up assault mission. New features were put to good use; San Andreas has stealth-kills built into it, which CJ used to great effect. Players can also now climb onto objects in the environment -- in this case, cargo crates -- which greatly helped his mobility. In any case, after shanking an unsuspecting guard, CJ acquired a shotgun. After dispatching dozens of armed thugs with it, he made his way down to the hull, where a dozen more were guarding the refugees in question. A shot to the padlock holding them in granted them freedom. Soon enough, he learned the name of their captor: an unsavory character by the name of Snakehead. Upon reaching his location on the ship's deck, a pitched katana fight ensued, dramatically enough. Snakehead's head was separated from Snakehead's body, in due order, and sadly, thus ended our demo. Our last glimpse of San Fierro was CJ escaping the freighter aboard a dinghy.
Las Venturas -- the bit of San Andreas that's designed around Las Vegas -- is still a big question mark in our minds, but Rockstar promises that we'll be let into the fold soon enough. Until then, keep your head right, watch your back and your front, and don't forget to hold it down for your family. San Andreas is due out later this month, so expect a bit of coverage before then.
