Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas Preview

Games, some believe, have spiritual homes. Think Mario on the N64, Sonic on the Megadrive, or Lara Croft on the PlayStation. Now, nearly a year after it first came out on the PlayStation 2, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas is returning to what developers Rockstar are calling its spiritual home, and happy to be home it is too. In a private, hands on preview at Rockstar’s office in Chelsea, London, Pro-G got up close and personal with the greatest sandbox game of all time, except now, mayhem’s dished out through a mouse and keyboard, not a Dual Shock.

The most immediately obvious change is the aesthetic improvement. Although the build we sampled wasn’t in the highest resolution the game supports, the higher resolution textures really shone through while guiding CJ through one of the many spectacular casinos the world has to offer. Book covers on tables are now fully readable; signs can be clearly made out and building walls look crisper and more defined. San Andreas on the PC (Rockstar’s admittedly powerful PC) looks sharper.

Then, as the sun comes up over the desert, the new shading models take hold. Everything in the game-world now casts its own shadow, which moves in real time and with realistic precision, something that simply wasn’t possible on the PlayStation 2 version. As the early afternoon sun goes down, so the creeping fingertips of shadows extend. You really feel as if your environment is changing as you move through time and space.

Perhaps the most impressive aesthetic overhaul was granted to the game’s draw distance. Sitting atop a skyscraper in the middle of one of San Andreas’ more populated areas is now a breathtaking experience. On the PlayStation 2 version nearby buildings were apparent with a foggy haze extending into the distance. Now, on the PC version, a mile into the sky, buildings, scenery and landscapes are clearly visible as far as CJ’s eye can see. Base jumping, a feature GTA fans have turned into a sort of virtual sport, is now as much an exercise in sight-seeing as the adrenaline trip it always was. Spotting a bridge in the distance, something that must be miles away in real game-world terms, then realising, actually, yes, I can go there, is an experience like no other, and one enhanced on PC GTA:SA.

Talking of base jumping, there’s now even more reason for adventuring gangsters to seek out higher peaks to freefall from. The PC version has a 30-second instant replay feature which can be saved onto your hard drive and emailed to friends. You have full control over the camera too, which, in effect, gives the player directorial power over proceedings. Strap on your parachute, get your leg over a super bike, power your way off a building top and jump. Replay, get the most dynamic shot, save, and send it to your jealous fellow PC gaming acquaintances.

Of course, this automatic directory saving extends to screenshots (for that perfect, beautifully captured moment overlooking the ripples of a lake) and stats (automatically loaded to HTML for your pleasure) or for uploading MP3s for use on the fully customisable radio mode – a new feature that allows players to gain control of their own GTA radio station.

All this graphical ramping though would be for naught if the game didn’t play well with a keyboard and mouse. At first, switching from the PlayStation 2’s Dual Shock analogue pad to keyboard and mouse proves troublesome. If the PlayStation 2 is all you have ever played GTA on, this is only natural. It’s a similar effect experienced when switching from Pro Evolution Soccer on PlayStation 2 to Xbox – it just feels wrong. But, after ten minutes of what can only be described as embarrassing play (the bemused inhabitants of San Andreas must have thought CJ had taken a few too many laxatives while in prison), sanity takes over.

Keyboard buttons, we were told, will be fully customisable in the released version. The build we sampled used the PC standard WASD for movement, space bar for sprint and, awkwardly, enter to car jack. The mouse is used to control the camera, infinitely more liberating than a joypad’s offering, the right mouse button targets enemies (or standard pedestrians, this is GTA after all), the left mouse button fires and the scroll wheel (should you have one) cycles through weapons. Using a keyboard and mouse is capable, but not significantly better than a Dual Shock. With the automatic targeting that is found in GTA, any advantage a quick mouse movement has over thumbing an analogue is almost redundant.

Improvements aside, it’s worth noting what Rockstar haven’t done. There are no extra missions, no new weapons or vehicles. In fact, gameplay wise, everything on the PC version is exactly the same as on PlayStation 2. Rockstar told us they didn’t want to short change the core GTA PlayStation 2 audience. It’s a fair point, but would it really have alienated this core audience by having one or two extra missions or a couple of new weapons or vehicles?

Also notable by its absence is any kind of online play. Rockstar told us they won’t be taking advantage of the Internet for the PC version with, for example, downloadable content or online multiplayer action, instead letting the GTA modding community (currently thriving as the game’s success grows) to fiddle around – a practice they fully support. It’s slightly disappointing though, that Rockstar’s obvious talent won’t be put to work in this area, but expect some serious tinkering come June 10th.

So, leaving their offices on Chelsea’s Kings Road, home to over-expensive furniture shops and elite restaurants, you get the impression that, despite some missed opportunities provided by a PC, Rockstar North haven’t simply ported one of the most successful games ever released on console and expected it to sell. They’ve made sure that, graphically at least, it will hold its own, especially important considering that recent games have pushed visual boundaries immensely on the PC. Reinforcing this view, we were told, will be the full marketing might the publisher deems appropriate for a Triple-A PC release.

Like a forty-something who indulges in a spot of plastic surgery, Rockstar are delivering Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas the way they always intended it to be: the same on the inside, more gorgeous on the outside.