5/20/2006: Playstation 2: Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, Jak II, Urban Reign

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5/20/2006: Playstation 2: Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, Jak II, Urban Reign

Postby VideoGameCritic » May 21st, 2006, 11:01 am

Thanks for the feedback guys.  I made the corrections and added a note about how it was later re-rated AO.

John Rowland

5/20/2006: Playstation 2: Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, Jak II, Urban Reign

Postby John Rowland » May 21st, 2006, 3:25 pm

At the heart of Jak II is a solid and worthwhile platformer.  I logged 10-15 hours into it and came close to the end (I think) before I got tired of it.  I doubt I will ever pick it up again though and I agree with Critic's complaints, mostly that some missions feel more like a chore.

 

Most of the mainstream critics tried to convince us that this was a revolutionary step forward, everything a sequel should be, blah blah blah.  The same critics also said that Jak III did for Jak II what Jak II did for Jak I.  Now I haven't played Jak III, so I'm wondering: Critic, will you pretty please go pick up Jak III and let me know if it's worth $20 to someone who almost feels the same way you do about Jak and Daxter and Jak II?

 

I would also like to add that I think that your reviews benefit from coming out a long while after the games are released as they are removed from the hype and have time perspective.


sega saturn x

5/20/2006: Playstation 2: Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, Jak II, Urban Reign

Postby sega saturn x » May 21st, 2006, 8:41 pm

[QUOTE=John Rowland]

At the heart of Jak II is a solid and worthwhile platformer.  I logged 10-15 hours into it and came close to the end (I think) before I got tired of it.  I doubt I will ever pick it up again though and I agree with Critic's complaints, mostly that some missions feel more like a chore.

 

[/QUOTE]

I feel the EXACT same way but replace jak 2 with sly 2.  I got about ten hours into it but the damn thing would not end!  I got so sick of doing the same missions over and over I just stopped playing.  Jak 2 I only gave two hours after I started using guns and stealing cars I just didn't want to play anymore.


helper

5/20/2006: Playstation 2: Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, Jak II, Urban Reign

Postby helper » May 23rd, 2006, 7:27 am

you could always shoot out the car window. it's not a new feature in san andreas. there are lots of other new features though.


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Re: 5/20/2006: Playstation 2: Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, Jak II, Urban Reign

Postby Robotrek » November 12th, 2021, 3:33 am

Amazing to see how people in this community really weren't too hot on San Andreas. I was 31 when I purchased it, living with 2 other roommates who loved games as well, and nobody could stop playing it. We must have played the multiplayer all NIGHT a few times. It was an absolute blast. I wasn't too hot on the plot, but the missions were indeed fun. The world you played in was so fully realized as well. I definitely preferred the theme and plot of Vice City a heck of a lot more (having grown up in the 80's, that game was a total time machine) but San Andreas had the better gameplay by far. I still consider it an absolute A at a minimum, and will forever cherish it as one of the greatest video games ever made.

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Re: 5/20/2006: Playstation 2: Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, Jak II, Urban Reign

Postby LuckyWDFN » November 12th, 2021, 9:05 pm

I played the heck out of this game too. I loved it and I'd probably rate it higher than the B- but I can understand the VGC criticisms of San Andreas.

There's a point in the game where you get past a certain mission (my memory is slightly fuzzy here) and you take over some gang turf only to constantly have to return to that street to quell an uprising and reclaim your turf... It felt like every 5 minutes you'd be in the middle of something when alarms would off and you'd have to go back just to keep your turf (and game completion %)... That's where the game became a chore for me (along with the eating & working out). I thought most of the missions and the vastness of the game were great though.

Overall, I liked Vice City a bit more. It was less tedious but had enough exploration and knick knacks to stoke my OCD about completing the game without the monotony. Maybe I'll dig out San Andreas again. I don't think I've touched it since '06.

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Re: 5/20/2006: Playstation 2: Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, Jak II, Urban Reign

Postby Retro STrife » November 13th, 2021, 11:00 am

I agree with you Robotrek - from a gameplay standpoint, San Andreas wins in the PS2 trilogy. But I also prefer Vice City overall, because of the atmosphere, characters, and story. Then you have GTA III -- obviously it hasn't aged well, but it was mind-blowing at the time. It became a phenomenon because we hadn't seen anything like it before. IMO, GTA III is the most important 3D game ever made - it changed everything and left every other developer playing catch-up for at least 5 years. So San Andreas is sort of the odd man out in the trilogy.

I started playing it around 2005, and never really got into it. I was probably burnt out from playing through III and VC so close before it. I returned to SA in 2013 when I was just done with school and only had my PS2 out of storage.. I finally beat the game and had a renewed appreciation. But I still rank VC over it.

I think San Andreas is really loved most by Gen Z and younger Millennials. The 80s nostalgia of VC was before their time, so the 90s themes of SA resonated more with them. Also, they might have been too young to try III and VC, so SA may have been their first GTA. On the Instagram accounts I follow about gaming (which tend to gravitate toward the 18-30 year old crowd), I notice that SA is the most loved of the three; whereas, I think older gamers prefer VC.

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Re: 5/20/2006: Playstation 2: Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, Jak II, Urban Reign

Postby Robotrek » November 14th, 2021, 1:34 am

Retro STrife wrote:I agree with you Robotrek - from a gameplay standpoint, San Andreas wins in the PS2 trilogy. But I also prefer Vice City overall, because of the atmosphere, characters, and story. Then you have GTA III -- obviously it hasn't aged well, but it was mind-blowing at the time. It became a phenomenon because we hadn't seen anything like it before. IMO, GTA III is the most important 3D game ever made - it changed everything and left every other developer playing catch-up for at least 5 years. So San Andreas is sort of the odd man out in the trilogy.

I started playing it around 2005, and never really got into it. I was probably burnt out from playing through III and VC so close before it. I returned to SA in 2013 when I was just done with school and only had my PS2 out of storage.. I finally beat the game and had a renewed appreciation. But I still rank VC over it.

I think San Andreas is really loved most by Gen Z and younger Millennials. The 80s nostalgia of VC was before their time, so the 90s themes of SA resonated more with them. Also, they might have been too young to try III and VC, so SA may have been their first GTA. On the Instagram accounts I follow about gaming (which tend to gravitate toward the 18-30 year old crowd), I notice that SA is the most loved of the three; whereas, I think older gamers prefer VC.


Having grown up in the 80's and actually having spent a few summers in Miami, Vice City definitely hits me harder in the nostalgia department. But the map is rather small which kind of cramps me. San Andreas doesn't have a HUGE map by any metric, the new re-release demonstrates this perfectly, but with the combination of limited render distance on top of the amount of winding roads between the 3 cities, it certainly FELT large. Not to mention the upgrades in visuals. At the time I remember a lot of people complaining about the visuals in San Andreas. In terms of character models and some environmental effects, I completely understood, but some sections of the game still looked pretty darn great to me. It wasn't a bad looking game by any stretch.

As far as GTA III is concerned, I specifically remember wanting it because I loved Driver and wanted a more impressive driver. GTA III's visuals were pretty darn good for what they were, but even at the time I thought the lack of lighting effects was a little disappointing. However, I do find myself gravitating towards GTA III over Vice City still. I thought it was more fun to cause mayhem, and I liked the simplistic nature of the game and it's missions, and loved cracking a few missions out, causing some mayhem to mix things up, and then get right back to missions.

3, Vice City, and San Andreas are still some of my most played games. I have substantially downgraded my collection over the years, keeping only the systems I actively play. The PS2 fits the bill in that instance, and among the 600 titles I have for my Playstation 2, those 3 have easily eaten up the most time. If I had to grade them, I'd grade 3 at a B, Vice City at an A-, and San Andreas at an A+.


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