Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas HD is an absolute classic and to celebrate its 10th birthday Rockstar released a new edition that was remastered with 720p, better rendering, achievements, a couple of new features, and a new price tag. It’s available to download for £2.99, (Around $5.00) and at that price your probably considering buying it although read this review first.
After 8 hours of non stop San Andreas HD you cant help but want a multiplayer version of the game. Within the first 30 seconds of playing I noticed certain feature’s such as the spamming the A or X button when cycling was removed, when you bashed the A or X button you would never run out of energy despite going as fast as possible on your BMX or mountain bike. Unlimited energy whilst your running has also been removed, you now have to stop for a short break whilst CJ (Carl Johnson) gets his breath back.
Entering Cheats wont get you anywhere either, entering a cheat will disable all possible achievements even if your cheat is spawning a car. When you finally jump into a plane you’ll notice the camera no longer follows you, so when you’re flying towards the ground or straight up your camera wont follow you instead you just see the plane as if you’re flying level meaning you can see the floor if you’re flying straight down.
The map system has changed completely, if you remember the old map layout it was great with easy to manage tabs such as settings or audio, however with this new system you no longer get that layout. Instead you get a scroll and select bar with font that is terrible to read. The radio stations haven’t changed with classic music still going strong although you’ll start notice the same song being played over and over again, you see when you change radio stations from one you like to another then switch back you’ll notice the song or advert is repeated until you listen to it unless you start a mission or activity.
If you’re an owner of the original then don’t get exited as your progress doesn’t transfer, Rockstar said the game will be seen as brand new game, for me that’s a big blow as the I’ve completed the original. Swimming underwater is no longer possible, it is however possible to dive down but not swim underneath instead you float to the top. If there’s one thing Rockstar got right with the remake its the achievements, with 33 to collect adding up to 1000G it includes such achievements like watch the credits at the end for 30G and secrete achievements like reach maximum sex appeal for 100G. They’ve also added a cool sample feature that the original version seriously needed, when you went to change your cloths or hair or even buy food you weren’t given an example of an item. Now however there’s a list with pictures of what you can select.
If such issues like the planes camera angle’s and unlimited energy were fixed then i can see Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas HD being a great success once again although until these issues are addressed I doubt ill be playing much of the remastered edition and ill be playing the original still on my Xbox 360 as i purchased the version before the remake. If you want to buy the original edition instead of the remastered edition, you’re going to be disappointed as that version is no longer available on the Xbox 360 Games On Demand removed by Rockstar. Like all games released today we expect multiplayer to be an option although in this case GTA Online or even Co-Op play is no longer available, if they want this game to sell well there going to need online play just like PC players had for the original. If you’re not a fan of GTA Online then don’t be disappointed as the single player is still as good as it was when it was released.
If you’re wanting to play a classic to take you back 10 years then this remake will do just that although its nothing the original couldn’t do, if anything it’s doing worse as the new graphics don’t give you an urge to play it, all the features have sadly made the game worse than what made GTA what it is today.
If anything I’m extremely disappointed in Rockstar, all i wanted was achievements and online in this remastered edition instead i got my achievements but no online and load of new features that i just don’t care about and if anything ruin the game. The best thing Rockstar can do now is give us a choice of version we want to buy and download, by version i mean Original & the 2014 Re-Make
Would i recommend buying the game? Yes,
If you want the achievements this is a great game to do that with because of its challenging but fun-filled story. If you don’t like the sound of the faulty features don’t go changing your mind. I still urge you to buy it and see if you like the new features yourself. If it wasn’t for the price i wouldn’t be saying yes although the cheep price tag is the icing on the cake! Have fun playing GTA SA all over again.
REVIEW CODE: A complimentary Microsoft Xbox 360 code was provided to Brash Games for this review. Please send all review code enquiries to editor@brashgames.co.uk.
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