I finally finished GTA:SA. It is a masterpiece. While the story and gameplay aren’t particuarly well-integrated, save for some in-game dialog between characters, the combination of sandbox-style gameplay, and the noninteractive cutscenes worked really, really well. The voice talent was extraordinary (Young Maylay, the voice of the main character, did an exceptional job, as did the person who played Wu Zi Mu, and James Woods, as Mike Torelli), the writing was really compelling, and the game world was so authentic-feeling, and enormous that it really created a sense of immersion and freedom that almost no other game has managed to do.

I was able to use real-world knowledge of how San Francisco was laid out to navigate San Fiero, and though it’s not an exact replica, it’s a more accurate portrayal of San Francisco, as a city, than any other game I’ve ever seen. Los Santos feels like LA. Las Venturas feels like Vegas. But still, they feel like interesting, vibrant places of their own, with their own visual appeal, unique branding, and visual touches.

The mission structure was extremely varied, the journey through the entire game world was logical, and provided a consistently interesting and rewarding payoff, and though the game is *extremely* violent, that violence takes place within a context that causes it to make sense. I think the reason that the violence in GTA feels more affecting than the violence in a game like Doom 3, which is much gorier, is that the violence in GTA feels like a choice, even when it isn’t. There are times in the game when I wanted Carl to say “no” to Sweet, to not live the gangsta lifestyle, and to realize that the things he’s acheived in the course of the game have given him a different option, and a different way to make the ‘hood a better place.

But, given the story and characters that they’ve created, it at least makes sense that the actions would unfold as they would. I did my best to play as nonviolently as possible, which is almost always my goal in a game that does give me the freedom to do so. Still, I killed *thousands* of rival gang members, tens, if not hundreds of cops, and ran over uncountable numbers of innocent pedestrians in the course of my journey.

One thing that I absolutely *loved*, and spoilers follow, so beware – I really enjoy it when a game brings you back to a familiar environment, but gives it a different twist. Gradius V does this, where you go back in time to replay a particular level, but your previous run through the level is recorded, and played back as you play through the level in a slightly different way. Being able to see your effect on the game world is a mighty reward, and the “riot” sequences in GTA are extraordinary in this regard. Things you have seen before – a city you have spent hours in, has changed radically, and it’s great to see neighborhoods that you “lived” in torn apart.

It’s incredible, and so astonishing in its scope that I wonder if perhaps GTA 4 will simply be renamed “videogame,” at which point, no other videogames will actually be necessary. Of course this is unlikely to actually be the case, but GTA:SA is a third person shooter, a flight simulator, a skydiving game, a driving game, The Sims, a mini-RTS, and Mario Party, all rolled into a stunningly realized, coherent package.

I was not a fan of Rockstar games prior to this. I love Max Payne, and they get points for publishing that as well. But GTA III didn’t capture my attention, and Vice City didn’t capture my imagination. San Andreas does both, and does so with such intensity that it is likely that it is the best game I will play this year. Incredible stuff.