GTA San Andreas Back To the Hood Preview

Back to the Hood Rockstar created an industry with its massively popular GTA series. Ever since the series went 3d with GTA III, there has been no looking back. Free roaming, open ended gameplay has been the hallmark of GTA games. Packed with dollops of violence and topped with a volatile mixture of weapons, vehicles and scantily clad women, San Andreas promises to unleash the insanity in anything aged between 16 – 85.

The latest installment of the GTA series, scheduled to release on June 7th for the PC this year has already been eagerly awaited by those who have caught the wave of excitement it has been generating on the PS2. The PC version will be obviously graphically superior to the console version, featuring the higher resolution textures that Rockstar North, the same twisted minds behind Manhunt, uses to initially develop character models and environments, later scaled down for performance on consoles. The draw distance will be larger owing to the PCs technological prowess as compared to a console. Graphically, the game looks pretty much the same as the previous versions of GTA, namely GTA III and the more recent GTA Vice city.

Return of the King

The game starts five years from where Vice City left off. San Andreas has been modeled after existing cities with minor name perversions. Based on the California of the early 1990’s, San Andreas is composed of three major cities. Las Venturas (read as Las Vegas), Los Santos (read as Los Angeles) and San Fierro (read as San Francisco). Carl Johnson, known amongst the homes as CJ, leaves the vices of vice city Los Santos, San Andreas, to return to the hood where momma has been murdered, the family ain’t doing to well and the homes are in the dump.

On return, CJ finds that his gang has lost control of the city and is plagued by corrupt cops who frame him for homicide; CJ is forced to take back to the streets, roaming around San Andreas waving an uzi with a maniacal grin on his face and an itchy trigger finger. Various additions to gameplay including training to drive boats and helicopters as well as different cockpit and cockpit controls for various planes have been put in. Character development is another new feature of San Andreas, keeping CJ fit and healthy is necessary to maintain his talent for maiming and permanently disabling. The bro can be given a break by taking him dancing and the smooth character modeling makes him a hit with the sista’s and ho’s of Sin city.

Drive by Sh00ting

Open ended gameplay which has always been the psyche quotient of GTA returns with a bang with San Andreas having one of the largest cityscapes to roam around in. In addition to the console version, the PC version will feature the Mp3 feature in which gamers can point the game to the music directory of their choice for the background score to the series of unfortunate events that plague CJ and even intersperse them with the warped commercials featured in the in game radio to give it an authentic feel.

GTA San Andreas Back To the Hood has been well tweaked to offer fluid and smooth gameplay. Inspite of the massive size of San Andreas, the loading times have been cut down considerably. Free roam will no longer be a pain; you can roam around the whole city without a single loading screen hindering your spree of revenge and retribution. Entering into buildings like the local pizza parlor for grub and blood, will although necessitate a loading screen.

Releasing soon, San Andreas is one of the most anticipated Third person shooters of this year, featuring a massive city, more vehicles, more action and a story that has had its roots in blood, its all set to take gamers on a wild ride across town.