Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas

Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
San Andreas US box cover
Developer(s)	Rockstar North
Publisher(s)	Rockstar Games
Engine	RenderWare
Platform(s)	PlayStation 2, Windows (PC), Xbox
Release	PS2: October 2004, PC, Xbox: June 7, 2005
Genre(s)	Action, Driving
Mode(s)	Single player, Multiplayer

Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas is a video game that was developed by Rockstar North and published by Rockstar Games. It is the third 3D game in the Grand Theft Auto franchise; including previously released 2D titles bearing the Grand Theft Auto name, it is the seventh to be released. It was released for the PlayStation 2 on October 26, 2004 in North America and on October 29, 2004 in Europe and Australia. Following a press release issued near the end of 2004, it was released for the PC and Xbox on June 7, 2005 in North America and June 10, 2005 in Europe.

History and speculation

Following the success of Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, many gamers eagerly anticipated a new Grand Theft Auto game on the PlayStation 2 in late 2003. Most theories were shot down when Rockstar had given no announcement of a new game by summer of that year. The first hint at there even being a new installment was on October 30, 2003, when Take-Two Interactive announced that an untitled "GTA5" game was set for release in the "latter half of the fiscal fourth quarter 2004" [1]. By this time, pundits online had two theories about the plot of the game; it would either be based in the city of San Andreas, California (based on San Francisco) in the modern day, or in Sin City, Nevada (based on Las Vegas) in the 1970s, as both would be ideal regarding new innovative ways to commit crimes, and new storylines that could grow.

On December 17, and December 21, 2003, Take-Two had registered 10 GTA-related trademarks (GTA5, GTA6, GTA: San Andreas, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, GTA: Sin City, Grand Theft Auto: Sin City, GTA: Bogota, Grand Theft Auto: Bogota, GTA: Tokyo, and Grand Theft Auto: Tokyo) [2]. After the information was divulged on January 12, 2004, it seemed likely that most of the titles were either red herrings or possible future incarnations of the franchise.

On March 1, 2004, Take-Two announced in a press conference that Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas would be released Tuesday, October 19, 2004 in the US, and three days later, October 22, in Europe [3] and October 29 for Australia. However, on September 9, 2004 Take-two announced in its third quarter financial results for 2004 that the release date of the PlayStation 2 version of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas would be pushed back to October 26, 2004 in North America and October 29, 2004 for Europe and November 15, 2004 in Australia to allow Rockstar to remove questionable content that would have the game banned there. Nonetheless, the Australian version has been on sale on October 29 and proved to be the multilanguage European PAL (UK) version. In the same release, Take-Two announced a PC and Xbox version would be released on June 7, 2005.

The Xbox and PC versions of San Andreas released on June 7, 2005 in the U.S. In Europe it was released on June 10th, 2005.

The Calaveras Enterprise newspaper reported on November 3, 2004 that the Merchants' Association in the real-life town of San Andreas, California has become alarmed about the popularity of the video game, but has conceded that there is little it can do. Also, it turns out there is a retired pastor named Carl Johnson in the real San Andreas (Carl Johnson is the name of the main character in the game).

On July 20, 2005 production of the game was suspended and the game received a revised ESRB Rating of Adults Only, making San Andreas the only mass-released AO console game in the U.S. This was the result of the release of a modification allowing access to the hidden "Hot Coffee" portion of the game. Rockstar has given distributors the option of applying an Adults Only ESRB rating sticker to copies of the game, or returning them to be replaced by versions without the Hot Coffee content. Many retailers have pulled the game off their shelves to avoid selling an AO rated game. Due to Rockstar North releasing the Cold Coffee they will be able to re-release San Andreas with a Mature rating. It will be re-released in a GTA Trilogy Pack for X-Box, and a Special Editon will hit PS2 in October. Rockstar says it will have things unable to get on the orginal version that were on the PC one.

Details

File:GTASA PC Gameplay Running.jpg

Running in Los Santos, PC version. The player's character initially starts out with little money, lack of body fitness and no skills. These attributes may be improved as one continues to play the game. The health bar pictured, for example, will increase as the player frequently exercise and perform certain physical activities

Template:Spoiler Information about the game began circulating in magazines and on websites on May 11, 2004, including that the game world of San Andreas would be not just one city, but an entire state, encompassing three metropolises (Los Santos, San Fierro, and Las Venturas based on Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Las Vegas, respectively), and the countryside in between. Intercity travel is facilitated not only by a huge freeway system but also by airports and a system of passenger trains, the Brown Streak Railroad, both of which have vehicles that can be operated by the player. In interviews, Rockstar's designers have reported that the map is between four and six times the size of the area in Vice City.

The game is set in 1992. This game has a soundtrack of period artists, as Vice City did, as well as "classic" rap and rock stations and a country station. Many of the missions which take place in the game are fairly obvious imitations of California-based phenomena from the early 90's, such as the movie Terminator 2: Judgment Day and the 1992 Los Angeles riots.

Plot

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Mountain biking in a rural district of Los Santos, PC version. Note the rain, which slightly distorts the player's view of the scenery.

The player controls main character Carl "CJ" Johnson, a man returning to Los Santos after five years residing in Liberty City. Carl left Los Santos after being blamed for the death of his younger brother, Brian, by his older brother, Sean (nicknamed "Sweet"). The murder of his mother causes him to return for her funeral. CJ returns to find disarray in his family and in his old gang, the Grove Street Families (named for their home territory, Grove Street), which prompts him to stay.

Sweet, CJ, and their sister Kendl are constantly at odds, while the leadership of the gang, Sweet, and longtime family friends Big Smoke and Ryder are in shambles, full of quarreling, and being held down by the other local gangs. Carl is also influenced to stay by a trio of hard-nosed corrupt cops, Officers Tenpenny, Pulaski, and Hernandez, collectively referred to as C.R.A.S.H. (Community Resources Against Street Hoodlums), as they target him as one of the members of the gang. CJ and Sweet begin the first arc of the game's plot by attempting to reunite the Grove Street Families with their crack-tainted splinter groups, the Seville Boulevard Families and the Temple Drive Families. CJ's ultimate goal is to bring back the prestige of his family, his gang, his neighborhood, and his life.

San Andreas world

Gangs

• Grove Street Families (GSF)
  • Type of gang: Afro American street gang
  • Gang colour: Green
  • Location: Los Santos

The Grove Street Familes is the gang that CJ is in at first, they are the only gang that players can recruit.

• Ballas
  • Type of gang: Afro American street gang
  • Gang colour: Purple
  • Location: Los Santos

The Ballas is the GSF's primary enemy, collaborating with C.R.A.S.H. Big Smoke and Ryder, two Grove Street OGs, are revealed to be working for the Ballas.

• Los Santos Vagos
  • Type of gang: Hispanic street Gang
  • Gang colour: Yellow
  • Location: Los Santos

The Vagos is an enemy gang of the Aztecas, and is found to be in league with the Ballas.

• Russian Mafia
  • Type of gang: Russian mobs
  • Gang Colour: N/A
  • Location: On several missions in Los Santos

The Russian Mafia only come into the game for a short time, they wear black suits, and usually carry MP-5s. They are also believed to be supplying weapons to the Ballas.

• Las Aztecas Varrios
  • Type of gang: Hispanic street gang
  • Gang Colour: Turquoise
  • Location: Los Santos

The Las Aztecas Varrios is Ceser's gang, with the Vagos moving in on their terrortary, Carl would be required to help them.

• Da Nang Boys
  • Type of gang: Vietnamese street gang
  • Gang Colour: N/A
  • Location: San Fierro

The Da Nang Boys is an enemy of the Triads, waging an ongoing war against Triad members in San Fierro.

• Triads
  • Type of gang: Chinese Triads
  • Gang colour: Red
  • Location: Chinatown, San Fierro

The Triads is a large gang originating from China, although they have moved to San Fierro, they are heavly armed, dressed in black and thankfully, on Carl's side.

• San Fierro Rifa
  • Type of gang: Hispanic street gang
  • Gang Colour: Blue
  • Location: Garcia, San Fierro

The Rifa is the sole hispanic gang based in San Fierro, later seen to be collaborating with the Ballas in the narcotics business.

• Mafia
  • Type of gang: Italian/Sicilian Mafia
  • Gang Colour: N/A
  • Location: Las Venturas

The Mafia Families, consisting of the Leones, the Forellis and the Sindaccos, exert control of Caligula's Casino in Las Venturas. They appear to be of little threat, aside the discovery of counterfeit casino chips produced by the Mafia in use at a Triad-controlled casino.

Los Santos

Main article: Los Santos, San Andreas

Los Santos features landmarks reminiscent of the Watts Towers, the Los Angeles Convention Center, the Capitol Tower, and Grauman's Chinese Theater. The city of Los Santos has several important areas, including the gang-ridden Ganton, Idlewood and East Los Santos – based on the N.W.A-era Compton, Inglewood, and East L.A., busy downtown, wealthy Rodeo and Mulholland, and glitzy Vinewood (complete with giant VINEWOOD sign in the hills).

San Fierro

Main article: San Fierro, San Andreas

San Fierro features Rockstar's interpretations of the Haight-Ashbury district ("Hashbury"), the gay Castro district ("Queens"), Chinatown, and the Golden Gate Bridge, as well as the city's prominent cable cars and hilly terrain. Several other familiar landmarks have been recreated from the Embarcadero clock tower and the "Big Pointy" Transamerica Pyramid to Lombard Street, and Scottish landmarks such as the Forth Bridge and the Forth Road Bridge. There is a district known as "Garcia", an ode to Grateful Dead frontman and San Francisco native Jerry Garcia, and San Fierro's City Hall closely resembles San Francisco's ornate city hall.

Las Venturas

Main article: Las Venturas, San Andreas

In Las Venturas, the player is able to visit and even take over casinos. One is able to play various casino games such as poker, roulette, and slot machines. Off-track betting parlors are also available in the game's other regions. In addition to gambling, strip clubs are also prevalent in Las Venturas. Many real Las Vegas Strip casinos are faithfully interpreted on Las Ventura's Strip, including the Excalibur Hotel and Casino ("Come-a-Lot"), the Sphinx and pyramid of the Luxor Hotel ("The Camel's Toe"), and the Pioneer Club ([4]), with Vegas Vic replaced by Grand Theft Auto: Vice City character Candy Suxxx.

Glory Hole Theme Park

File:GTASA PC Gameplay Airplane.jpg

Flying a stunt airplane over the desert region of Las Venturas, PC version. Rockstar has improved the interface of several modes in San Andreas, including the addition of flight indicators while on-board an airplane or a helicopter

The Glory Hole Theme Park is a fictional theme park in the GTA universe, located somewhere in the state of San Andreas. However, it isn't an actual location within the game, but rather, just another bit of crude humor referencing glory holes. This theme park was mentioned on several of the game's radio stations. The park's slogan is "Where strangers become friends".

The radio stations had an announcement talking about Jerry the Gerbil, a fictional entertainer for the park. The hours of operation are based on the radio announcement "Open every day till 3AM" (e.g. 6AM to 3AM or noon to 3AM).

Part of the radio jingle about the theme park features the lyrics Glory hole, you don't need to know names which is a reference to the anonymous sexual acts which take place at glory holes. The sounds of children playing and asking their parents questions is mixed into the background of the jingle. The Jerry The Gerbil character is a reference to the urban legend that homosexual men insert live gerbils into their rectum.

Other locations

Between the cities is an expansive countryside, broadening into a vast desert near Las Venturas. Players can climb Mount Chiliad, a half mile (800 m) tall mountain casting a vast shadow, parachute from various peaks and skyscrapers, and visit 12 rural towns and villages, a massive dam, a microwave dish, and many other geographical features.

Vehicle modification

File:GTASA PC Gameplay N02 Driving.jpg

Driving a modified sports car in San Fierro while deploying nitrous oxide to boast speed, PC version

TransFender is a fictitious car modification shop in San Andreas. TransFender ranges in a wide variety of mods for a vehicle from nitro to hydraulics. Most car mods are strictly visual because they only add aesthetic appeal, as opposed to those which improve the performance. Many, but not all, vehicles can be modified in GTA:SA. Common modifications include nitrous tanks, hydraulics, and paintjobs. Vehicles can be divided into four categories: Cars that can be modified but are not low-rider or "street racer" cars can only be modified at a TransFender, low-rider cars can only be modified at Loco Low Co., street racing types are modified at Arch Angel Wheels, and unmodifiable cars (most emergency vehicles and some off-road vehicles) cannot be modified at all. One mission requires the player to visit a low-rider mod-shop and then to use the car in a hydraulics competition.

Crossovers from Vice City

File:GTASA PC Gameplay Police Trouble.jpg

Police trouble in Las Venturas, PC version

Many characters, locations and fictional elements of Vice City were kept, sometimes with minor modifications to account for changes that would have occured in the 6 years that separate both games' fictional worlds. Interestingly, some real-world promotional material Rockstar created for Vice City can also be found in this game. Since characters from Vice City appear and the events of the game are hinted at having really happened, this might indicate that Tommy's adventures in Vice City gained considerable notoriety in the following years.

Real-world promotional material

• Action figures of Tommy Vercetti and Lance Vance can be found on the shelves of Zero's shop in San Fierro.
• Posters featuring the game's box cover art can be seen on some walls, most notably in Denise's room (the Hot Coffee mod is required to get there).

Recurring characters

• Ken Rosenberg still works for the mafia. He became a big shot after the events in Vice City, then lost it all because of his cocaine addiction and went into rehab. When he got out, he was picked as a neutral party to manage a mob casino shared by three families.
• Kent Paul is still a music group manager, though no longer for Love Fist. He now handles the Gurning Chimps.
• Jethro and Dwaine owned the boat yard in Vice City, until Tommy bought it from them. They now hold small-time mechanic jobs in San Fierro.

Radio personalities

• Fernando, the host of the Vice City radio station Emotion, hijacks the Lonely Hearts Show from its host (and former lover, though their relationship seems to have ended very badly) on WCTR.
• Lazlow, the host of V-Rock in Vice City, now hosts a show called Entertaining America on WCTR. In between this and V-Rock, it seems Lazlow spent years living on the streets, and that he got this job after the former host got shot.
• Jimmy, one of the characters of the popular sitcom Just the Five of us back in the 80s, can be heard in a radio interview on WCPR News. He's attending a child-actor conference at the Four-Dragons Casino in Las Venturas. In his sitcom ad in Vice City, he played a bad-tempered child who claimed to be a 42 year old investment banker with a rare disease that made him looked 12. In the interview on WCPR, we learn that he still looks like a child, although he claims to be 52 years old now, and that he still has the nasty temper his character had on the show. Whether this is real or Jimmy can't break character after so many years is unknown. Jimmy's show was cancelled and replaced by a new sitcom called My Five Uncles, about five gay men who adopt an orphan girl.

Other

• The popular fictional drink Sprunk, a parody of the carbonated lemon-lime drink Sprite found all around Vice City, is still being sold in San Andreas. Sprunk cans resemble grenades, owing to the marketing tagline given for the beverage, which says it has an "explosive, bursting" flavor.
• The doughnut shop Rusty Brown's Ring Donuts, mentioned in a radio ad on Flash FM, still exists. Some pedestrians mention Rusty Brown in their chatter. Also, an unused resturant that shares its name has been found in the games code.
• The game console Degenetron, mentioned in commercials and interviews on Vice City radio stations, is still remembered. On the show Area 53, Marvin Trill accuses the console of implanting subliminal messages in the brains of people in the 80s.
• The Domestibots sold in radio ads in Vice City, still exist. It seems they rebelled and escaped human oppression, and now live hidden in a remote camp. One of them calls in on the Area 53 show.
• A franchise of the Vice City radio station V-Rock is still around, and still uses the old V-Rock triangular logo and the vulture mascot. However, it's not a radio station anymore. It is now the V-Rock Hotel in Las Venturas.
• Love Fist, the fictional hard-rock band, seems to have split and disappeared from the public eye. They are still remembered though. On the radio station K-DST, the host Tommy wonders "Whatever happend to Love Fist?", and CJ hides the specs of the Caligula Casino behind a Love Fist poster. Jezz Torrent can be heard in a radio ad for the Epsilon Tract sect, crediting the group for aiding him in giving up drugs.
• Maps of Vice City can be found in the trash cans outside the Clucking Bell of Angel Pine.
• The Tiki statues that symbolised the hidden packages found all over Vice City is now the sign of a store in Los Santos.
• Candy Suxxx, the prostitute Tommy turned into a porn-star, is still making movies. Two of her movies can be found in the Las Venturas sex store. A picture of her can be seen on the box of "Return of the Anaconda", and she is mentioned by name on the box of "That Can't Be Legal!: 80's Pornstar's Finest Yo!". Also, pictures of her are found on the walls of some of CJ's safehouses, and there is a giant moving billboard of her in Old Venturas Strip.
• Avery Carrington, one of Tommy's business partners, is seen on a cowboy billboard in Old Venturas Strip.
• Vice City characters featured as playing cards in the poker machines of Las Venturas include Lance Vance (Jack of Spades), Candy Suxxx (Queen of Hearts), Ricardo Diaz (King of Hearts) and Sonny Forelli (King of Spades).

Gameplay features

Many new features have been included in the game. New vehicles include bicycles (which feature a new control scheme), trucks with detachable trailers, police motorcycles, operable tow trucks, combine harvesters, quad bikes, airplanes, Vertical Take-Off and Landing (VTOL) military jet fighters and trains.

New to the player's character is the ability to swim and climb up and over short walls and fences. For greater firepower, players can also wield dual firearms or perform a drive-by shooting with several gang members. The camera, fighting, and targeting controls were reworked with concepts from another Rockstar game, Manhunt, including improved target crosshairs that change colors from green to red to black, depending on the target's health.

Rockstar has emphasized the personalization of the main character. Clothing and accessories (which players can buy at some of the game's many clothing stores), haircuts and tattoos are now available for purchase by CJ, and have more effect on NPCs' reactions than the clothing in Vice City. Players must also ensure CJ eats to stay healthy, obtaining food from fast food restaurants such as Cluckin' Bell, street vendors, diners, bars and nightclubs. The balance of food and exercise has an effect on his muscularity and appearance. If CJ eats too much in a short period, he will get sick and throw up; if he overeats periodically, he'll get fat and move more slowly while on foot; if he fails to eat, he will become less muscular and, eventually, will lose health. San Andreas also boasts with the availability of skills in areas such as driving, firearms handling, stamina, and lung capacity that improve through use in the game. CJ may also learn three different styles of unarmed combat at the gyms in each of the game's three cities.

A new activity that continues the Grand Theft Auto series' tradition of controversy is home invasion [5]. Under cover of night, CJ is able to sneak into a residence, and cart off valuables or shake down the occupants.

Numerous minigames are also available for play in San Andreas, including basketball, pool, rhythm-based challenges involving dancing and hydraulic vehicles, and video game machines that pay homage to classic arcade games such as Gyruss, Defender and Gradius, in addition to the aforementioned methods of gambling.

Another improvement to the game is the AI. No longer can the player beat a pedestrian to death on a busy street in broad daylight and have bystanders not do anything: while most pedestrians will flee or duck for cover, some armed civilians and enemy gang members will attack CJ, and friendly gang members will shoot at and pursue his opponents. This would make the previously mentioned home invasions more difficult than one would expect because the occupants will resist, and in some cases, draw weapons.

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The in-game character creates graffiti. Rockstar's interpretation of the Nuestro Pueblo can be seen in the background.

The player can also voluntarily enable CJ to conduct dialogue with a number of pedestrians in the game, including drug dealers, prospective girlfriends, and fellow gang members. CJ's level of respect among his fellow Grove Street gang members varies according to his actions, as do his relationships with his girlfriends. Rockstar claims that CJ has a total of about 4200 lines of spoken dialogue.

A two-player cooperative mode has also been added for the PlayStation 2 and Xbox. Two-player icons are found in several key locations in the San Andreas world. Setting foot on one of these icons and pressing any button on a second controller starts up a series of special objectives similar to a "Rampage" in previous Grand Theft Auto games. Two human players will be able to go in a car or on foot. Both the players are required to remain on the same screen and within a reasonable proximity of one another.

Criticisms

Much like earlier Grand Theft Auto games, some PC users have strongly criticized Rockstar for not substantially reworking the console-based controls for the mouse/keyboard nature of computer gaming. Many users have discovered that a mission requires the user to press three or more keys at the same time, something the typical keyboard is simply unable to do. The best way to solve this problem is to use a Playstation 2-style USB joypad. This way, the console-based controls can easily be mapped to joypad buttons. The resulting gameplay is virtually identical to the PS2 version.

The most salient example of this issue is in the mandatory flying-oriented missions. In one of the most infamous missions in the series, the player must circle an airfield. Because the mission was designed for a console game, some PC users believe that three hands are typically required to complete the mission under a mouse/keyboard setup: one to control the camera, one to control the plane, and one to control commands such as landing gears, weapons, and precise flying controls. However, most people should be able to effectively fly a plane with the default controls after some practice, as they will rarely need to control the camera in mid-flight. Some will require the USB controller, however.

Another example is in the "Vertical Bird" mission, near the end of the game. The player must fly an extremely fast plane, aim and fire missiles at 4 ships and 3 armed aircraft, launch countermeasures, and then land the plane safely. Some are finding that, without another person to control one or more aspects of the plane, the mission is essentially impossible. While some have completed this mission by remapping the entire control scheme, some players have found that the effects of "key jam" - the inability of a keyboard to understand more than 3 simultaneous keys - preclude this as a viable option. However, this mission is often exaggerated in difficulty as well. It is fairly simple to take each of these targets individually - the difficulty occurs when you attempt to do them all at once and in the wrong order. In addition, launching countermeasures is usually an unneeded feature, as missiles are easy to shake off. The aiming of your weapons is also automatic provided you press a certain key, which locks on to the target. For the ships, you can switch to VTOL mode so as to hover while destroying them.

One mission, "Stowaway", is impossible on many PCs unless video quality is dropped to the lowest setting (640x480, 16-bit color), as the plane will otherwise always leave the runway well before you reach it. A similar problem also exists in missions that require dancing or lowrider car bouncing. Unless the resolution is set to minimum, the visual cues for when to move will be out of synch, so rendering success or failure a matter of luck.

Another performance issue with San Andreas is that the game engine is not efficient at producing smoke effects. As a result, the frame rate can drop dramatically when you are in a situation where fire is present. The most noticeable missions in which this is apparent are the mission where you have to rescue a girl from a burning building, and the final story mission of the game which takes place in a torched factory. This mission is made more frustrating as you are being attacked at the time.

A new criticism of San Andreas lies in its camera. Previous editions of GTA games had the camera 'slaved' to the player. In San Andreas, however, the camera is freeform. As such, many have complained that this new 'feature' makes much of the controls more complex than is required. There is an in-game cheat that allows players to drive-by through using the mouse camera, but doing so will harm your record in the in-game statistics. However, you can still fully complete the game. This is not a widely spread complaint, and the freeform camera is a very powerful tool once the player is used to using it, and some find it difficult to go back to the fixed camera of Vice City and GTA3 afterwards.

Although some gaming websites like GameSpot have praised the graphics in San Andreas, there is some criticism of the graphical aspect of the PC version of the game. The engine used for the game is essentially the same as the engine used for Grand Theft Auto III. When the game came out for PC in early June 2005, titles such as Half-Life 2 were already available. Compared to what was possible at that time, the game looked slightly dated, but nevertheless better than the console versions.

Character criticisms

Another criticized aspect of the game is Carl Johnson (the playable character) himself. In previous GTA games (except Vice City), the playable character was mute with little to no character development. As such, a person could kill random people in the game without compromising their own morals, stating that such actions would be done by the character anyway. In Vice City, the main character had dialogue and an established personality. Tommy Vercetti (the character) was portrayed as a brutal killer, being released from prison shortly before the game's events. However, Johnson is portrayed as a nice guy who's caught up with the wrong crowd; who only does what's necessary. Certainly, killing innocent people on the street isn't necessary. In essence, when one is playing the game (and not doing missions), anything one does cannot be credited to CJ, but to the player. CJ, however, is a much more fleshed-out character in general than Tommy Vercetti or the various mutes of the other GTA games.

As well, when Rockstar announced that CJ would be a black character, there was some disagreement amongst forums. Some argued that it racially stereotyped black people as criminals, while some just simply discriminated CJ for not being a white character. Despite this, CJ is arguably the most successful African-American protagonist in computer game history.

Leaks and the "Hot Coffee" scandal

Main article: Hot Coffee mod

File:Hot coffee.png

Hot Coffee mod enabled

Six days before its release, a leaked edition of the game, along with its manual and its cover, were published illegally, DVD images of which are still available via a number of P2P networks. Similarly, around the time of release of the game in the UK, a leaked PAL version of the game was published.

In mid-June 2005, a file modifying the game dubbed "Hot Coffee" was released. After installing the patch/mod, users can enter the main character's girlfriends' houses and engage in a crudely rendered, partially clothed sexual intercourse mini-game.

The name "Hot Coffee" refers to the way the released game alludes to the unseen sex scenes. In the unmodified game, the player takes his girlfriend to her front door and she asks him if he would like to come in for "some coffee." He agrees, and the camera stays outside, swaying back and forth a bit, while moaning sounds are heard.

In the middle of July 2005, the ESRB, as well as various politicians including Senator Hillary Clinton (D-NY), launched an investigation into the Hot Coffee mod. Initially, Rockstar released a statement that strongly suggested that the Hot Coffee content was entirely created by "hackers". However, this claim was undermined when codes were released on web forums for the PlayStation 2 Gameshark and AR Max cheating devices that demonstrated that the controversial content was, indeed, built into the console versions.

Confusing the issue is a recent version of the Hot Coffee mod which replaces the semi-nude girlfriends' textures with unclothed bitmaps that cannot be seen without the mod.

On July 20, 2005, San Andreas was rerated as "AO" (Adults Only) by the ESRB. Rockstar has halted production of all versions of San Andreas and plans to release a censored version of the game, which is intended to conform to the initial "M" rating, later this year. Due to the new AO rating, many major retail outlets, including Sears, Best Buy, Wal-Mart, EB Games, Target and GameStop, have pulled the PC and console versions of the game from their shelves.

On July 29, 2005, as a result of the newly-discovered scenes, the OFLC revoked the game's "MA15+" classification (the highest currently available for computer games in Australia), and changed the game's status to "RC" (Refused Classification) meaning that the original version could no longer be sold in Australia. The patched version was given an "MA15+" classification on September 12, 2005.

As of July 23, 2005, however, the PEGI rating for the game has remained unchanged, although it is likely that the PEGI sexual content label will be added to the game cover. The effect on San Andreas sales is as of yet unknown, but Take Two Interactive has revised its projected financial statement for the quarter to reflect a further anticipated loss.

On August 10, 2005, Rockstar Games officially released a patch for San Andreas. Nicknamed the "Cold Coffee Patch" by some, the patch fixed many performance issues and bugs. However, the most major addition was that the patch disabled the controversial "Hot Coffee" scenes, even if the "Hot Coffee" mod was reinstalled.

The game has since been re-released with the "Hot Coffee" scenes removed (Grand Theft Auto:San Andreas 2.0), allowing the game to return to its "M" rating. However, the "Hot Coffee" mod dashed financial expectations for TakeTwo Games, which lost $28.8 million in the 3rd quarter of 2005 because of the rerating.

Myths and Easter eggs

San Andreas is distinct from the first two PlayStation 2 GTA games in its easter eggs and player-propagated myths. Shortly after the release of the game, several message boards, and one very enthusiastic member of Neoseeker.com (DMC24guy), sprouted claims of alleged Bigfoot sightings, and several alleged photographs were released, all of which have been proven to be either faked or the result of mistaken identity by his leading critic (The Assassin). After the initial claim, many other people came to its defense, and many fan communities were divided on the claim's truth. Then a few months after the controversy died down, DMC24guy began to make new claims that The Assassin was his accomplice all along. This claim was later proven to be false after The Assassin posted a screen shot of a private message from DMC24guy, admitting that The Assassin infact had nothing to do with creating the Bigfoot Saga. However just recently (October 2005) DMC24guy has made yet more claims. This time he says that he IS infact The Assassin himself. Unfortunately for DMC24guy, The Assassin posted ANOTHER screen shot of a private message which totally discredits DMC24guy's claims. DMC24guy was infact asking The Assassin to help him concoct another "saga" on Neoseeker.com in an attempt to make himself known to the gaming world even more so. However, this time the chances of succeeding are quiet slim obviously.

File:GTASA MysteriousSanAndreasMap.jpg

The mysterious map

There is a "restricted area" in the desert at the Area 69 military base, which is a parody of the real world Area 51. This led to more speculation in the fan community about UFOs and aliens. A large map of San Andreas, found in Mike Toreno's home and in a diner called the "Lil Probe Inn", has markers scattered randomly across the state. Fans initially thought the map was a key to the UFO appearances; however, Rockstar claims the map means nothing.

The single obvious and confirmable presence of living extraterrestrials in the game comes during the mission "Stowaway", in the form of a group of "Men in Black". Encountered onboard of a cargo plane, these black-suited characters (clearly based on a popular urban legend/UFO conspiracy "theory") proceed to attack the player and shout out numerous utterances signifying their contempt for the inferior human race ("Carbon-based buffoon", "You evolved from shrews!" and more).

Even though there seem to be no UFOs near the Area 69 besides the fake one in the "Lil Probe Inn", you can find an easter egg to the northwest near the El Castillo del Diablo. There is a hole between some rocks that has 6 bodybags inside it with a Bobcat parked near it.

Another rumor, the so-called ghost cars, brought much hope to the fan base. Ghost cars are cars that spawn in a regular position, shortly operate by themselves, and have damage that cannot be repaired, unlike normal cars. There is also a "ghost car" in the remote Back o Beyond region which rolls downhill without any visible driver. Coincidentally, the location of the ghost cars coincides with one of the markers on the Toreno map. An internet user called "NullZilla" points out that the ghost cars are just normal parked cars that roll down hills because their spawn-point is on a slope or steep hill, supposedly being nothing more than a glitch.

[*]Several planes crash occasionally throughout San Andreas, which disappear seconds after the crash. One that occurs most often is a crash near the VINEWOOD sign.

Weeks after the myths had begun, and search teams formed, an e-mail message THIS LINK IS DEAD!!! was received from "Mouthoff@rockstargames.com" and posted on several fan forums. Many questioned the authenticity of the letter, but upon further inspection, it did indeed seem to be from Rockstar Games.

After the initial letter, it is assumed that the address received many letters from fans, as it soon switched to an automated response system. The first automated return letters had a minor typo in it which led many fans to believe it was not an official Rockstar employee. Shortly after these claims were made the address owner soon issued a new return letter that validated new claims, but denied some of the ones in previous letters. This pattern continued, and some speculate that it is just a plot of Rockstar to create more publicity among the fan community.

The most important claim of the letter was that Bigfoot was false, and is not present in the game. Having been the shining light of the many search teams, many fans were dismayed. However, the letter mentioned that there was something in the woods.

Many rumours of a "piggsy" (from Rockstar's Manhunt) or Leatherface-type character (from The Texas Chainsaw Massacre) soon sprung up. Many of these claims were unsupported by video or picture evidence, and soon lost credibility with the community. The most popular picture of a masked man holding a chainsaw in one hand turned out to be nothing more than a picture of the main character wearing a gimp suit and a hockey mask.

The letters also detailed the idea of UFO landings in the game's desert. Though this is often thought to be plausible by fans, no reports or claims have been made. There are also flying orbs that frequent the San Andreas skies. Many fans claim these to be Rockstar's implementation of UFOs, while others point out a much more terrestrial explanation: Rockstar used the same style to animate commercial air traffic in Vice City (bright lights, contrails, etc) but forgot to modify the names of the aircraft. This leads to mass-less 'airplanes', with active running lights, flying in the sky. Rockstar has not said anything about the orbs, and its intentions with them are still unclear.

Some fans soon found objects within the game's textures, such as deer and what they claim to be dinosaur skins. This would support one of the early claims that fans made in the very beginning of the game, of animals in the woods and an appearance of a dinosaur. Oddly enough, with the disproof of Bigfoot, many of these people took back their claims, saying that they may have been mistaken.

There are also the commonplace Rockstar Easter eggs, such as hits at competitor games, or the classic signs. Billboards in Los Santos are made to look like the cover for the True Crime game and refer to the game as trash. Most easter eggs appear in San Fierro, mostly dealing with the Golden Gate inspired bridge and the video game and movie series Resident Evil. These and other myths in the game have brought a new level of life to the GTA games. Many fans have commented on the new level of reality of the game. Currently, many search parties have websites with further information.

Like all 3D GTA games, San Andreas contains an "underworld", an in-game limbo popularly dubbed "Oblivion", or "Blue Hell", though it is not always blue. The name Hell part is derived from the fact that if you go in unprepared, you will most likely find yourself falling for some time before you reappear above the city. Aside from Blue Hell, there is the interior hell. Many unused and cutscene only interiors can be found here, such an incomplete model of Liberty City from Grand Theft Auto III, and secret interior spaces. The partial Liberty City model is used in the mission "St. Mark's Bistro," where CJ flies back to Liberty City to do a hit for Salvatore Leone. Only a small portion is solid though. The interiors for the girlfriend's houses can be found there also. Much like Liberty City, many cutscene and unused interiors have unsolid areas also.

Many in-game pedestrians die in what seem to be bizarre suicides, although these may be due to oversights in the scripting of the pedestrians' movement rather than intentional Easter eggs. For example, photographer NPCs may take pictures and then drown themselves. In what some call a hint at DMA's Lemmings, pedestrians will sometimes appear on a ledge and walk off to their deaths.

A corporate building called "ZomboTech" in San Fierro is a joking reference to the Umbrella Corporation from the Resident Evil franchise. This has started unconfirmed rumors of zombies late at night in San Fierro. Another popular but unconfirmed myth is that CJ's mother and other ghosts may appear in photos taken in graveyards. Though no ghosts have been proven to exist in the game, there are "ghostly" occurrences. For example, the cemetery in Los Santos mysteriously becomes covered in graffiti at night. The graffiti ("Grove Street 4 Life") disappears once the sun comes up.

The January 2005 issue of Electronic Gaming Monthly included a story on the San Andreas rumors. The CEO of Rockstar, Terry Donovan, denied the existence of Bigfoot: "There is no Bigfoot, just like in real life." Rockstar also denied the existence of CJ's mother's ghost, as well as miscellaneous rumors. In the next issue of EGM, a subscriber sent in a photograph of such a mythical creature appearing on his game in the countryside. The magazine called the creature a Yeti instead of Bigfoot.

Following the Program website and related "clues", players have been looking over San Andreas for the Epsilon cult and its meeting locations. Epsilon appears to be closely modelled on the Church of Scientology. Players have found pedestrians who talk about Kifflom (the Epsilon Program's "deity") in San Andreas, such as a barber and backpackers. It has yet to be proven that these comments are intended for any purpose other than adding flavor to pedestrian dialogue but even one of your girlfriends from San Fierro, Katie, a nurse obsessed with death who practices martial arts, refers to the group on one the many random comments when you take her out for a ride/walk by saying: "Those Epsilon nut-jobs freak me out". Epsilon has scientifically ridiculous beliefs, such as "The World is 157 years old", and hidden information that one can only read if one pays money to the Epsilon Group (despite the fact that the "Epsilon Tract" has not even been written yet), popular celebrity endorsements (Jezz Torrent claiming the Group aided him in giving up drugs), an openly shameless leader. You can also hear about the Epsilon Group in the WCTR radio in of the Entertaining America with Lazlow shows in which he interviews Epsilon's founder, Chris Fromage, who refers Kifflom as well.

And one of the biggest easter eggs in the game is located on top of the Gant Bridge in San Fierro which is based on the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. On the top beam located on the south side of the bridge is a sign that says 'There are no Easter Eggs up here. Go away.'.

Soundtrack

Main article: Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas soundtrack

With the Grand Theft Auto series, the soundtrack always plays a large part in the game. The tunes set the theme, and the theme is the early 1990s on the West Coast. The standalone version of the soundtrack was released on November 23, 2004. "The Introduction" DVD was included along with the soundtrack displaying what happened to CJ and the others before the game starts.

Characters

Main article: List of characters in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas

See also

• List of AO rated computer and video games

External links

Other Wiki websites

• Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas on the Gameinfo Wiki

Official pages

• Official San Andreas site

Teaser sites

• Epsilon Program - Teaser site 1 - Scientology or Epsilon Team parody
• Maccer.net - Teaser site 2
• Cluckin Bell Happy Chicken - Teaser site 3 - Taco Bell/KFC parody
• FearItDoIt.com - Teaser site 4 - self-help/inversion therapy parody
• eXsorbeo.com - Teaser site 5 - Game Boy parody
• Forgotten Legends of West Coast Rap - Teaser site 6 - covers Madd Dogg's fictitious record label, Blastin Fools Records; also covers OG Loc and Forth Right MC

Reviews

• San Andreas PC reviews on GameRankings
• San Andreas PS2 reviews on GameRankings
• San Andreas Xbox reviews on GameRankings

Fan sites

• GTASanAndreas.net - Part of the GTA Network
• GTA Domain
• Grand Theft Auto: SA
• The GTA Place
• GTA Warehouse
• PlanetGTA
• GTA-SanAndreas.com
• San Andreas Heaven
• The GTA Underground
• GTA King

Modding sites

• GTA Garage - Part of the GTA Network
• GTAGaming
• GTASAMods.com
• GTA Projects

Cheat codes

• Playstation 2 version
• Xbox version
• PC version

Other resources

• Five-Star Confirmation List
• GameFAQs page on San Andreas
• Rating change
• Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas at MobyGames