9/1/2007 - GTA: San Andreas (2 Videos)

Rockstar really started a revolution in video gaming when they developed Grand Theft Auto III as the first sandbox video game. Before the Playstation 2, there simply was not enough horsepower or storage to contain a virtual world the size and scope of Liberty City, where you can use your human character to unleash havoc upon its citizens in ways that you would never dream of doing in real life. That kind of freedom to cause mayhem in a realistic environment is the hallmark of the Grand Theft Auto games and has been copied numerous times by other developers with often mediocre results.

The last Playstation 2 game of the series, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas really elevated the series by giving you an entire state to play in as opposed to just a single city. They also gave your character the ability to develop himself physically (by exercising) and socially (by dating), just to make it all that much realistic. The coolest addition, in my opinion, was the ability to ride a bicycle. Sure, it may sound like small potatoes compared to carjacking a Porsche, but riding a bike was surprisingly fun. I just wish I could do some of the cool stunts displayed in this video:



Of course, if you want to have total freedom in the game and alter its realism, you can mod it. Like that Back to the Future mod I featured in an earlier blog entry, you can do a lot with the PC version of the game. One of the coolest mods I've seen is this Superman mod, where your character is replaced by none other than the Man of Steel himself. I really like the inclusion of the John Williams score in this vid. Ironically, this may just be the best Superman video game ever made.