Game is good but has aged a bit. The opening is very slow, but the game gets really good once you get past that.
My main issues are the lack of checkpoints, the driving being kind of wonky, and how some missions start from a phone call that you can't start on your own, making you do the mission whether you want to or not, which can be made worse if you don't have full health or much ammo.
Playing on PC the port is also really bad, with one of the endings being broken unless you change your display settings to 1280 x 720 at 60hz, which is insane.
The soundtrack that was made for this game is great but the actual licensed song list is a mixed bag, the Rock station is among the best stations in any GTA, but the rest of the stations are really lacking, especially the classic hip hop station. Where are the classic East Coast rappers like Biggie, Run DMC, Wu Tang, Beastie Boys, Boogie Down Productions, etc, etc?
The story is the highlight of the game and it is something great for a GTA game but I will say that the serious story and the over the top setting of GTA can get sort of in the way of each other. For a prime example one pivotal scene focuses on the Statue of Liberty, or the Statue of Happiness as it is called in this game, as a sort of dark theme of the American Dream being just that a dream, but the statue in this game is Hillary Clinton holding a Hot Coffee cup as a shot fired at Clinton for trying to get San Andreas banned, which really weakens the impact of the scene. The story can also feel a little cluttered at times, with some missions feeling almost like their barely attached, a prime example being the character Bernie's missions, at least one of which isn't even required to beat the game.
All in all I recommend the game but just be aware it has aged a bit more than people make it out to be, and I don't see how many claim it to be the "Most Underrated GTA" when the Stories games exist and this is one of the highest rated games of all time.
My main issues are the lack of checkpoints, the driving being kind of wonky, and how some missions start from a phone call that you can't start on your own, making you do the mission whether you want to or not, which can be made worse if you don't have full health or much ammo.
Playing on PC the port is also really bad, with one of the endings being broken unless you change your display settings to 1280 x 720 at 60hz, which is insane.
The soundtrack that was made for this game is great but the actual licensed song list is a mixed bag, the Rock station is among the best stations in any GTA, but the rest of the stations are really lacking, especially the classic hip hop station. Where are the classic East Coast rappers like Biggie, Run DMC, Wu Tang, Beastie Boys, Boogie Down Productions, etc, etc?
The story is the highlight of the game and it is something great for a GTA game but I will say that the serious story and the over the top setting of GTA can get sort of in the way of each other. For a prime example one pivotal scene focuses on the Statue of Liberty, or the Statue of Happiness as it is called in this game, as a sort of dark theme of the American Dream being just that a dream, but the statue in this game is Hillary Clinton holding a Hot Coffee cup as a shot fired at Clinton for trying to get San Andreas banned, which really weakens the impact of the scene. The story can also feel a little cluttered at times, with some missions feeling almost like their barely attached, a prime example being the character Bernie's missions, at least one of which isn't even required to beat the game.
All in all I recommend the game but just be aware it has aged a bit more than people make it out to be, and I don't see how many claim it to be the "Most Underrated GTA" when the Stories games exist and this is one of the highest rated games of all time.