Say what you like about GTA SA but....

DAMN! if its not a TON of FUN!

I was playing from 5pm till 2am yesterday and I have already had this game a month. I have been very slowly and meticulously working my way through it, making the missions and storyline last as long as possible since the missions are so damn sweet they need to be savoured.

Last night I did all the flying lessons and the Toreno missions. I have deliberately avoided reading walkthroughs and just tried and retried till I acheive things. Its extremely rewarding and the most fun I have had in a PC game for ages.

Its a great shame that the sex and profanity content is the only thing people want to focus on because its actually a pretty small part of the game if you dont focus on it. In fact its possible to avoid 90% of it if you chose to do so, or chase it if you chose that.... but I dont want to focus on it all in writing this.

I want to say that the missions are just awesome. The excitement and variety of the later missions in Las Venturas are just mind blowing. I dont want to ruin any storylines for anyone reading who hasnt got that far yet but suffice to say its so very worth your trouble to get there in so many ways

The GTA/SA engine could easily be used for so many other things. When doing some of the later flight missions that are just zany fun and imaginative excitement I couldnt help thinking how well a James Bond game could be made using this engine. Every single thing is in place for a highly detailed Bond type campain featuring all the major stunt set pieces from boats to planes and beyond that feature in the best Bond stories.

Ive played a LOT of PC games at 39 y/o and GTA/SA is up there with the best games I have ever played. When I finally finish the campaign Im going to start again immediately and try some different things. Thats the real strength of the whole game is there are so many way to achieve everything that often I will save before a mission, do it and even if I succeed I will do it again just to see if another idea will work.

Such props to Rockstar despite the bad press, this is one of the best games ever imho! Excitement, action, story, shooting, driving, flying, boating, gambling, running, swimming... etc etc etc... Its got it all and more... just when you think you have seen it all, you come across something new.. Im in awe. If MMO developers could get back to this formulea of player centric fun and enjoyment our industry would be alot better for it.