I sent this to three different R* inboxes.

[BioclocK]

<sup>This is about San Andreas.

From one avid fan to any dedicated creator willing to listen.
In no way do I think I am unique in my actions. Feel free to email me back; in fact, I'd much appreciate it.

I've been here for as long as my guardians have allowed me to be (in this case, since the age of 11.) That's eight years of enjoying your series. Eight years of loving what you've put out. Of those eight years, the last couple have been...lacking.

Don't get me wrong, I still enjoy what you people do, only the extent to which I enjoy it is less. Every company has to move with the ebb of the industry. Granted, you've been doing that marvelously. I don't take issue with the direction you're going; what irks me is what you've picked up and subsequently left behind on the way.

Grand Theft Auto III was a masterpiece of technological splendor. Its sequel only improved. Then one of you put down your crack pipe and said, “I have so many good ideas, I could shit them for a week.” He was the man who sparked the creation of one of the greatest video games in history [to date], San Andreas. It was beautiful. It was nearly perfect.
Then someone dropped their pants and shit on everyone's head.

Maybe that's a bit harsh...but you understand, right? At least one of you should. The leap from SA to IV was huge and it spanned a chasm wider than the Grand Canyon...That's the problem. Within that crevasse lies another gem. A diamond in the rough. You skipped over it to produce something that was, yes, amazing, but lacking in some of the most important aspects.
You didn't sell out; that's stupid. You trucked ahead successfully with a different, more modern style. I like that. Adventurous I can respect, and I do. Millionaires you all are, and for good reason. Still I'm left with an empty feeling. Mostly because I can't turn Niko into an overstimulated sack of testosterone. Nor can I dress him up in a wide variety of brand clothes. I can't turn the pedestrians into Elvis Presley. No, these days, I can hardly laugh.
Grand Theft Auto used to be a silly bunch of games about gangsters who drive over old ladies and jump from airplanes. Grand Theft Auto 4 is about a European immigrant who kills people, and it's not funny for a second.

Sure, your expansion afforded several opportunities that resembled the older title(s), but there were still glaring differences, leering at me from my television screen.
I'm not going to go into detail about the things I'm sure you've heard a million times. Sepia wash, your seemingly random decision about the strength of the foliage, etc...while all great arguments, There is one thing that stops IV dead: Atmosphere.
There are a lot of gameplay functions I miss, little things that, as a whole, prove to be very important. It's much less amusing in favour of gritty distaste, remorse, and guilt. And there's like five easter eggs, seriously, cut it out.
It's stupid of me to even speak but...I miss San An. A lot. I even like the graphics better.
Well, that's all. I hope you cared enough to at least read it.
Thanks for being an amazing company, and continuing to do so.

- Loyal fan.

P.S. Keep the ragdoll physics. That's like, the only major improvement for me.</sup>
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Honestly...who else but me would be overjoyed if they released another game in the San Andreas style?
 
Reality check: I know it's never going to happen. I can try, though.

[kaneda]

Personally I tend to disagree with your point of view. San An, for mine anyway, was probably the worst of the series. GTA IV had some fundamental flaws, but it was solid, linear game. San Andreas suffered from trying to pack too much in. Half the stuff in SA (clothes, hunger, tattoos, etc) had a novelty element initially, but wound up either being disregarded or became a nuisance for the player.

"You need these clothes to do this mission!"

"...eh?"

I'd prefer to see effort on the part of R* put into making the game world a scooch more immersive. I detailed some of the stuff I'd like to see in a post made shortly after IV's release - more relevance to the time of day, making it more difficult to attain cash, etc. Turning GTA into a half-assed RPG though just doesn't suit the type of game it is. GTA IV did well to go back to basics, making it very much like GTA III (which I'm guessing was the point) - that's the kind of foundation GTA was built upon - no need to deck it out any further.

P.S. I would, however, like to see a more elaborate mission structure. Go here, talk to him, drive there, shoot them, mission complete - that's gettin a little old.

P.P.S On the email - very well written piece of constructive criticism. I hope you hear something back, at the very least for your effort.

[Noah]

Yeah, I wanna be black again 

[Xtramus]

I have not played IV a lot myself but I personally do not consider San An to be the pinnacle of the GTA series (much alike kaneda; his criticism on the overwhelming amount of options does not make it feel like GTA in the way III and VC did).

However, from the videos I've seen and the little of bit of gaming I actually did in IV it seemed to me the physics and graphics were nothing like its predecessors; I myself loved the more "cartoonish" way III, VC and SA looked and it's sometimes strange, glitchy gameplay; it gave me the feeling I was playing a game instead of a simulation.

I must however say your letter looked quite well and I hope you atleast get a response.

[Cookie]

Games nowadays are trying too hard to look and feel realistic. Most of the time, like GTA, it just makes them worse and boring. I remember when i first played SA, it thought it was incredibly realistic. I would also like to see another GTA made with the San Andreas engine, but i highly doubt it will ever happen.

[kaneda]

I thought the loss of 'cartoonish' quality in GTA IV wasn't all that bad. The only problem is it no longer fit the satirical aspect of GTA. I can imagine it's tough for game producers to find the right balance in order to satisfy all the demographics that a game like GTA would carry.

I suppose all we can hope for is that R* do the best they can. They certainly delivered that with IV.

[Cookie]

I kinda said it wrong. In IV it seems kind of... rushed, and not made nice to play. When you turn in a vehicle it just slides, when you backflip it fucks up etc. Its just not nice to play.
In previous GTA games and SA the vehicle are nice to drive etc.
But thats my opinion.

[BioclocK]

I kinda said it wrong. In IV it seems kind of... rushed, and not made nice to play. When you turn in a vehicle it just slides, when you backflip it fucks up etc. Its just not nice to play.
In previous GTA games and SA the vehicle are nice to drive etc.
But thats my opinion.

The other aspect I declined to mention was the delicious span of codes that you could input to enhance your experience. There are, what, ten cars, one helicopter in the original IV (without expansion)? As well, the weapon sets were much less fun and a LOT less elaborate.

Kaneda, I'll agree with you about the hunger and the change outfit requirement for some of the missions. I'll even add that increasing your swimming skill for that WuZiMu mission was extremely bothersome. For me, though, I love just about everything in SA and I would kill for another installment of the same type.