Three years ago, “Grand Theft Auto 3” was released for the Play Station 2 and it started a revolution in gaming. The change in camera angles from top down into third person was enough to send the game to game of the year.

A year later, Rockstar Games came out with the “Grand Theft Auto: Vice City”, which once again sold millions of copies and was game of the year.

Now, “Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas” is released and, for many gaming fans, it couldn’t come soon enough.

The hero, CJ, is well-rounded compared to the guy from GTA3, but Rockstar has had three years to improve this.

There have been new features added to “Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas.” Now, players have to eat in order to stay alive and exercise to gain muscle. The aim of the newer versions of the GTA series is to make the experience of the game as real as possible.

By the end of the game, everyone’s CJ will be physically and financially different depending on the way each person played the game. Each character is custom-designed by the players, from what they eat to how they dress and exercise.

There are new vehicles and weapons to choose from. Players can use a bike to get from one place to another or they could commit Grand Theft Auto and steal any vehicle he likes.

“Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas” has a huge radio system featured in it. With over 10 radio stations, the average player could play through most of the game without hearing the same part twice. That is what they want you to think at least. After hearing the talk stations for the third or fourth time, you start to get bored.

By the time the stations get boring, you should be focusing on your missions at hand anyways because they should be hard by that point. There is something strangely eerie about doing a drive-by while listening to Mexican Festival music.

Violence is a key issue for players and adversaries of GTA. Part of the game includes shoot-outs with cops and killing prostitutes. Adversaries complained about the “needless violence,” but Rockstar specifically made the game for PS2, traditionally a system preferred by older gamers over Nintendo, and put a 17 and over rating on it, so that younger and more impressionable players wouldn’t have easy access to the game.

The plot of this game is different than the previous two. Players can make CJ a gang member if they wish. That’s a change from the mafia themes of GTA 3 and Vice City. It is interesting from the start, because players have rival gangs that will shoot at them or attack them on sight.

Players don’t have to do all of the gang missions if they don’t want to. They can become a vigilante who helps out the police, or a taxi driver who just needs a little extra dough, and with enough effort and hard work, they can even become a pimp.

More could have been done to improve graphics, and GTA still has no multiple player abilities. Because of this, although GTA is a fun and challenging play, it doesn’t deserve the game of the year award.