

DJ Pooh, who co-wrote the screenplay for the movie "Friday" and who has produced albums for LL Cool J and Ice Cube, co-wrote the game script.

The dialogue between CJ and his crew is raw but convincing. If "Vice City" was likened to an interactive version of "Scarface," consider "San Andreas" the closest thing to starring in "Boyz N the Hood." Gamers play as Carl "CJ" Johnson, a young man who returns to the slums to avenge his mother's murder with the help of his old gang. Some missions take place in the countryside between each of these three metropolises. While 2002's "Grand Theft Auto: Vice City" took place in a Miami-like town in the 1980s, "San Andreas" is all about the grittier '90s, and involves three fictitious cities: Los Santos (based on Los Angeles) San Fierro (San Francisco) and Las Venturas (Las Vegas).

"Grand Theft Auto" games are also known for their exceptional soundtracks players can toggle between many radio stations in every car, each playing a different kind of music. You can also carjack any vehicle in the game, but doing so in front of a police officer results in a cat-and-mouse chase throughout the neighborhood. "Grand Theft Auto" players must run, gun and drive through a bustling city to perform missions such as knocking off a mob boss or preventing a truckload of ammunition from reaching its destination. The game isn't for everyone because of its graphic violence and coarse language, but mature fans of this 32 million-unit-selling franchise who want to know if this sequel lives up to its hype, the answer is a resounding yes.
