Unanswerable Question #1

I’m almost done with Grand Theft Auto:San Andreas (I think). It’s been a year+ long playing game. I’d put it down, pick it up, put it down in disgust, pick it up with rage again and all the while my friend beat it 7 months ago no problem. He loves the game, he loves the plot, I love to drive around as fast as I can and see how long I can live through 5 stars (6 stars once).

Anyway, I don’t know how familiar you are with GTA:SA but when you get in a car and drive around, you suddenly see other cars of your own type. Like, if you see a single ultra rare Ferrari knock-off and steal it, suddenly (it seems to me) that you start seeing a van, a Ferrari, a truck, a Ferrari, a motorcycle and a Ferrari. So what right?

I start thinking, “hmm I wonder if this is a technical limitation or if it’s social commentary?” That is, if you’re in a Van model, the Playstation2 hardware would be eased to just load more models of that type. Or perhaps you are just traveling faster in a “load Vans in this section of the city at this time”. You see more cars of that type because you are seeing more cars period. That’d be the technical answer but it could be social commentary. I mean, if you know someone who just bought a Saturn Ion, suddenly you see them everywhere right?

Unanswerable Question #2

James Woods does the voice acting in GTA:SA and he gives a damn good performance. Along with The Simpons camoes I wonder if he intentionally stays out of the mainstream acting biz or if he just refuses to play a wimpy sitcom role. He seems very self-aware in his jobs he picks (or doesn’t pick). For example, in one GTA mission you have to sneak onto a navy ship.

[CJ is near the amphibious assault ship.]
TORENO (via the earpiece): Sneak in the back without being seen. Once you’re on the inside, I cannot help you.
CJ: Well, can you help me now?
TORENO: Oh, well, no. Actually, no.

The joke is, CJ (the player) is in a videogame so if someone says “I’ll tell you later” usually the character just takes it as the truth and moves on. Toreno (James Woods) seems to break the 4th wall and provide no other excuse for why he can’t help the player now instead of waiting until the player is inside the ship.

I wonder if James Woods likes being outside of the norm, breaking the 4th wall and generally being an oddity. By his own design or by market demand?

Unanswerable Question #3

In San Andreas, Los Santos is Los Angelas. San Fierro is San Francisco. Las Venturas is Las Vegas. A car by the name of Buffalo is obviously a Mustang. Were they unable to secure rights for the real names or is using the real names less tongue-in-cheek and more lame?