The Amazing Year 1992

The original Grand Theft Auto 3 (yeah, it was a sequel, but it was in many ways a whole new game that set the stage for many, many imitators) was set roughly in the modern era of Liberty City, where mobsters and crooked cops ruled the streets and a nameless thug—you—could rise to the level of America's Most Wanted. Next, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City (both games available, by the way, in the Xbox® Grand Theft Auto Double Pack) took an almost identical formula and stuck it in a location based on mid-1980s Miami, and suddenly everything was different. The music was … well, worse; the style was distinctly Miami Vice; and Rockstar Games realized that instant nostalgia (along with excellent design and near-limitless missions) could move an awful lot of games. And now, with Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas™, Rockstar has created the first nineties nostalgia game, with not one but three cities steeped in that bygone era when there was only one Gulf War, Ice Cube was first hitting as a solo artist, and the gang members of old had become full-on gangstas. If, like me, you were just getting out of high school then, you will A)feel incredibly old when you realize that was thirteen years ago, and B) find yourself awash in memories of that not-so-bygone era.

Show Your Colors
Unlike the earlier games, costume changes are almost as critical as the cars you drive inSan Andreas. The costumes in this case are straight out of … well, not Compton, but close. You get do-rags that tie in the front, button-up shirts that have only been buttoned at the top (which boost your sex appeal even as they show less skin), and, most importantly, you wear colors specific to the Grove Street O.G. gang—in this case, green. Use color-coded clothing as an indicator of who on the streets needs roughing up, and who is most likely to attack you on sight.

Wearing colors can lead to drive-bys.

Strap On, C.J., Strap On
The choice of weapons couldn't be more appropriate for gangland violence in the early nineties. More importantly, certain weapon types—in this case, machine guns—let you take part in that popular gang-related pastime, the drive-by. Drive-bys are sometimes built into the missions, and in those cases you usually have several peeps with you to help. To take part yourself, hit the white or black button to get a side view from the car, andthen press the B button to shoot. It's not easy, but hey, you are supposed to be driving, too. The cars you drive are also era-appropriate, from the somewhat boxy street sedans that your friends drive to the lowriders with trick bouncin' suspensions (which youenter in special lowrider bounce competitions—think Dance Dance Revolution Ultramix™ with cars).

Los Venturas, where the (pseudo-)Harley is king.

G Thangs, Baby
As in Vice City, the biggest thing you notice is the soundtrack, which, as one would guess, features not only a fantastic selection of early nineties hip-hop, rock, and more, but also some of the funniest DJs you're likely to hear in a game or in real life.

Playback is your location on the Los Santos dial for classic hip-hop, and features the voice of the one and only Chuck D (who, in real life, also hosts a show on Air America radio). Here's where youhear the origins of much modern music, including Big Daddy Kane, Public Enemy, and my personal favorite, Biz Markie.

Radio Los Santos is a straight-up 1990s hip-hop station, hosted by DJ Julio G. Here's where you'll find many artists produced by Dr. Dre, including Dre himself on "Nuthin' But a 'G' Thang," Ice Cube's "It Was a Good Day," and 2 Pac's "I Don't Give a F—k."

Get funked up beyond all recognition with Bounce FM, where somehow Rockstar managed to snag George Clinton himself to play DJ Funktipus. If you want Rick James, Cameo, Kool & the Gang, and the Gap Band, this is the place to find it. Clinton himself also provides a track, as well as some brilliant commentary.

What's more nineties than Guns N' Roses? The funny thing is, W. Axl Rose plays DJ Tommy "The Nightmare" Smith on KDSTclassic rock, but the station doesn't play any G n' R (that honor goes to the alternative station in Los Santos). Axl spins discs by KISS, Creedence, The Who, and Billy Idol. Watch out for America's "Horse with No Name;" frankly, that song's just been done to death. It's beating a dead horse, really it is. Seriously. Please, someone destroy it.

If you love to wear black, smoke filterless cigarettes, and dance like a robot, you're going to love SFUR, the House music station hosted by Lloyd Floyd as DJ Hans Oberlander. SFUR features Ce Ce Rogers, The Todd Terry Project, and Mr. Fingers, among others. To my dismay, I don't recognize any of the names on the playlist, so let's move on. Just never got into House.

KJAH Radio West is the spot on the dial for—you guessed it—dub and reggae. KJAH features two DJs, played by "Sly" Dunbar and "Robbie" Shakespeare, and spins island-friendly tracks by Dennis Brown, the Maytals, Shabba Ranks, and more. Just remember: winners don't use drugs.

San Andreas or an Ice Cube video? You decide!

Maybe the most nineties-esque of the Los Santos stations is CSR 103:9 the station that plays contemporary soul music from the era. If it was dominating Top 40 playlists in the early part of the last decade, it's here, hosted by the "Biv" in Bell Biv Devoe, Michael Bivins (as DJ Philip "PM" Michaels). Dig yourself some En Vogue, Bobby Brown, Bivins' old group, and Boyz II Men, among others.

The driving sounds of Radio: X are what "alternative" was before "alternative" meant "whatever MTV says is 'alternative.'" If, like me, you came of age during the grunge years when everyone in Seattle had a band, this station hosted by DJ Sage (Jodie Shawback) is pure heaven—or another reminder of how old you are. Go to Radio: X for Guns N' Roses (knew they'd turn up somewhere), L7, Soundgarden, Jane's Addiction, Alice In Chains, Living Colour, and Helmet. Don't ask me how Depeche Mode got in there.

We here at Xbox.com miss the talents of the esteemed Scott McGough, formerly of "Scott Land," but Scott, wherever you are,Master Sounds 98.3 is the San Andreasradio station designed with you in mind—nothing but pure soul classics, morning, noon, and night. Were Scott still with us and not lost somewhere in the wilderness of northern California, he'd be grooving to the likes of James Brown ("The Payback" and "Funky President," not the overused "I Feel Good"), Charles Wright's "Express Yourself," The Chakachas' "Jungle Fever," and, of course, War's "Low Rider."

With my decidedly non-Compton upbringing, I found myself tuning back to K Rose more often than I'd like to admit. DJ Mary-Beth Maybell (Riette Burdick) is, for my money, the funniest of the DJs (she's gone through nine ex-husbands, all of whom she also buried) and plays the music of my childhood, so sue me. Even if you're not a country fan, this is quality stuff—Jerry Reed's "Amos Moses," Hank Williams Sr., Patsy Cline, Willie Nelson, and Whitey Shafer's "All My Exes Live In Texas." Just try not to sing along with that one.

And while it's not music, WCTR Talk Radio is the funniest thing this side of Mary-Beth Maybell's marital body count. This station is packed with multiple shows and various hosts, but the thing that earns the station its true nineties pedigree is the presence of Wil Wheaton—Wesley Crusher, of course—as newscaster Richard Burns. Who can forget where they were when young Wesley went to Starfleet Academy and ended up—wait, sorry, that has nothing to do with GTA.

The music sets the mood inGrand Theft Auto: San Andreas, so hop around the dial for the station that suits your preferences. You'll remember what you were doing way back when that song you're playing was on the top of the charts. And yes, you are that old.

By Cory Herndon