“Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas” was officially released in 2004 (same year Spider-Man 2 came out) on PlayStation 2. It received universal acclaim from critics and gamers alike. The Xbox version was released in 2005. Rockstar Games is working on the highly anticipated “Grand Theft Auto VI.” It’ll be released in 2025 on PlayStation 5 & Xbox Series X. Before sixth game comes out, I wanna share my thoughts on my personal favorite GTA game.
This review contains no crucial SPOILERS.
Rich & Poor Qualities
Rich: Young Maylay, Samuel L. Jackson, Faizon Love (Big Worm from Friday) & Clifton Powell all did an excellent job for their respective voiceover performances.
Other Cast Members such as James Woods, Peter Fonda, Ice-T, Chris Penn, David Cross, Charlie Murphy & Frank Vincent all did a decent job for their respective voiceover performances.
Dan & Sam Houser both did a superb job writing a cohesive story revolving around Carl “CJ” Johnson. A darn shame they left Rockstar.
Graphics are pretty good for a PS2/Xbox game.
Gameplay/Mechanics retain core elements from previous games. Here’s the new stuff.
- Fully customize CJ’s appearance. Give him a haircut, new clothes, tattoos, hats, jewelry and sunglasses.
- Increase CJ’s stats by doing various activities. Eating too much will make him fatter, he won’t sprint for long, he’ll die from a heart attack. If’s he’s underweight, he’ll die from starvation. Make sure he’s fed and exercises properly.
- Learn different fighting styles.
- Store your car in a garage. Give it a paint job, repair it, add modifications like a speed boost.
- Command a squad by taking over a rival gang’s territory.
- Spray Paint graffiti.
- Buy houses and properties. Owning a property generates revenue.
- Swim underwater. If the meter drains, CJ will suffocate.
- At night, sneak inside a house to steal valuable items. Snatch the item, take it to the van and drive away to earn some cash.
- Various fun mini-games like poker, roulette, dancing, blackjack, dancing, pool, street racing and betting on horse races.
- Go on a date with a girlfriend. Make sure you treat your lady some respect and take her to a place that suits her.
Los Santos, San Fierro & Las Venturas are based on real life cities Los Angeles, San Francisco & Las Vegas.
Horseshoes and Oysters are scattered throughout the map. If you find ’em all, you’ll get an award. Think you can find every single one?
Radios Stations have a variety of music genres such as Rap, Hip-Hop, Classic Rock, Alternate Rock, Heavy Metal, Funk & Country. I listened to Radio X (Heavy Metal and Alternate Rock) the most.
There’s a ton of Funny Moments. Most notably, Big Smoke’s ordering an absurd amount of food. A meme is born.
Characters from “Grand Theft Auto III” & “Grand Theft Auto: Vice City” return in prominent missions.
CJ’s interactions with his brother, Sweet, the Grove Street gang and associates move the story forward.
The game’s influenced by ’90s films such as “New Jack City,” “Boyz n the Hood,” “Terminator 2: Judgement Day,” “Con Air” “Casino” & “Menace II Society.”
So many Pop Culture references. See if you can spot one.
We learn about CJ’s troubled past before he went to Liberty City.
CJ seeks revenge towards the people who betrayed him. Revenge was a trend back in 2004. Don’t believe me? Here’s a list.
- Kill Bill Vol. 2
- The Punisher
- Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed
- Man on Fire
- Mean Girls
- Shrek 2
- Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
- Spider-Man 2
- The Bourne Supremacy
- Shark Tale
- The Incredibles
- The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou
Main Missions are tediously hard. If you’re having a bad day, look up a walkthrough on YouTube. Total missions are 100.
Beating the entire game takes 60 plus hours.
If you wanna spice things up a notch, look up Cheat Codes. They really come in handy. Back when Rockstar didn’t become a corporate sell-out relying on “Grand Theft Auto Online” and a monthly subscription GTA Plus. Oh, how the mighty have fallen!
There’s a few twists and turns throughout the story.
Final Mission, “End of the Line” is so intense, you’ll need to prep up for body armor and arsenal.
Poor: I couldn’t find nothing wrong. I’m giving Rockstar an Extra Point for making a flawless game as possible.
The Final Verdict: A, FOR APEX!
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas still holds up as my all-time favorite from the GTA series as well as my favorite game of 2004. Don’t waste your money on the PS4/Xbox One edition. It’s buggy and pretty bad. Stick with the OG PS2/X Box. I hope Rockstar doesn’t butcher Grand Theft Auto VI like that they did with “Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy – The Definitive Edition.” I’m gonna give ’em a chance. It’s gonna be tough without Dan & Sam Houser’s involvement. They’re the co-founders who made GTA a critical and commercial success.
Nickthemoviecritic.com 