Apparently, Rockstar decided that one city just wasn’t enough anymore.

★

Retro Replay Review

Overall80%

80%

80%

Retro Replay Verdict

An ambitious, entertaining trip across three cities, with room for both the story and an aimless drive.

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On 26 October 2004, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas arrived in North America for the PlayStation 2, taking everything we’d come to expect from the series and expanding it to a scale that was almost ridiculous for its time.

Three cities. Miles of countryside. Mountains, deserts, forests, and highways. More vehicles, more weapons, more activities, and more opportunities to get into trouble than ever before.

And somehow, they squeezed all of that onto the PlayStation 2.

What a time to be a gamer.

The End of an Era, and the Beginning of Another

By the time San Andreas arrived, my old roommate had moved on, but my love of Grand Theft Auto hadn’t gone anywhere.

We’d spent months together exploring GTA III and Vice City, discovering everything those games had to offer. Those were some great gaming memories.

San Andreas would be a different experience.

This wasn’t a day-one purchase for me, but I picked it up relatively early and was eager to see what Rockstar had come up with this time.

After all, GTA III had introduced me to the magic of a fully immersive 3D Liberty City, while Vice City had brought my romanticized vision of 1980s Miami nightlife and organized crime to life.

Where could Rockstar possibly go next?

The answer, apparently, was everywhere.

Welcome to San Andreas

Set in 1992, San Andreas introduced players to a fictional state inspired by California and Nevada.

Los Santos captured the gang culture, neighborhoods, and sprawling urban landscape of Los Angeles. San Fierro offered a San Francisco-inspired city of steep hills and winding streets, while Las Venturas brought casinos, gambling, and the bright lights of Las Vegas into the mix.

And connecting everything was an enormous countryside filled with small towns, farms, forests, mountains, and deserts.

But the map wasn’t simply larger.

There was more of practically everything.

More vehicles to steal, more places to explore, more activities to try, and more reasons to get distracted.

And believe me, I got distracted.

There were times when I’d simply forget about the next mission, climb into a car, turn on the radio, and drive.

Maybe I’d discover something interesting. Maybe I’d stumble across another activity. Or maybe I’d just spend a while exploring the countryside.

There was something wonderfully relaxing about having an enormous virtual playground where you didn’t necessarily need an objective to have a good time.

Although, knowing GTA, relaxing could turn into a five-star police chase surprisingly quickly.

Welcome Home, CJ

One of the biggest changes was the protagonist.

GTA III had given us the silent Claude, while Vice City introduced the outspoken, ambitious Tommy Vercetti.

San Andreas brought us Carl “CJ” Johnson.

After spending several years in Liberty City, CJ returns home to Los Santos following his mother’s murder. He discovers that his old neighborhood has fallen apart, his family is divided, and the Grove Street Families have lost much of their former influence.

What begins as a story about family, loyalty, and rebuilding a neighborhood gradually becomes something much larger.

I liked CJ.

He was an interesting protagonist, particularly compared with the previous two. On the surface, he was completely different from Claude and Tommy, but there was something familiar about him, too.

Like so many GTA protagonists, CJ was a criminal trying to navigate a world filled with other criminals, questionable friends, and people whose loyalty could change depending on which way the wind was blowing.

And, naturally, he surrounded himself with trouble.

Lots of trouble.

The supporting cast was terrific, too. Big Smoke, Ryder, Sweet, Cesar, and the thoroughly corrupt Officer Tenpenny all helped make Los Santos a memorable place.

Samuel L. Jackson’s performance as Tenpenny was particularly effective, giving us a villain who was equal parts entertaining and despicable.

I actually enjoyed the story more than I expected.

Rockstar had become increasingly confident in its storytelling, and San Andreas balanced its crime drama with the absurd humor and larger-than-life characters that had become hallmarks of the franchise.

And the story kept finding new ways to surprise me as it expanded beyond Los Santos.

A Little RPG in My GTA

One of the more interesting additions was the introduction of RPG-like character progression.

CJ wasn’t simply a fixed character with a selection of weapons.

He could improve his stamina, develop weapon skills, learn new fighting techniques, and even change his physical appearance through diet and exercise.

Eat too much, and he’d gain weight. Spend enough time at the gym, and he’d build muscle.

You could customize his clothing, hairstyle, tattoos, and vehicles.

None of these systems was particularly complicated compared with a dedicated RPG, but they added another layer of personality and progression.

And as someone who’s always enjoyed RPGs, I welcomed the additions.

Then there was the gang warfare.

Now, I’ve always enjoyed a good neighborhood takeover mechanic, and San Andreas gave me plenty of opportunities to indulge that particular interest.

Taking territory from rival gangs, defending your neighborhoods, and gradually expanding Grove Street’s influence added an entertaining strategic element to the adventure.

It wasn’t exactly Total War, but there was something satisfying about looking at a map and knowing you’d helped turn another section of the city green.

And between the gang battles, driving schools, vehicle customization, gambling, property ownership, dating, and countless other activities, there was never a shortage of things to do.

Which brings me to one of my few complaints.

So Much to Do. But Never Too Much, right?

I’ve always enjoyed exploring open-world games and discovering everything they have to offer.

But San Andreas was enormous.

Not just the map, but the sheer quantity of activities, collectibles, challenges, and optional objectives.

It was impressive, especially considering the hardware it was running on.

But there comes a point when collecting every hidden package, completing every side activity, and checking off every possible objective starts feeling a little more like work than entertainment.

And this time, I wasn’t interested in doing all of that.

I played through the story, enjoyed the activities that appealed to me, and spent plenty of time exploring.

But I didn’t feel compelled to complete absolutely everything.

There was just so much!

And honestly, I think that’s fine.

A great open-world game should give you the freedom to decide how you want to spend your time, not make you feel obligated to complete a giant checklist.

Sometimes finishing the story and enjoying the ride is enough.

The Soundtrack to San Andreas

Of course, it wouldn’t be a proper Grand Theft Auto game without an excellent soundtrack.

And San Andreas delivered another fantastic collection of radio stations.

The game embraced its early-1990s setting with West Coast hip-hop, funk, alternative rock, classic rock, country, and plenty of other music.

Radio Los Santos featured artists like Dr. Dre and 2Pac, while stations such as K-DST, K-Rose, Radio X, and Bounce FM offered completely different listening experiences.

And the DJs, commercials, and talk radio were as ridiculous as ever.

I’ve always thought Rockstar did an excellent job using radio stations to give its worlds personality.

Vice City had one of my favorite soundtracks in the franchise because of my love for 1980s pop music, but San Andreas understood its setting just as well.

The music fit the time and place, and it helped make the world feel alive.

There was nothing quite like cruising across the desert or winding through the countryside with the radio playing, occasionally discovering that I’d driven halfway across the state without accomplishing anything remotely productive.

And that was perfectly fine with me.

Twenty-Two Years Later

Trying to rank the Grand Theft Auto games has always been difficult for me.

Like several of my favorite franchises, whichever GTA I’m currently playing tends to be the one I like best.

And San Andreas was no exception.

It took the formula Rockstar had established with GTA III and refined through Vice City, then stretched it in almost every conceivable direction.

Not every addition was essential, and the sheer amount of content could occasionally feel overwhelming.

But the ambition was remarkable.

And more importantly, it was fun.

San Andreas didn’t need me to accomplish every objective or discover every secret to make the experience worthwhile.

Sometimes the story was enough. Sometimes taking over another neighborhood was enough.

And sometimes all I needed was a car, a good radio station, and an open road.

Twenty-two years later, I think that’s still one of the greatest things about the Grand Theft Auto series.

The game gives you a world to explore. What you do with it is entirely up to you.

What about you? Was San Andreas the peak of the PS2-era GTA games? And did you try to complete everything, or were you happy just getting lost in the world?

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