Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas lets you explore a virtual recreation of the west coast of the United States during the 1990s. You play as Carl, a character that comes back to his old neighborhood after his mother passes away.
The virtual recreation of the west coast, named San Andreas, allows you to explore and complete missions in recreations of San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Las Vegas.
During the main storyline, you'll have to uncover mysteries involving your friends, strangers, and the corrupt cops harassing you. It will take you to each of the cities in the game where you'll upgrade your arsenal of weapons and vehicles you use, including cars, trucks, helicopters, jets, and more.
Along with having a dense main storyline, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas has a lot of side activities for you to complete. You can pick up patients in an ambulance and send them to a hospital, put out fires with a fire truck, or collect various collectibles. Many of the side tasks give you virtual money so that you can change the appearance of Carl by either getting him a haircut or new clothes.
You're also tasked with taking care of Carl's physical health. For example, you can take Carl to a fast food restaurant and have him gain weight over time, affecting your in-game stats like how well you can run. You're able to help Carl lose weight by spending money at a gym, completing minigames to use weights.
Given that this game was originally released in 2004, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas can be a bit limited in city density and graphical quality. It also doesn't carry very many improvements from the version that was released for the PlayStation 2. However, the core of the game can still be just as fun as when it was released almost 20 years ago.
Pros
- Many weapons and vehicles for you to use
- Impressive recreations of cities in the United States
- A gripping storyline
Cons
- Can seem a bit outdated for some gamers
