Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas

Softonic review

Action game that over delivers

Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas is an iconic video game in the GTA series set in an open-world environment that you can play either in the single or multiplayer mode. A rich storyline is told about Carl Johnson while you play.

Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, Liberty City, Chinatown Wars, and GTA 5 are games similar to GTA SA. Since Vice City came immediately before the San Andreas release, San Andreas is a more developed gaming experience than Vice City. GTA 5, Liberty City, and Chinatown Wars came after San Andreas, and GTA V and Chinatown Wars have higher-quality graphics than SA does.

Is GTA: San Andreas good?

San Andreas is still regarded as the best GTA release in the series. GTA: SA is an RPG and the main character is called CJ. You can customize your character with new haircuts, outfits, tattoos, and more. Since you will need to keep CJ healthy with food and exercise, you can walk into restaurants to eat and gyms to workout.

The gameplay is expansive. Dance parties are available and you can use the controls to dance. CJ can swim and workout and you can maintain your finances with side missions. Illegal activities like nighttime raids are available to earn money. You can become a professional cop, firefighter, etc. GTA: San Andreas cheats let you avoid money problems altogether.

A deep storyline takes place that centers around CJ and his close group of childhood friends. Since GTA: San Andreas is based on gang trouble, CJ is back in San Andreas to confront the person or people who killed his mother. You will be tasked with illegal missions like robbing banks, while corrupt cops obsess over catching CJ and his crew.

NPCs make remarks that you can respond to. Since the satirical conversations can either be positive or negative, the spontaneous dialogues make GTA SA particularly engaging. The soundtrack is often praised by gamers and you can tune into 11 radio stations that each have a specific sound.

A large collection of vehicles is featured and your character can drive cars and motorcycles. GTA: San Andreas was originally given the mature rating and SA is now rated as adult only due to intense violence and sexual content. It’s important to mention that GTA: SA degrades women.

Is GTA: San Andreas based on a true story?

The San Andreas edition includes references to the real world. San Andreas is set in an entire state, while various GTA releases are only located in one city. The open-world environment is based on the states of California and Nevada in the United States. The state of San Andreas includes natural areas like deserts and forests. The non-city environment represents areas in Arizona.

Six main territories are available to explore in three cities and three counties. Each of the cities includes landmarks that mirror the real structures. Los Santos is a virtual city based on Los Angeles. Los Santos is the largest region on the San Andreas map. You will find the most NPCs in the highly populated city.

San Fierro is like San Francisco. San Fierro is the smallest city on the map that has the second largest population of characters. Las Venturas is reminiscent of Las Vegas. Las Venturas is the next largest area that has the smallest population in SA. Las Venturas is in the desert, similar to Las Vegas is in real life. Another ode to reality is the vast number of casinos in the region. 

Three additional counties are available to retreat to. Red County is in the countryside surrounded by redwood trees. Panopticon is essentially a hill in Red County. You can find Palomino Creek, Montgomery, Dillmore, and Blueberry in the Red County region.

Flint County is less developed than Red County. Flint County is filled with forests, mountains, and a bay. Whetstone, Angel Pine, Tierra Robada, Bayside, El Quebrados, Las Barrancas, and Aldea Malvada are parts of Flint County that you can explore. Bone County is an important portion of the San Andreas gameplay. Bone County includes a spin-off of Area 51 known as Area 69.

Is GTA: San Andreas free now?

The San Andreas release in the Grand Theft Auto saga is packed with immersive content. While GTA SA is not free to play, you can buy the title for a reasonable one-time cost. The cross-platform video game was originally made for PlayStation 2 and Microsoft Windows PC operating systems. You can now play GTA: San Andreas on almost every major platform.

How do I download and install GTA: San Andreas?

The game is available on Android and iOS mobile devices. You can get San Andreas on Mac and PC computers and laptops. GTA: San Andreas is supported on PlayStation 2, PS4, PS5, Xbox, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, and Xbox 360 gaming consoles.

As the GTA: San Andreas was released in 2004, the title is considered an older game. The animations can lag – especially on PCs and loading times can be considered lengthy.

Game ahead of its time

Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas is worth the money when you look past the crude behavior towards humans and large amount of violence that takes place. A mature perspective is suggested since the game is still filled with fun. You have an endless experience to explore from the NPCs that initiate random conversations to the customization possibilities for CJ. Tips will appear in the top right corner to help you take control.

What’s new?

The developers of GTA: San Andreas are Rockstar North and Rockstar Games. GTA: SA has largely remained the same since the initial version. As the developers work on new editions to the GTA series, San Andreas does not receive new software updates. While SA is exciting to play, the long loading times may make you want to reconsider your purchase.