Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas came out in 2004 and is considered to be one of Rockstar's greatest games. San Andreas has Carl Johnson as the protagonist as he returns to Los Santos in the aftermath of his mother's death. Players go through a fictional version of California, breaking into a parody of Area 51 and slowly becoming a powerful figure in the city.
As time went on, certain aspects of the game remained timeless while others did not hold up. Players who play San Andreas still are sure to notice what still makes the game a classic, while also noticing what does not work anymore.
10 Timeless - Iconic Voice Actors
San Andreas has a few high-profile actors in the game. James Woods plays the CIA agent Mike Toreno while Samuel L. Jackson plays the game's antagonist, Frank Tenpenny. Other famous voices include Charlie Murphy, Axl Rose, Ice-T, and Kid Frost.
All of the voice actors are fitting for the game, as they were in the movies San Andreas references. It is also nice to hear the actors and musicians from the 90s all together in one game.
9 Aged Poorly - Save Points
Like most games from the early 2000s, San Andreas required the player to go to their safehouse in order to save the game. It was a huge inconvenience to have to go to a safehouse to make sure the player could save their weapons after a few missions. If the game crashed or messed up, players could also lose a lot of progress.
Luckily enough, the player automatically got a new safehouse every city they go to. It can get a bit annoying having to drive across the city just to save the game.
8 Timeless - Most Customizable Game
San Andreas is one of the most customizable games in the Grand Theft Auto series. Players are able to gain weight, become extremely skinny, and become extremely muscular. Players could also get tattoos, clothes from different stores, and change their hairstyle.
It was a fun addition where players had to go to the gym to keep up their muscles and watch how much their character ate. It was also a nice touch where certain missions couldn't be played if the player was too heavy. In one mission requiring CJ to use the jetpack, The Truth would tell the player to lose weight in order to use the jetpack.
7 Aged Poorly - Glitches
Glitches could either be somewhat entertaining or an annoying problem. Because San Andreas did not have autosave, some glitches could cause the player to lose a lot of their progress. One such glitch could happen in the first mission, requiring the player to restart the game.
When CRASH is driving Carl through town, the police officers could get out of the car and run away. Luckily this happens early in the game, but glitches like this can get very annoying later in the game.
6 Timeless - Soundtrack
San Andreas had some of the best radio stations in the series. Players could choose from a country station, an 80s station, and a rap station. The talkshow, West Coast Talk Radio, also offered entertaining programs. A few of the talk show's programs include Area 53, a conspiracy show, and Lonely Hearts, which is a relationship advice show.
Players are sure to find a station that fits where they are driving in the game. There is nothing like driving through the country while listening to K-Rose.
5 Aged Poorly - Driving
Like most of the older games in the series, the driving in San Andreas was not the best. Cars were a little difficult to drive, but were also easy to catch on fire.
When it came to driving the motorcycles, players could expect to crash into the back of a vehicle and go flying, most likely to their death.
4 Timeless - Remastered A Few Times
San Andreas has been released for some of the newer consoles. It was released on the Xbox 360 as a remaster in 2014, on the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4 in 2015, and on the Xbox One in 2018.
These remasters allowed fans of the game to play San Andreas on newer consoles with a few updates. It also allowed players who have never played San Andreas to have the chance to play it for the first time.
3 Aged Poorly - Graphics
It should be expected for a game released in 2004, but the graphics for San Andreas do not hold up.
Even in the remastered version of the game for the newer consoles, the graphics from 2004 can still be seen. While it does not affect the gameplay, it can still be a sore sight for fans of the game.
2 Timeless - Still Referenced
San Andreas is still referenced throughout the Grand Theft Auto series. Players are able to find a billboard that features Carl Johnson in Grand Theft Auto IV. Players can also find graffiti on the walls of Liberty City, hinting that Carl is dead.
Grand Theft Auto V is set in San Andreas, so it could be expected to see a few more references to Carl in it. During the mission Hooded Safari, the player can spot three Grove Street members who resemble Big Smoke, Ryder, and Carl. There is also an objective in the mission Derailed that requires the player to get on the train in one attempt, titled 'Better than CJ.'
1 Aged Poorly - Hot Coffee Controversy
The Hot Coffee Controversy led to some trouble for San Andreas. Players discovered code that led to a sex mini game, which coders then put into the game. The game was re-rated from 'Mature' to 'Adults Only'.
This caused a second version of the game to be released, which took out any code to the sex mini game. The second version also removed the ability to mod the PC version of the game, making sure the accident never made its way back to the game.