The PS2 version is the real “Definitive Edition.” To say I like Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas would be like saying some people like a PS1 JRPG that came on two discs. It is one of the reasons for my adoration of gaming. It is the first proper open world I fell in love with, a sandbox filled with gorgeously PS2-era boxy vistas and cityscapes, traveling to three places I personally fell in love with over the years for many reasons.

Many years on from the simpler times of 2004, San Andreas is a bit dusty and could use a heated blanket as it sits to watch the Antique Roadshow. Returning to the PS2 version was eye-opening, in a few more ways than one. Widescreen monitors and larger resolutions have not allowed for a graceful aging period for CJ and his many acquaintances often turned into adversaries. Of course, PC ports have aged better. However, since Rockstar decided that anyone trying to preserve their game out of love was a criminal, that went down about as well as someone named Vladimir playing real-life Civilization.

Pop-in is stronger than that one nosy-neighbor you have, there are needless RPG mechanics, and a whole suite of missions that turn out to be completely useless. Nostalgia was the kindest mistress to the PS2, in more ways than one. However, there is one thing time can never take away from San Andreas unless Rockstar is stupid enough to remove the fog, and that is the beautiful map design. The map is a thing of artistic vision, and a majority of the game is indeed designed around a single factor. It all revolves around speed while driving, how each section unlocks, and a collection of smaller, more nuanced segments.

The way roads curve, bend, and sway around everything made the uncomplicated notion of getting anywhere feel like it’s miles away. That is what produced the sensation that it was so enormous. The fog surrounding you benefits the illusion. It is a mist keeping you in the land of Oz as the wizard behind the curtain clangs some saucepans to echo some thunder. That is game design, something we’ve more or less lost to the idea of bigger and grander worlds. You must see the vastness, otherwise, how will shareholders see in trailers that the hype meter at E3 will fly off the scale?

Those long and twisted roads constructed a viewpoint that the journey was much longer than a straight line, then suddenly you can fly across the state without those twists and it feels like you are going so much quicker. No, you are just cutting out all the long turns. If you want to travel far distances in a modern game it is done through fast travel. Everything is fast travel and a load screen, or you walk the three continents to Raya Lucaria. San Andreas understood scale without trying to do a Driv3r by blowing the budget on something unnecessary. The former cost $10-million, with the latter spending a whopping $34-million on development and advertising.

Grand Theft Auto stories have always been a contentious point in several regards. I’ve argued before and will again that GTA V has the best pacing of the series, with three characters all bringing their own energy and spontaneity to the mix. From relieving you of some drug-fueled mass genocide of bikers by watching a film or simply walking a dog, there was something keeping the world alive while also letting it breathe. CJ’s story is a long-winded series of mistakes and constantly being dragged into something by other characters that are idiots.

This is very much Franklin’s problem with Lamar, if CJ or Franklin just cut ties and move on, they would both have the lives they say they want. Instead, with little agency of his own motives, CJ goes on and we get our action-filled adventure, to use the common alliteration. However, with that “just go along with it” vibe, we’re dragged into the grab-bag of ideas that spawned those god-forsaken toy helicopter missions that were about as fun as jamming your bits in a vice made of LEGO. Equally, those rhythm games with the hydraulics of cars were unnecessary.

Mechanically, there was enough in there to keep you entertained. From car customization to character tools, the world felt much larger than it actually was. The RPG mechanics alone, with stats changing depending upon what you eat, wear, and how often you work out, show a confused sandbox of several mechanics clashing with each other. Not to mention the statistics that are tracked silently in the background, such as weapon skill and driving ability. The latter of which was retained into GTA V, as Michael or Franklin see turbulence in planes while Trevor handles it well.

Similarly, the driving and flying schools help reduce such issues and grant (in the case of flying) the ability to enter airports uncontested. Of course, this happens much later in-game, which makes the world itself feel confused, bogged down by a large portion of late-game progression. I understand why it is this way around, it had to be for the sake that the map was mostly locked off, and several missions, but that doesn’t make it unequivocally better for that reason either.

I’m not actively attempting to kick the game while it is down, but for all the reasons we loved it, some of those aspects haven’t aged the way we think of them. Still, it is one of the greatest games of all time simply for how ambitious it was and how well it achieved those ambitions. Many years on, those ideas have been built upon or entirely replaced with better ideas, however, there is no denying that it was and still is the reason we see almost every game releasing with an open world.

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GTA: San Andreas

8.5

Score

8.5/10

Pros

• Game design at its best.
• A perfect soundtrack drive or fly to.
• A simple story about gangs.

Cons

• The common pop-in phrase, "what did I crash into?"
• Nostalgia working overtime to save it.
• Cluttered missions and mechanically at times.