[Review] Gta San Andreas

[BILLS]

Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas is an open-world action-adventure video game developed by Rockstar North and published by Rockstar Games. It was officially confirmed by Rockstar Games in early March 2004, and its tentative release date was scheduled for October 19 and 22 of that year for North America and Europe. Distributed by Take-Two Interactive, San Andreas was released for PlayStation 2 on October 26, 2004, although later versions were released, for video consoles of sixth, seventh and eighth generation, as well as computers and mobile devices.

The plot of the game takes place in San Andreas, a fictitious state that contains three metropolitan cities: Los Santos, San Fierro and Las Venturas; the three based in the cities of Los Angeles, San Francisco and Las Vegas, respectively. Set in 1992, the play tells the story of Carl Johnson "CJ", who decides to return to Los Santos after five years of being absent in Liberty City; after learning about his mother's murder. Upon arrival, CJ tries to restore his former band and his family, while slowly revealing the truth behind the death of his mother. Its plot is loosely based on events such as the rivalry between the Bloods and Crips gangs, the crack epidemic, the Rampart scandal and the Los Angeles riots of 1992.

San Andreas is structured similarly to the previous titles in the series. The core of the game mechanics consists of elements of third person shooting, driving and open world. For the first time in the series, the player can swim, dive, drive a train (besides being the only one in the series) and climb walls. In addition, emphasis was placed on the personalization of the protagonist, adding varied skill statistics in areas such as driving, handling firearms and physical attributes. Many of these mechanisms in the game, added to the history of the same achieved a great acceptance by the public, which caused that the delivery was considered as the most beloved of the saga, and was considered as the best and most complete delivery of all Grand Theft Auto.

Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas received almost unanimous approval of the critics. On the Metacritic website, the game has an average score of 95 out of 100 for the PlayStation 2 platform. For its part, the Windows and Xbox versions have a score of 93 out of 100. Likewise, on that website the title is presented as the fifth best rated game of PS2, in addition to being the best-selling video game of the console and the best-selling game of the entire Grand Theft Auto saga.

Argument

Stage

Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas takes place in the year of 1992, along the fictitious State of San Andreas, whose design is based on the states of California and Nevada.n. It is home to Los Santos, which takes Los Angeles as its reference, San Fierro, which is based in San Francisco, and Las Venturas, which is based in Las Vegas. a notorious reflection in its zones and surrounding areas like fields, farms, factories and others. The three cities are connected by numerous roads, a single railway system and several air routes - in which the player can take a plane and travel instantly to another city. The player can drive about 800 m uphill on Mount Chillad-which in turn is based on Mount Diablo-jump from several hills and skyscrapers scattered throughout the state. San Andreas not only contains huge cities and agglomerated suburbs, but also offers a vast rural and peasant area, helping the player to visit the twelve towns and villages that are on the outskirts of each main city: Red County, Flint County, Bone County, Whetstone and Stolen Land, unlike their predecessors who were limited only to urban areas.

The U.S. Bank Tower, a skyscraper that turns out to be the tallest on the West Coast of the United States, appears parodied in the game as the Los Santos Tower building.
Other remarkable places are the Sherman dam -based on the Hoover Dam-, a secret military base called Area 69 -taking Area 51 as an example-, a land in the middle of the desert with a huge amount of parabolic antennas -Very Large Array-, the district of Vinewood -Hollywood- and its respective sign -Hollywood Sign- and many other geographical references of the real world. The bridges that connect Los Santos with San Fierro take their inspiration from the Forth bridge and railroad, which connect in real life to Edinburgh - the city where the Rockstar North offices are located - with Fife despite the fact that the bridge has a resemblance very similar to the bridge between San Francisco and Oakland.

Characters

The characters that appear in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas are relatively varied and are related to the respective cities and districts on which these are based. The player controls Carl "CJ" Johnson, a young African-American gang member who, after missing five years and living in Liberty City, decides to return to Los Santos. By advancing the plot, CJ will be forced to a trip that will take him across the state of San Andreas and part of Liberty City, to save his family and take control of the streets.Repper Young Maylay is the one who lent your voice to the character. On the other hand, the main antagonists are Frank Tenpenny, Edward "Eddie" [CENSORED]ski and Jimmy Hernandez, all corrupt police officers who belong to a group called as C.R.A.S.H. -Acronym of «Community Resources Against Street Hoodlums» -. Anecdotally, it is noteworthy that the actor Samuel L. Jackson lent his voice to the character of Tenpenny, which earned him to win the award for "Best human performance" in the 2004 Spike Video Game Awards.

Other important personages are Sean "Sweet" Johnson, leader of the band of Grove Street Families and brother of Carl; Lance «Ryder» Wilson and Melvin «Big Smoke» Harris, who at the beginning of the plot belong to Grove. Likewise, Kendl, sister of CJ and Sweet, figures as an important character, because for her the protagonist manages to meet César Vialpando, the leader of the Varrio los Aztecas gang, with whom he forms an alliance.18 Throughout the game, CJ knows other people who help him in his adventure, some with whom he even manages to maintain a romantic situation, or as important allies in certain points of the plot that allow him to access new areas and regions that he could not before.

As in previous editions, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas includes the dubbing of notable celebrities, such as David Cross, Andy Dick, Ron Foster, Samuel L. Jackson, James Woods, Peter Fonda, Charlie Murphy, Frank Vincent, Chris Penn, Danny Dyer, Sara Tanaka, William Fichtner, Wil Wheaton; the rappers Ice-T, Chuck D, Frost, MC Eiht and Game; and the musicians George Clinton, Axl Rose, Sly and Robbie, and Shaun Ryder. The Guinness Book of Records in its 2009 Gamer's Edition listed San Andreas as the largest voice-sharing game hitherto: with 861 actors of accredited voices, including 174 actors and 687 additional performers; of the latter, many were followers of the series that wanted to appear in the game.

Gangs

A large part of the game and important within the plot, is based on the relationship that the bands in Los Santos have with each other. These bands are divided by territories and neighborhoods within said metropolis. CJ belongs to the "Families" street gang, which at the beginning of the game is divided by internal disputes in three branches: "Temple Drive", "Seville Boulevard" and "Grove Street", a faction to which Carl belongs. The other bands are the «Ballas», «Los Santos Vagos», who also compete for the same territories as the Families; also the band «Varrio los Aztecas». The organizations that move through San Fierro are the triads, among which the «Da Nang Boys», a group of mobsters from Vietnam; and the Hispanic gang "San Fierro Rifa", which acts under the orders of "Loco Syndicate." On the other hand, the triad organized by the Mountain Cloud Boys (led by Wu Zi Mu) is owned by their respective casinos in Las Venturas. the mafia families Sindacco, Forelli and Leone (the latter led by Salvatore Leone) .These bands are based on real gangs, among which the Bloods, the Crips, the Latin Kings, the Norteños band, the Asian Boyz stand out , the Italian and Russian Mafia, and the Sureños.

Plot

Set in the early 1990s (1992), Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas tells the story of Carl Johnson, who decides to return to Los Santos to attend the funeral of his mother, Beverly, who was killed in a shooting. As soon as he arrives, Carl is intercepted by CRASH police officers Frank Tenpenny, Eddie [CENSORED]ski and his newest addition, Officer Jimmy Hernandez, who threaten to incriminate him in the murder of a police officer, unless he helps them in his illegal operations Carl returns with his allies and friends in his old gang, Grove Street Families, working together with his brother Sweet and who lost all respect for leaving, 30 and his companions Ryder and Big Smoke, to return to Grove as a predominant gang in the city - since now the strongest bands are Ballas and Los Santos Vagos as they dominated Grove Street territories - and reduce addiction and influence of crack among some members of the band.

Shortly before a gang battle between Grove Street and the Ballas, CJ receives a call from his sister Kendl's boyfriend, César Vialpando a leader of another gang, Varrio the Aztecs who have some rivalry with Los Santos Vagos. After asking him to meet, César shows Carl the vehicle involved in the murder of his mother being escorted to CJ's surprise by Big Smoke, Ryder, Ballas and Tenpenny, and CJ realizes that the battle is an ambush and decides Go for his brother, who was in full confrontation. However, he arrives too late, because Sweet is injured and hospitalized in a prison hospital, Carl is arrested and the CRASH manages to guard him, releasing him in Angel Pine where they give him more orders of murder, meanwhile, Ryder and Big Smoke. , now allied with the Ballas and flooding the city with drugs, they take absolute control of Los Santos as far as gangs are concerned.

During his stay in the rural counties of San Andreas, Carl does various jobs with the cousin of the also exiled Cesar, Catalina, and also for "The Thuth," an old hippie farmer of marijuana.19 34 Also, during some races illegally meets the blind Wu Zi «Woozie» Mu and wins the title deed to a garage in San Fierro belonging to Catalina; While it decides to go to Liberty City with Claude Speed, Carl moves to San Fierro and works to convert the garage into a mechanical workshop hiring the mechanics Dwaine and Jethro, and the electronics expert Zero. helps Woozie defend himself against the Vietnamese gang Da Nang Boys, in addition to working for Tenpenny. CJ enters the Loco Syndicate, a band associated with Smoke and Ryder in their drug business, to eventually assassinate the latter and the leaders of the organization, Mike Toreno, T-Bone Méndez and Jizzy B.

Subsequently, Carl is contacted by a mysterious man in the desert who turns out to be Mike Toreno, who reveals himself as a secret agent of the government and agrees to secure the release of Sweet from jail in exchange for his help. He is invited by Woozie to associate him with the casino The Four Dragons, in Las Venturas, at this point they begin to plan a robbery at the Caligula casino, controlled by the Sindacco, Forelli and Leone families. Meanwhile, Carl meets music producer Kent Paul and Caligula manager Ken Rosenberg, who is under pressure from the underworld that controls the place.

After excessive pressure from the other two families, the mafia boss Salvatore Leone arrives at Las Venturas, gets rid of both with Carl's help and takes complete control of the establishment. After this, and after having planned, Carl and Woozie carry out their theft, subtracting millions of dollars from the casino. An enraged Salvatore calls CJ after the robbery, threatening him with death. Johnson only limits himself to mocking Leone, then hangs him in. During this, Tenpenny and [CENSORED]ski, now under accusation, try to assassinate Carl, but he manages to kill Eddie after he murdered Hernandez, who had turned out to be a snitch, while Frank escapes. CJ also saves rapper Madd Dogg from attempting suicide after a series of unfortunate events in which Johnson was responsible, this, without Dogg knowing, becoming his new representative and reestablishing himself in Los Santos. He does one last job for Toreno, Sweet is finally released and CJ agrees to help him once again to restore Grove Street.

Tenpenny goes to trial, but the charges are dropped due to lack of evidence, possibly thanks to all the work that Johnson did correctly on his behalf. The liberation of Frank generates anger and commotion, which provokes disturbances throughout Los Santos. Meanwhile, César has also returned to the city and asks CJ to help him re-establish the Varrio the Aztecs, since the Santos Vagos have taken over the area, and later, Sweet locates Big Smoke, who lives in a «Crack palace» fortified in Los Santos. Carl, then, enters with all the defenses of the fortification and kills Smoke in a shootout, only to be confronted by Tenpenny, who steals the money from Smoke's drugs, causes a fire in the palace and escapes in a truck. firefighters with the intention of fleeing the city that is in turmoil because of their fault After escaping from the building, the Johnson brothers chase Frank through the streets of the city until, eventually, he loses control of the truck and falls down a bridge, finally crashing at the entrance to Grove Street. Tenpenny manages to crawl free of the remains of the accident, before collapsing and dying from his injuries.

Game system

Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas is structured similarly to previous games in the series. The core of the game consists of elements of a third person shooting title and driving, as well as giving the player an open world environment with freedom of movement. The character of the player is able to move on foot and jump, as well as use weapons and combat melee in multiple ways. In addition, the character can shoot two weapons at a time, only if they have the ability required to do so.For the first time in the series, the player can swim, dive and climb walls. Also, you can drive a wide variety of vehicles, including cars, boats, helicopters, airplanes and motorcycles.

The open world system allows the player to explore and know the virtual world around him. Although missions are necessary to progress through the game and unlock most of the map and content, players can complete them whenever they wish. When a mission is not being developed, the player can freely roam the map. However, creating havoc can lead to unwanted and potentially fatal attention from the authorities.The search levels operate in a similar way to previous deliveries. When the police are chasing Carl, stars appear whose number indicates the level they are at. The more chaos caused, the stronger the police response: where the police handle minor crimes - attacking pedestrians, stealing vehicles, etc. - SWAT teams, FBI and military forces will respond to the highest levels.

If the player is injured he can recover his health using the services of a prostitute, eating, drinking sodas, keeping the game, etc. There are also small physical injuries such as falls, windings by vehicles and, of course, shots or explosions if equipped with bulletproof vest. This body armor is gradually damaged by shots, explosions and slashes. When the protagonist's health level reaches zero, it reappears at the nearest hospital. Also, if Carl is arrested, he will be taken to the police station. In both cases, Carl will lose a hundred dollars of his total money for medical expenses or police bribery, and yet only when he is arrested will all his weapons be confiscated.

The camera, the aim and the combat system was revised and adapted to a scheme similar to that of Manhunt, since it also includes some elements of stealth. When it is in focus, the target is indicated by segments that pose on it, and that change color according to their state of health, Carl's health is represented by a red bar in the upper right corner of the screen, while on this one a white bar represents its total armoring. Due to the swimming and diving implement, the head-up display also features a bar that symbolizes the amount of remaining oxygen that Carl has while underwater. In the same place there is also an internal clock that indicates the hours of the day, which is reflected in the game environment, since it can be day, afternoon or night. This clock is not synchronized with the real time of the computer or the console, but it uses its configuration to indicate the passage of time; this has a relationship within its software. Also, this same timer activates some missions that can only be performed at certain time intervals within the game.

The player can participate in a huge variety of side quests, which can increase the attributes of your character or provide an alternate source of income. Despite this, not all the places that the player can enter are available from the start of the game. Some places, such as garages, restaurants, gyms and shops, only become accessible once certain missions are completed. Also, during the first part of the game, only the city of Los Santos and the suburbs that surround it are available to explore them; But to unlock the other cities and rural areas, it is also necessary to successfully complete different missions. But if the player tries to travel to these places while they are still blocked, instantly SWAT and military forces will try to trap the player. Some of the missions already seen in previous titles included works of taxi driver, paramedic, watchman and fireman, while those added in San Andreas include robbery, procuring, export and import of vehicles, distribution of goods by bicycle and driving schools for Terrestrial vehicles, as well as maritime and aerial vehicles Other features implemented in GTA: San Andreas are gang warfare, where the player conquers enemy territories -through the sequence of rounds; These begin when the player kills three members of an enemy band - and defends the ones he has already won - however, while fighting for the territories, other enemy gangs may attack those the player already achieved. of mini-games available scattered throughout San Andreas that include basketball, ballroom dancing, triathlons, gambling, virtual betting, arcade machines, and so on.

In Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, Rockstar emphasized the personalization of the protagonist, adding various elements belonging to a role-playing video game. Clothing, accessories, hairstyle and tattoos can be modified to the player's choice, and even have more of a reaction in the pedestrians Carl comes in. Carl can also have girlfriends with whom he can go out to have fun. CJ's respect among his bandmates and recruits varies according to his appearance and actions, as well as his relationships with his girlfriends, who will compensate him if their relationship reaches a good level. sport has also an effect on its appearance and physical attributes. The video game also includes skill statistics in areas such as driving, firearms handling, endurance and lung capacity, which improve through their use in the game.CJ can also learn different styles of melee combat in the gymnasiums of San Andreas.

As in previous titles, San Andreas does not include online multiplayer mode. This was confirmed five months before its release by Dan Houser, who stated that the setting of the video game was too large to be introduced efficiently online, while the Microsoft Windows version received modifications from third parties such as Multi Theft Auto and San Andreas Multiplayer that provide that functionality.Other features in certain versions, however, present a feature called "Slaughter" (except the PC version) where two players can play in the same game at the same time. In addition, the game changed the "hidden objects" present in other titles of the series, by graffiti painted on walls, specific photographs, horseshoes and oysters that the player must repaint, take, collect and search, respectively, along all the state of San Andreas.

As in other titles of the series, in San Andreas it is possible to insert codes through the command that affect the game, either as a means of making the gameplay easier or as simple fun. However, in the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions, entering one of these "tricks" will prevent achievements / trophies from being unlocked during the normal game, and the game can not be automatically saved between missions because the file of the game will be corrupted.

Vehicles

In total, there are 248 vehicles that pass through the streets of the state of San Andreas, compared to the 60 types that were in Grand Theft Auto III. In contrast to this game, more means of transportation were added, both personal and for groups, among which are bicycles, tractors, forklifts, trucks and hovercrafts, among many others.The game physics that it implements for the use of vehicles is similar which was used for the series of Midnight Club racing video games, which allowed to program a more simplistic control for jumps and acrobatics, in addition to designing own characteristics for the modification of automobiles, such as the body, nitrous oxide and hydraulic suspension -Although the latter was already present also in GTA III.

Vehicles usually have different but equally important functions within the game. For example, some off-road vehicles that are employees have a better cross-country performance, while race cars work better on the streets and roads Jet planes are fast, but usually always need a large place to be able to land. Helicopters can be landed almost anywhere, and are easy to control, although they are quite slow. While other games in the Grand Theft Auto series only had a small number of aircraft, and it was difficult to obtain them, San Andreas has 11 different types of aircraft and 9 helicopters, which makes the game even more extensive. to your missions. In some cases it is also possible to dive with the help of an aerial vehicle, with the help of a parachute. Also, a large number of boats were added to the repertoire, although many had already appeared in previous titles, only modified.

Production

After the critical and commercial success of Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, rumors of a next title in the series came in 2003.IGN said that same year that "Rockstar is working on his next Grand Theft Auto, but there are many details about the game that we simply do not know ». Likewise, Take-Two reported that the next GTA would be announced in the second half of the fourth fiscal quarter of 2004, that is, between August and October of that year, and that the title was going to be exclusive with PlayStation 2. during the first months of launch.

Although, at that time, there was no more information about the plot or where the game would be set, there were already rumors that it would be framed in San Andreas or Las Vegas.Rumors about a Grand Theft Auto in the city of Nevada grew significantly; So much so, that Amazon online sales site published a game under the title of Grand Theft Auto IV: Sin City - meaning "the city of sin": Las Vegas -, including the exact launch date and the possibility of preordering it for Later, in December 2003, Take-Two registered several brands with names that involved San Andreas, Bogotá and Tokyo, as well as GTA 5, GTA 6 and GTA: Sin City. next month and speculated that it was only a diversionary maneuver to keep the followers in the unknown of what the real title would be.

Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas was officially confirmed by Rockstar Games in early March 2004, and its tentative release date was scheduled for October 19 and 22 of this year for North America and Europe, respectively. Sam Houser, the co-founder and president of Rockstar, said that "[...] Over the past two years, we have put a huge amount of pressure on ourselves to make sure we do everything we can to exceed people's expectations. with Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. Although we still have eight months to put it on the market, we are starting to feel very proud of what we have achieved. " Leslie Benzies, president of Rockstar North, added that "we are very honored by the success of the Grand Theft Auto series, and it has done with us to demand more than ever to create Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, which is expected to redefine the series and revolutionize the open world game mode ».

San Andreas introduced graphical improvements compared to its predecessors. The video game uses a texture streaming technology, which incorporated more detailed environments and environments. In addition, it included other features such as real-time reflections, smoother shading, ragdoll physics, downcast NPC graphics application, and independent models for day and night environments. Likewise, a greater drawing distance was made, as well as 30-50% more polygons rendered on the screen.

Advertising

Rockstar on its website revealed in early May 2004, the first screenshots of the game system in in-game format.
Also, during the publication of these was confirmed that the title was set on the West Coast of the 1990s, and that the main character of the plot would be Carl Johnson, a gang member who "is forced to a trip that will take you all the state of San Andreas, to save his family and take control of the streets. "After this revelation, IGN commented that" [San Andreas] has a conceptual style reminiscent of the po[CENSORED]r films of the 1990s, Boyz n the Hood and Juice. "At the end of June of the same year, the Dutch magazine Power Unlimited reported that San Andreas would not have an online multiplayer mode. This was confirmed by the creative vice president of Rockstar Games, Dan Houser, who stated that the setting of the game was too large to be introduced into an online model efficiently at that time.

The Rockstar team worked with the Chicano tattoo artist Mister Cartoon to explain the cultural and philosophical aspects of the tattoos that were lived among gangs during the 1990s. In addition, Cartoon was in charge of making the font for the videogame.

A short film entitled The Introduction, a video made with the same graphics of the game, was included along with the soundtrack in DVD format, as in the re-launch of the game for the PlayStation 2, whose version was called Grand Theft Auto : San Andreas Special Edition. The video briefly explains the events that precede San Andreas which allows to know relevant information about the outcome of the characters. It also explains how Carl gets to know about the death of his mother by a phone call from Sweet, so he returns to Los Santos and realize that his life is in misery. The title for PlayStation 2 also included a real documentary called Sunny Driver, which deals with the culture of tuneo - a prominent aspect of the game.

Launching

The title was launched for the PlayStation 2 console in North America on October 26, 2004, and three days later, in Europe and Australia, Japan did not see its launch until January 25, 2007, under the distribution of Capcom. The versions of Xbox and Windows were published on June 7 and 10, 2005 in the United States and Europe, respectively, and a version of the game for the Xbox 360 would be published on October 20, 2008 and later on October 26, 2014 an "HD remastarización" for the tenth anniversary since its original premiere. San Andreas was released for OS X on November 12, 2010, as well as PlayStation 3 under its digital platform, PSN, on December 11 and 12, 2012 in North America and Europe, respectively. The video game also obtained its versions in iOS mobile operating systems, on December 12, 2013, Kindle and Android, on December 19, and finally, Windows Phone, on January 27, 2014.

Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas received 18 ratings by the BBFC, 18+ by the PEGI, MA15 + by the OFLC and M by the ESRB, however, after the controversy of hidden codes known as Hot Coffee, the US board re-labeled the title to AO. Finally, San Andreas regained its original classification after replacing the game with edited copies and deleting the codes in these.

Soundtrack

As in previous games of the Grand Theft Auto series, GTA: San Andreas has a soundtrack that can be heard through radio stations while the player is in a vehicle. The game is provided with eleven radio stations, of which one is a discussion station. The other stations have music from a wide range of genres. The radio stations are: WCTR, Master Sounds 98.3, K-Jah West, CSR, X Radio, Los Santos Radio, SF-UR, Bounce FM, K-DST, K-Rose and FM Playback.

There are notable inclusions to the soundtrack of the game, such as The Who, Deodato, The Ohio Players, Toto, Faith No More, Depeche Mode, James Brown, Soundgarden, Kiss, Kid Frost, Rage Against the Machine, Danzig, Alice in Chains, Frankie Knuckles, Guns N 'Roses, Gang Starr, Snoop Dogg, NWA, Cypress Hill, 2Pac, Ice Cube, Eazy-E, Stone Temple Pilots, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Living Color and Ozzy Osbourne. The main theme of San Andreas - music of the introduction - is composed by Michael Hunter, who would also compose the theme for Grand Theft Auto IV years later.

The radio system in San Andreas has been modified. In the previous titles of the series, each radio station was essentially a single file of repeated sound, playing the same songs, advertisements and propaganda in the same order each time. With the radio stations in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas each sound file is separated, and they are "mixed" randomly, allowing the songs to be played in different orders, the ads for the songs to be different each time, and the Argument events are mentioned in some stations. The Xbox and Windows versions include an additional radio station that allows the user to create their own soundtrack by importing audio files, or by making a playlist in the iOS version. Not so the versions of PlayStation 2, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.

Reception

Review

Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas received universal acclaim from critics. In the metacritic analysis aggregator, the game has an average score of 95 out of 100 for the PlayStation 2 platform; the versions of Windows and Xbox, on the other hand, have a score of 93 over 100. Also, on that website the title is presented as the fifth best punctuated game of PS2, behind Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3, Grand Theft Auto III, Resident Evil 4 and Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty.11 GameRankings.com, on the other hand, offered a score of 95% based on an average among other analysis sites, 125 not so, however, for the versions of Xbox and PC, because they obtained a smaller but equally high percentage.

Jeremy Dunham of IGN gave a final result of 9.9 out of 10 - the highest score ever given a game for PS2. In this review, Dunham praised the game for being "the ultimate software work" for that console. Likewise, as at the end of his analysis he indicated that: "in short, it is an endless masterpiece of videogames - and one that will never be a victim of overvaluation due to its sublime gameplay. It is the definitive piece of software for the successful second console designed by Sony; In addition, it is almost impossible to imagine the library of PlayStation 2 titles without him. "On the other hand, Jeff Gertsmann of GameSpot scored him with a 9.6 out of 10, also giving him the" Editor's Choice "award. Gertsmann mentioned that "San Andreas definitely gives meaning to the name of Grand Theft Auto. In fact, it may be the best game in the whole series. "However, in the Xbox and PC version, it got a lower rating, mainly due to the drastic change in the controls for the game system, but still the site mentioned that the game continued to show an "entertaining and challenging" environment, since the changes were minor for these versions.The 1UP.com website mentioned that "we expected a" big "title, but we were not prepared enough for something "extremely gigantic". In very rare occasions it's your turn to enjoy a game that as you advance in the plot your skills -fighting, marksmanship, handling, etc.- increase within themselves, and that this is maintained until the end of it ». For this reason, the site gave it a rating of A +, which represents the maximum rating of the site.

For his part, Kristian Reed of Eurogamer also offered an optimistic perspective on the game, saying that "depending on the type of missions you have to perform, you will realize that San Andreas defines itself as a game in constant uninterrupted change - a game which is almost impossible to judge at first sight, because you will never be sure of what is going to happen next ». Before said comment, Reed gave him a rating of 9 out of 10. Rob Hamilton of HonestGamers.com, mentions that "the euphoria, the emotion and the infinite possibilities" of San Andreas allow the player to admire the great complexity of the title, put that "in a few words, the game is gigantic! - so big that it is a faithful representation of the largest city in the United States. Carl is so submerged in this virtual world -in which very little space is wasted- and in which simply, there is always something to do literally speaking, around the corner », which ends his review giving the game a score of 10 out of 10. Shaun Hunter of NZGamer.com, gave a general review on the title, praising mainly the new features that the game offers, highlighting the complexity with which the game system was designed, because unlike the previous titles of the series, in San Andreas the player can progressively improve in the adventure, discovering new places in which, although submissions can be completed or even several mini-games, the title "squeeze to the max" all the capabilities that a game of the series of Grand Theft Auto offers, since this will keep you "pretty busy at least some 100 hours, if you want more, "he gave a rating of 9.7 out of 10.

One of the most notorious aspects that the critics found as "innovative" within the series was the soundtrack, since they mention that during the course of the game, the music varies from one moment to another, and they found it pleasant to listen to music from famous bands and artists, such as 2Pac, Cypress Hill, Rage Against The Machine, Guns N 'Roses, Billy Idol, etc. Other aspects and details about the game, such as the voice acting, the way in which the game is designed to be an open world, the size of the state of San Andreas and its "interesting" argument, highlighting and further improving the replay of the title.In contrast to the above, some commentators criticized the graphics and the aesthetics of the objects Some have bugs in the game environment, as well as the poor modeling of the characters, the low resolution in the texture of the buildings and vehicles, as well as some errors presented in the s controls, such as the mechanism of aiming blockade to enemies, among others. Also, others said that although San Andreas includes and expands the compendium of weapons, vehicles and missions, very few of these characteristics were refined or redesigned correctly.

In its digital version, the reporter Charles Herold of the New York Times newspaper offered a mixed criticism, since he compared the game with Halo 2, another po[CENSORED]r title at the time of San Andreas, because in his consideration, the sequels of other series are po[CENSORED]r since the main games manage to "have a huge amount of cult followers" since unlike The Sims or the Burnout or Myst series, GTA: SA "takes place in a hideous environment, where casual violence abounds between street gangs, but even though it shows an unparalleled creativity of design, this makes it even more annoying and disturbing would feel more comfortable if the open environment of the game had more general objectives: to kill an enemy when and how you want; Acquire more money for other objectives in any way possible; to challenge people other than car races. "For his part, GamesRadar mentioned that the game represents a synchrony" shockingly coherent, divinely orchestrated - and despite the million words already written with a feverish anticipation - it has the incredible ability to surprise in every moment This is the pinnacle of PlayStation 2, a game with a unique, well-polished magic developed by an experienced group of designers who worked to the limit of their abilities. "In a more recent review, the same site referenced the media controversy that the game provoked due to their "excessive and indiscriminate" violence and that the critics of po[CENSORED]r culture were inclined to negative criticism, for the players there were still reasons why "to take care of him; reasons such as a freedom without limits, exploration without impediments and the possibility of running over unsuspecting old women at impressive speeds ».

The editor Nacho Ortiz, of the Spanish portal Meristation, scored Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas with a 9.5 out of 10, noting that the highlight of the title is its game system, since it offers "infinite possibilities to pass the time »And the great leap it made with respect to its predecessor. One of the aspects that Ortiz noted, in his words, "is not a simple action game. In San Andreas a fusion of genres has been achieved where the action, the narrative force of the story, the RPG touches and a new social simulator component go hand in hand, "as the number of hours required to complete the game, together with the vast variety of possibilities that the player has at his disposal, together with the meticulous details on the part of the developers, make it an "entertaining" title as well as "immersible". He also made a brief comparison of the game with films of the same theme, such as Boyz n the Hood (1991) and Colors (1988). He also commented that the great disposition of weapons, alternatives of the main story and other elements, become in «a lot of ways to kill time». However, the only flaw in his judgment fell on his graphic finish, as he mentions that "the console hit a ceiling long ago as the only complaint we find that the PS2 does not pull more, does not give more than itself, and that affects significantly to the playable experience ».

Commercial

The game managed to sell itself in 12 million units only for the PlayStation 2 version during the month of March 2005, making it the best-selling game for that console in history.According to Take-Two Interactive, the game reached figure of 20 million copies sold by the date of September 26, 2007. However, sales increased for the following year, adding 21.5 million copies.The 2009 edition of the Guinness Book of Records, mentions that San Andreas is the most successful game for the PlayStation 2, because only for this console 17.33 million copies were sold, a total of 21.5 million compared to other consoles, as mentioned by Take-Two Interactive. According to Kotaku and Rockstar Games, it was reported that in 2011 Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas managed to sell approximately 27.5 million units worldwide.