2004 was a big year for gaming, with several
heavy hitters like Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater and Half-Life 2 releasing to
critical acclaim and a lasting legacy. If there’s one game that I distinctly
remember from this time period, however, it’s Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
(San Andreas), Rockstar’s fifth entry in the Grand Theft Auto (GTA)
series. Even though I wouldn’t have been able to play the game at the time, I
remember that everyone talked about the game, including a number of students in
real life, and how great it was, with additional praise from gaming news
sources. I also remembered the “Hot Coffee” controversy and how it made the
news at the time, along with the recall and rerelease of the game. Eventually,
I heard enough hype that I actively sought out a copy, but couldn’t find a
single one in any GameStop that I looked at (back when I actually bought all of
my games at GameStop). Fortunately, the game was rereleased under the Greatest
Hits label and I got a complete copy that way.
Sometime later
and about eleven years ago, I tried to play San Andreas, but for
whatever reason only completed three missions (or about an hour of gameplay)
before I got epically sidetracked by other games, including Grand Theft Auto
V (GTA V), the only GTA game I had played to completion.
Since then, I wanted to try playing San Andreas again, but that interest
didn’t fully reignite until I saw footage of the botched Grand Theft Auto:
The Trilogy – The Definitive Edition, glorified console ports of mobile
ports of console games. With San Andreas now relevant again, I passionately
played the original PS2 version over two weeks, with an in-game time of 24:07
and completing the main story with an overall percentage of 63.10%. With that
goal finally accomplished, I can confidently say that despite its rough edges, San
Andreas is still a game worth playing and has definitely earned its
reputation.
