Game Debate #154: Grand Theft Auto San Andreas

[Brickman | 3,983]

3 hours ago, OptOut said:

I would have LIKED to have beaten GTA V, but it always seems to crash to a black screen on one mission or another, and I can never get past to finish the game.

They did patch a lot of those crashes so you might be good now. It’s definitely worth giving it a go. GTAV had a great story and the checkpoint system really helped with the long missions.

[DefaultGen | 5,400]

I didn't get as into VC/SA because I played a ridiculous amount of GTA1-3, especially 3. I played through the main story multiple times. I didn't think games could get better, and then when they did, I'd burnt myself out on the genre. All I had to do was follow the damn train

[OptOut | 8,881]

7 hours ago, Brickman said:

They did patch a lot of those crashes so you might be good now. It’s definitely worth giving it a go. GTAV had a great story and the checkpoint system really helped with the long missions.

I only have the 360 version, so unfortunately there's nothing much I can do!

Perhaps one day I will get an Xbox Series X and I'll try again with the latest version.

[Webhead123 | 675]

I have to admit that a) I was never all that big a fan of the GTA series (I played much more Saints Row), and b) I only ever played about an hour or two of San Andreas. Thus, I don't think I'm qualified to properly rate it. But if I were to do so, I think I'd be inclined to give it something in the range of 6 out of 10. I can see why someone could get completely absorbed in the game and have a great time exploring it. I never had that experience, so I don't have any great sense of admiration or nostalgia for it.

Edited May 20, 2023 by Webhead123

[Sumez | 2,933]

One of the only GTA games I've never played, and I certainly never will. That series is consistently trash. Not sure why I kept giving it so many chances already.

Edited May 19, 2023 by Sumez

[Strange | 1,700]

Still my favorite one. I remember being amazed back in the day at the scale of this game.

The writing is top tier too. The humor and CJ’s quips when he does anything kill me every time.

[WhyNotZoidberg | 585]

8/10.

 

I preferred Vice City.

[DoctorEncore | 3,690]

GTA Vice City is one of my all time favorites, but I never got around to San Andreas. I'm not a huge fan of GTA anymore so I doubt I'll ever go back and play this, but I'm not averse to it either.

[Yattarou | 6]

For sure one of the greatest games of all time. I think the 3D era GTA games did an amazing job at being ridiculous enough that it still feels "game-y" while keeping the stories immersive and compelling. San Andreas is the best of the bunch, tells a memorable story with plenty of twists and turns, but offers an insane level of freedom to how you go about tackling the game. I try to make a new file on this one and play it through every month or so. Never gotten bored of it a decade and a half later.

[Reed Rothchild | 9,510]

7 minutes ago, Yattarou said:

I try to make a new file on this one and play it through every month or so

Holy shit

[Yattarou | 6]

10 minutes ago, Reed Rothchild said:

Holy shit

Haha I'm a speedrunner (mostly of NES and arcade games) so I have a tendency to replay the same games over and over again. San Andreas though, I've never beaten in one sitting. It's usually over a span of a week or so, playing a couple hours before bed each night. 

[RegularGuyGamer | 2,011]

I could never get into this one. I know it had plenty of cool stuff to do but the life sim part of the game I never could get behind. And not that I'm against game being in the hood but it was released at the height of the gangsta rap craze here in the US which made it seem derivative. I couldn't ever really take it seriously since it seemed like you just had to make your guy into 50 Cent.

[OptOut | 8,881]

2 hours ago, Yattarou said:

Haha I'm a speedrunner (mostly of NES and arcade games) so I have a tendency to replay the same games over and over again. San Andreas though, I've never beaten in one sitting. It's usually over a span of a week or so, playing a couple hours before bed each night. 

Do it. If you don't beat GTA:SA in a single sitting, what kind of man even are you? Certainly not a FAST one, at least!

[LeatherRebel5150 | 1,055]

Loved this game, as well as III and Vice City. I went back to play the trilogy on Switch recently and can’t believe how short all of them really are. As a kid I spent SO much time just dicking around and exploring, which I don’t really do on a subsequent play through. 

San Andreas was my favorite of the three, and even though I HATE rap and the whole surge of “gangster” culture back then. I particularly liked the portions of the game where you have to capture sections of gang territory and wished they had pushed that to more portions of the map instead of just the first city. 

That all being said, GTA is a series I will not play without cheat codes. Judge me all you want on that, don’t care. Im not going to be feeding and working out my character to not make them fat. F’that. 

[G-type | 2,479]

I've played the GTA1, GTA3, Vice City. This one looks cool, and I like the early 90s south central LA setting. Just never got around to checking it out

[Andy_Bogomil | 815]

Weird one for me because I was the same being burnt out on the series by playing the original quite a bit and then absolutely killing GTA 3 (100% beat into the ground) and then to a lesser extent Vice City. Once SA came around I was kinda done. Funny enough, my wife, who rarely games, got really into this for some odd reason down the road on PC. It's one of the very few games that we'll take turns playing and actually enjoy. When she was playing it I went back through it with her a few times. The swimming definitely made a huge improvement to Vice City even though VC will always have the best aesthetic, music, and atmosphere as one who loves the 80s. Easy 8/10 for me.

[Foochie776 | 1,051]

10/10. One of my favorite video games ever. I’ve done 100% several times and I can’t wait to again! 

[cartman | 195]

Fantastic game. The story and missions themselves, the characters, all the vehicles and guns. The way in wich cities, people & places are introduced and sometimes go back and forth. 

The fact that there's multiple albums amount of songs and the funny shit those radiohosts say.

I think the game delivers above & beyond what would've been enough for a solid game like The Simpsons Hit & Run or The Godfather. 

[wongojack | 211]

5 out of 10.  I have tried to like this entire series many times, but I just can't get into it.  There's always something that pulls me out, and I just drop it.  This is one that I really tried hard to like, but I was mildly offended by the racial stereotyping, and often just frustrated by the things that you are supposed to do easily which I never seemed to find all that easy (driving a forklift in one of the early story missions, organizing your "homies" to fight a rival gang). 

The advice I would get is usually something like "you're playing it wrong, just drive around stealing cars and get your wanted level up."  But for me, I just don't really like to play a game when the point is to just wander around and get into trouble.  I like to do that a little, but I want a strong narrative to drive my decisions as a gamer.  The best Rockstar game for me was Red Dead Redemption which I enjoyed quite a bit, but I've never been able to get into the GTA series.