Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas PlayStation 2
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas Image
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Metascore
95

Universal acclaim - based on 80 Critics What's this?

User Score
8.8

Generally favorable reviews- based on 1014 Ratings

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  • Summary: [Metacritic's 2004 PS2 Game of the Year] Five years ago Carl Johnson escaped from the pressures of life in Los Santos, San Andreas... a city tearing itself apart with gang trouble, drugs and corruption. Where filmstars and millionaires do their best to avoid the dealers and gangbangers. Now, it's the early 90s. Carl's got to go home. His mother has been murdered, his family has fallen apart and his childhood friends are all heading towards disaster. On his return to the neighborhood, a couple of corrupt cops frame him for homicide. CJ is forced on a journey that takes him across the entire state of San Andreas, to save his family and to take control of the streets. [Rockstar]… Expand

Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 79 out of 80
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 80
  3. Negative: 0 out of 80
  1. G4 TV
    100
    Despite minor flaws, this is by far the most enjoyable game in the GTA series, and will eat well over 100 hours of your time.
  2. Cheat Code Central
    100
    It's like 5 games in one: part RPG, part adventure, part action, part racer and part sim. And it does it just as well as the best games in any of those genres...One of the best games ever released on any system.
    All this publication's reviews
  3. GamerArchive
    100
    Take a large measure of "GTA III"; add a sprinkle of "Vice City", freshly sliced sprigs of nineties gang culture; stir in dashes of "Manhunt", "Fable", and "Dance-Dance Revolution" to taste, then mix in a nitro-powered-blender from hell. Result? Ten out of ten.
  4. Gamezilla!
    96
    When you take the scope of the entire game into considerations, San Andreas is a real technical feat.
  5. Gamers Europe
    95
    The second you start playing this game you realise that the latest Rockstar title is about a hundred times more complex than its predecessors. Not only is there a load of new weapons, cars and a huge new environment available, but the gaming experience itself has completely evolved.
  6. Edge Magazine
    90
    As with previous GTA games there's lots to criticise, but San Andreas survives, scathed but still walking tall, buoyed by the kind of ambition that sees most games crumble under the weight of it all. It's a multi-faceted, multi-achieving experience, a rough-edged but massively substantial landmark. [Christmas 2004, p.78]
    All this publication's reviews
  7. The New York Times
    60
    It would feel truer to the game's open environmental design if you could have more general goals: kill an enemy when and how you like; raise money for an objective through any method available; challenge random people to races.

See all 80 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

Write a Review
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 366 out of 404
  2. Mixed: 16 out of 404
  3. Negative: 22 out of 404
  1. BoomerSooner
    Oct 27, 2004
    10
    Anyone that gives this a low score doesn't know what they're talking about. It's better than a 98...X-Box fans can go play Halo, their only game, and be jealous of this incredible game.… Expand
  2. Bolo
    Dec 5, 2004
    10
    This game is really fun... u can swim !
  3. JuliusD.
    Nov 4, 2004
    10
    Victor G. - Could we make Tommy Verscetti black? And are white and black the only 2 ethnicities out there? You need to get schooled, son -- and not in Alabama. The game is a bigger and badder evolution of the tried-and-true digital playground that R* has been providing us with since GTAIII. Saying any more would be useless since the professional reviews can't help but mimic each other in their praise for this title (as well as its flaws.)… Expand
  4. Sam
    Feb 15, 2005
    10
    Labeling this game as racist is a statement that needs analyzing. "a discrimination of black people?" come on. Many African Americans contributed to the making of this game. This game could be called historical fiction, because this kind of gang violence among young black men was rampant in LA in the early 90s. This could be difficult for people who have been directly affected by gang violence. Rockstar does take things to an extreme level sometimes, but really we all just have to loosen up. The more we bring up a race issue, the bigger the issue becomes, no matter what side you're on. Oh and the game is absolutely awesome.… Expand
  5. Ali1247
    Sep 17, 2011
    10
    I have played all the GTA games all the way from GTA III and in my honest opinion out of all GTA games San Andreas is the most largest, most involving and deepest GTA game ever. The game's map is just ginormous consisting of three cities Los Santos (based on LA), San Fierro (based on San Francisco) and Las Venturas (based on Las Vegas). The large map also has forest and desert like environments it is amazing how this game captured the feel of three different cities and its citizens but also shows the way the cowboys and villiagers live their loves in the forest and the desert. GTA San Andreas has just a great story which could be confusing early on however the player will understand more and more things as he progresses the game's story is very deep, enthralling and personal also more involving and darker than its predecessors. I also like the main character of this game Carl Johnson he has a very funny. charming and likeable personality a type of person who can be sarcastic and funny along with being a total bada** and serious at the same time. The game also includes some rpg stats unlike 3 and Vice City which include Respect, Fat, Muscle that can change the way CJ looks. The player can also buy different kinds of clothes , different haircuts and tattoos to make the CJ look exactly like he wants, the player can also customize and mod different Vehicles the customization options in this game are just really well done, Sex Appeal, Driving and Gun Skills/Stats have also been implemented in the game the more player drives and the more he uses guns his skills improve and the better the player gets at them for example the player will be able to drive cars easily when his skills improve, and being able to use two SMGS at the same time and move while shooting as the player gets good with guns. The game has so much side stuff that it is impossible for me to cover in all of them in this review but the ones on the top of my head are: car, bike and plane races, car, bike, boat and plane schools, GYMs, girlfriends, gang Wars, Casinos, Quarry missions, some Asset missions as well as Police, Taxi and Ambulance missions thats not even all. The amount of side stuff put the side things in GTA 4 to shame. GTA San Andreas also has great music and songs which are all a great kickback to the 1990s and all the types of music are there Rock Music, Country Music, Rap Music and even talk shows infact the player can just enjoy and have fun in the game driving around in cars and bikes while listening to these Radio Stations alone thats how awesome the Radio Stations are in this game. The voice acting is just perfect there is no other word I can use to describe it, it seems like all the people who are doing the voice acting are deep into their characters. The game's graphics are good considering its ps2, the game is so huge and it came out in 2004 so its graphics are understandable, the environments looks just beautiful, character models are more detailed than previous GTAs but the characters stiff finger attached hands can look really weird at times. There is a multiplayer mode in this game unlike previous GTAs while it is not amazing or anything the player can still have alot of fun with his friends while free roaming with them or doing co-op rampage missions it is not perfect but it is better to have a multiplayer mode which is fun but not perfect than have no multiplayer at all. The game's story is around 25-30 hours long however in trying to do all the sidestuff in this and unlocking all things, getting 100% completion the player can spend hours and hours in this game and completely get lost in it amazing world and atmosphere. GTA San Andreas is a classic and a masterpiece of a game and in my honest opinion the best game in the GTA series and one of best sandbox games of all time. 10/10.… Expand
  6. DavidN.
    Apr 15, 2005
    9
    Great game! I'm from Brooklyn, New York. I don't know much about Cali hoods but this game does a good job of portraying life in the hood. I'm sure any hood in Cali is like any hood in New York.… Expand
  7. CactuarChocobo
    Jun 30, 2004
    0
    Like all the other GTA games, I expect this one will be buried under all the hype surrounding it too. Let's face the facts, people! GTA sucked! Only the gameplay was OK! It's like nobody saw the graphics of all the games! I had an eyesore just looking at the horrible Vice City! I would have given a 3/10 but looks like people have started treating this game likegod again. Too bad.… Expand

See all 404 User Reviews

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