


San Andreas was bigger than both of the previous GTA maps combined, and was absolutely packed with content. With San Andreas, however, I felt like I was only just getting started. By the time I completed the main storyline, I was already familiar with most of the city’s layout. But as beautiful and enticing as they were, both exhausted their options fairly quickly. I loved every inch of Liberty City and especially Vice City. And that came as a side effect of how big the new environment was. While I could carry on with the story and complete missions, I was also prepared for any random activity to divert my attention. That’s the mindset I got into whenever I booted up the game. Stepping out onto the streets of San Andreas, you never knew what you’re going to get involved with. But the beauty of any GTA game lies in the fact that everyone’s experience is different. Some characters from previous GTA games make surprising cameos, like Claude, the main protagonist of GTA 3. While you don’t necessarily play GTA for the plot, San Andreas is among the best in the series. One of these relationships leads CJ into burning down a cannabis farm in order to get rid of evidence.

But as the story ramps up, CJ must work with dangerous and even unusual individuals, including the Triads, the FBI and a hippie by the name of The Truth. At most you might get into a fistfight with a random taxi driver. It starts out with relatively mundane tasks: change your hairstyle, get new clothes, spray paint over a rival gang’s graffiti. It’s now up to CJ to restore Grove Street Families back to its former glory. His neighbourhood is under the threat of a rival gang and two corrupt cops want nothing more than to get him back behind the bars. Enter the story of Carl “CJ” Johnson, who comes out of prison to attend the funeral of his mother, only to find out that his family is in utter disarray.
