Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas

San Andreas arrived on Xbox less than a year after its debut on PlayStation 2 and became one of the last major titles of the generation on the Microsoft console. The player took on the role of CJ, a member of the Los Angeles gang Grove Street Families, and across three cities and open countryside dealt with gang conflicts, heists, and absurd side missions ranging from paragliding to casino gambling. The story and the scope of gameplay remained identical to the original, including the same voice cast led by Young Maylay as CJ and guest stars such as Samuel L. Jackson.

The Xbox version benefited from more powerful hardware: textures were sharper, draw distance somewhat longer, and the framerate more stable than on PlayStation 2, especially in cities with heavy traffic. The controls also used analog triggers for gas and brake, giving vehicle handling a finer feel compared to the DualShock's digital buttons. On the other hand, it was just a port without any major content expansion — compared to the PC version, released at the same time, it lacked support for mods and higher resolutions, which the PC community would later use extensively to modify the game. The sprawling game map with all three cities, planes, and diving gear remained identical to the older versions, as did the extensive playlist of licensed music spread across dozens of radio stations.

The Xbox version also went on sale at a time when the console's life cycle was already nearing its end and media attention was shifting toward the upcoming Xbox 360, so unlike the PS2 original it did not achieve as strong a commercial reception, even though its production quality was among the best to be found on that hardware. For Xbox owners, it thus represented one last big chance to experience San Andreas before the entire market's attention shifted to the new console generation and toward the gradually growing interest in online multiplayer, which this generation of Xbox games did not yet offer for this title.

Why play it: For Xbox owners, it was the last big chance to experience San Andreas on this console before market attention shifted to the Xbox 360, even though the version did not achieve as strong a commercial reception as the PS2 original.