38.2 km²
A series record in 2004: three cities and the countryside between them.
Three cities, one state
In 2004, the 38.2 km² map was the largest in the series at the time. Size was not the only change: the protagonist responds to how he is treated, and neighbourhoods can be conquered.
The game at a glance
Released 26 October 2004
Carl Johnson
Returns home after five years to bury his mother.
6 stats
A character who grows stronger, gains weight and learns. No other game in the series has the same system.
Platforms: PS2 → Xbox, PC → mobile devices → modern consoles
The 38.2 km² map was the series' largest at the time. More importantly, it was a whole state with desert, mountains and villages rather than one city.
Why CJ differs from the other protagonists
He returns to Los Santos after five years in Liberty City to bury his murdered mother. His gang has collapsed, the neighbourhood belongs to someone else and his brother will not speak to him.
Our assessment
CJ is the series' first protagonist with a family, a past and people who matter to him. Earlier heroes were silent or strangers. This begins as a homecoming, not a career.
His story expands from one neighbourhood gang across three cities into politics and corruption, yet repeatedly returns to the same street.
Five ways it changed the series
And what still applies today
A whole state for the first time
Three cities linked by motorway, plus a desert military base, mountains, villages and rivers. Driving from Los Santos to Las Venturas takes real minutes, with activities between them.
Why it mattered
GTA V and GTA 6 still use the same pattern: a city and its surrounding state. It began here.
A character who changes
CJ gains and loses weight, becomes stronger and learns driving, shooting and swimming. These are not cosmetic: a weak CJ tires quickly and aims poorly.
Why it mattered
No later entry returned to this system, the main reason San Andreas still plays differently.
Gang territories
Neighbourhoods can be conquered and defended. Rival gangs retake territory if left unchecked.
Why it mattered
A mechanic suited to a gang story that neither GTA IV nor GTA V repeated.
Uncontrolled freedom
Planes, jets, bicycles, tandem parachuting, diving, casino gambling, hairstyles and tattoos. Most are unnecessary for completion.
Why it mattered
That freedom built the community: there was still something to discover after the story ended.
Open to mods
Understandable file formats let the community build tools quickly, producing thousands of modifications and an alternative multiplayer mode.
Why it mattered
New mods still appear twenty years after release, unlike for newer entries.
Hub sections
Story
CJ, Grove Street and betrayal from within. The full story and the real events of 1992 behind it.
Cities and countryside
Los Santos, San Fierro, Las Venturas and the desert between them: how they differ and what makes each memorable.
Character stats
Six stats that change how the game plays, using a system no later entry has revisited.
Gang wars
How neighbourhoods are conquered, when the system is active and why held territory determines access to the final mission.
Cheats
Checked codes for the original PC version, ordered by risk, especially those that cannot be removed from a saved game.
Mods
Four tools, the correct installation order and the one issue that must be resolved first.
SA-MP and multiplayer
Rockstar supplied no multiplayer, so players built it. SA-MP, open.mp and MTA:SA, installation and the meaning of Roleplay.
Myths and legends
Bigfoot, driverless cars and the man with a chainsaw: each claim judged against the game files, and why people believed it.