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Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas

Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas

General Information
Genre Original developer Originally released Current developer Remade in MP amount of players Characterization
Sandbox, Action Rockstar North 2004 Rockstar North 2014 Up to 999 in SA:MP fanmade mod Sequel
Specific Information
Category Specifics Sources / Comments
Purchase Copy purchase SubscriptionFree to play$14.99
Cut ContentGraphicCharacter Gameplay Expansions Other First physical update, v1.01, disabled the Hot Coffee minigame. Later updates such as the Steam version removed several songs from the in-game soundtrack.
CensorshipLanguageViolence Nudity As mentioned before, the Hot Coffee controversy, though this mode is not normally accessible to players.
DRMuPlay Steam DenuvoOriginOtherDRM-FreeSome sites rumor that later copies contain SecuROM, but no concrete examples have surfaced.
In-game purchasesCosmeticsBoostersItemsCharactersMapsOtherNone, as San Andreas came out prior to this period.
Paid DLCCosmeticsBoostersSoundtrackItemsCharactersMapsExpansions
Free DLCCosmeticsBoostersSoundtrackItemsCharactersMapsExpansions
Modding supportBannedNone Limited FullBlocked completely after initial version controversy; user needs to downgrade their .exe in order to mod. This is almost impossible with the Steam version due to various checks in place that do not exist with earlier, physical retail copies.
False advertising No YesNot to my knowledge.
Demo availability No Yes
Bugs at launchNone Insubstantial ModerateHeavyThe initial PC port of San Andreas introduced bugs that weren't present in the original console releases, such as vehicles with dual-axles missing half of their wheels, or sponsor decals on racing paintjobs appearing as white rectangles. No attempts were made by Rockstar to rectify any of these issues.
MultiplayerLocalOfficial server P2P LAN User servers Unofficial Mods.
Comparison to originals / fanmade mods
Category Included in GTA: SA Included in originals / fanmade mods Sources / Comments
Higher ResolutionsNo Yes Did not natively support 1080p despite many games having done so for years; apparently still not implemented in the Steam release.
Online MultiplayerNo Yes SAMP and MTA:SA cover these well, as Rockstar never bothered to consider such a feature.
Updated Textures Yes Yes Higher resolution roads, but that's about it. Mobile release also contained higher-detailed map icons.
Bug FixesNo Yes Many options available; Things To Do in San Andreas by DeeZire is probably the most complete one.
Offline MultiplayerNo Yes Though once again present in the 2004 PS2/Xbox release, removed entirely from the PC version and only mods can bring back this functionality.

Gamer's Opinion

This is the first release of GTA on the PC where you can tell Rockstar did not give a shit about its quality, which is especially odd when you consider pretty much every game ever made started life out on a computer. Things took a turn for the worst when a Dutch hacker discovered the unused code for the Hot Coffee minigame, landing himself and R* in hot legal water.

With this in mind, take a guess who Rockstar decided to blame:

(A) The employee(s) who chose not to spend the time removing the feature, delaying the game if its removal took up too much time.
(B) Themselves for not checking the game thoroughly before release and prying back into the now stitched-up source code.
(C) The backwards rating system that allows full-on massacres with chainsaws, shotguns and molotovs aplenty, but a minor depiction of fully-clothed sex is verboten.
(D) The naughty player who stuck his nose where he shouldn't have, and by extension, the entire modding community.

If you answered D, congratulations. And so all copies of SA were recalled and replaced with the dreaded version known as 2.0, which would deliberately crash if it detected any of the game data was modified. Then they went ahead and made LCS and VCS console-exclusive. With this in mind, you'd assume nobody ever modded San Andreas ever again. Except if you go on Google and look up "GTASA Mods", you will find that hundreds are still being made on a practically daily basis, even 14 years after the game's release. Why? Because if R* decided it didn't want to play fair and attack its most supportive community, then we sure as fuck wouldn't either. We broke their shitty softlock with ease and released a patch that would downgrade the newer discs for the purpose of re-enabling modding. Then years later we ported the Stories games over to San Andreas' engine just because we could. They lost in the most humiliating way possible, and they've been seething at the mouth to see us pay our dues ever since. Only last summer did Take-Two file out Cease & Desists for mods for the HD-era games which utilized Rockstar intellectual property, though this was another battle they ended up losing.