Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas – The Legacy Review

I'm taking a look back at each of the core Grand Theft Auto games and replaying them in the leadup to the arrival of Grand Theft Auto 6. What we'll be putting together won't be traditional re-reviews, and they won't come with any new IGN score, but they will re-examine what made each GTA remarkable upon the time of its release.

By the end of the project, using GTA's previously six-star wanted level, you should be able to get an idea of where each of these games roughly rank in my long-term love for this series. Today, it's time to go home to Grand Theft Auto San Andreas. >> A here we go again. Whether you remember it or not, or were

too preoccupied being spoonfed pured fruit from a jar at the time, it's impossible to understate what a banner year 2004 was for now legendary video games. Just look at the lineup. World of Warcraft, HalfLife 2 and Halo 2, Burnout 3 and Metal Gear Solid 3, Gran Turismo 4, and more, much, much more. I could

absolutely go on to emerge as the best-selling game of what may well be the greatest year we've ever had in an era where it felt like the rule book was being torn up and rewritten every other month. You had to be remarkable. You had to be rich, surprising, innovative, and essential. Simply put, to be the

bestselling game of 2004, you needed to be more than great. You needed to be grand. >> OH MY DOG. WHAT'S UP?

While GTA 3 defined the fundamentals of 3D openw world design and Vice City layered that sandbox with vibrant 80s style and a big dose of yacht rock and yo. Grand Theft Auto San Andreas pushed the formula to the very limits of what was actually possible on the world's then favorite DVD player. >> Despite shipping just 2 years after Vice