Checking Out Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas On Xbox 360

Recently, Rockstar Games released Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas on Xbox 360. This version was not the original Xbox version that had been available for a few years now. This version has achievements and improved graphics along with some other smart additions to the ten year old open world classic.
It seems that this version of the game is a console port of the mobile HD rerelease. In fact the menus and some of the menu animation are straight out of the mobile HD version. I actually played that version of San Andreas and while the touchscreen controls were pretty sloppy the actual game was a better looking and cleaner version of San Andreas. Luckily, the Xbox 360 port looks just as good and now with a controller plays great too… well.. sort of.

I love San Andreas. The soundtrack, the world, the amount of stuff to see and do. It was a massive game when it was released in 2004 and it still feels pretty massive in 2014. But, San Andreas has not aged well. The textures might be a bit better but, the character models are still really clunky and barely animate. The draw distance in this version is improved and the resolution is too. Which is nice, but don’t expect the game too look great. It still looks like a ten year old game in many ways. And even worse I had some framerate issues and even a hard lock, so stability isn’t super great. And don’t expect it to play great either.
At the time Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas was also crazy ambitious. Now though, the game feels less impressive. This ends up making the lousy gameplay stand out even more. Melee combat is a joke, gun combat is functional, but not very fun. Driving feels really unresponsive and janky. Rockstar has added autosaves and mission checkpoints to help make the game easier, but it doesn't change the way the game feels. It feels like an old PS2 game.
It is hard to go back and play San Andreas as someone who loved the game in 2004. If you didn’t experience it back in 04 then you might look at this and wonder “Why did people like this?” The answer is because ten years ago this was a hugely ambitious game with a really great soundtrack and tons of stuff to do. And while the soundtrack is still great, the rest of the game has not held up as well.

As a person who put HUNDREDS of hours into San Andreas back in the day, I’ll have a blast playing through this world. My nostalgia and memories of the past are strong and override what is in many ways a pretty clunky game.
But if you have never played Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas and are wondering about going back to the past and checking it out... well... you probably won’t find a lot of fun. Of course as of this writing the game is under $4 on Xbox Live, so it might be worth the risk. If are really curious about the past of Grand Theft Auto or you have a lot of fond memories of the game, I would say give it a shot. Otherwise, I would stick to the GTAV version of Los Santos. Or play San Andreas on PC and mod the hell out of it.