With Grand Theft Auto 6 on the horizon, revisiting Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas offers a useful reminder of how dramatically open-world games have changed. The 2004 release was one of the first four PlayStation 2 games I bought in 2005, alongside Final Fantasy X, Kingdom Hearts and Devil May Cry 3. For this return visit, I played the Steam version included in Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy — The Definitive Edition.
I also had no interest in using a controller. After 22 years, the original control scheme felt like a challenge in itself.
A huge game with distinctly old-school handling
When San Andreas arrived, its enormous map and sprawling collection of activities felt revolutionary. It was also an urban crime epic centred on Carl “CJ” Johnson, who returns home after his mother’s death. His old gang, the Grove Street Families, is struggling through a gang war, while CJ is introduced to police brutality before being dumped from a car and forced to cycle back towards his neighbourhood.
That opening ride still carries real emotional force. It is easy to reconnect with CJ, the Grove Street crew and the game’s sense of place. However, the same bike ride also highlights how awkward the older mechanics can be. Steering feels heavy, almost like turning a truck, while running and aiming can make CJ abruptly change direction.
The gap between the game’s memorable characters and its dated controls becomes especially obvious in one early mission: “OG Loc”.
What “OG Loc” is really about
The mission begins when CJ, Sweet and Big Smoke visit a police station to collect Jeffrey, an old friend who now calls himself “OG Loc”. Jeffrey has tried to build a gangster identity for himself and has committed petty crimes that landed him in jail. He says another inmate, Freddy, sexually assaulted him and stole his rhymes.
Jeffrey’s storyline examines the way criminal life can be romanticised. He wants the status and authority associated with gang culture, but his performance is obviously forced. CJ, Sweet and Big Smoke do not exactly approve of his choices, yet they mostly treat him as naive. Sweet repeatedly calls him a fool, while Big Smoke reminds him that he once had the opportunity to attend college.
That contrast gives the mission more substance than its comic presentation initially suggests. The characters understand that their routes into crime differ, and that anyone with a genuine alternative should avoid it. Jeffrey, by contrast, is chasing an image.
The chase that turns frustration into the real villain
After CJ collects Jeffrey, the pair head to Freddy’s home. Freddy dismisses the assault as “just a prison thing” before escaping on a motorcycle. Jeffrey insists that he must protect his reputation, so CJ follows him on another bike.
The subject matter is grim: Freddy has not merely taken Jeffrey’s rhymes, but has humiliated him, and Jeffrey wants to reclaim his dignity through violence. Yet the mission’s motorcycle pursuit is difficult for a less thoughtful reason. Freddy races through narrow alleys, where a small collision can send CJ and the bike flying into a wall.
Recovering from a crash takes far too long. Once back on the road, the stiff steering makes every turn feel calculated. U-turns require careful attention to speed and angle, and a missed corner can cost enough time to restart the mission. The result is a chase where the controls, rather than the enemy, become the main obstacle.
A classic that reveals its age
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas remains important because its world, characters and writing still have weight. Returning to it after two decades makes that achievement clearer, especially for players who first encountered it on PlayStation 2.
At the same time, missions such as “OG Loc” show how much open-world design and vehicle handling have advanced. The game’s ideas remain compelling, but its motorcycles and movement can be exhausting. I am interested to see how GTA 6 balances realism with the playful momentum that made Grove Street so memorable. The characters of San Andreas still deserve attention; I am simply less eager to spend hours riding around its streets again.
For more retro gaming coverage, explore the RETROCADE Arcade Blog, or compare the practical differences between modern arcade machines and compact bartop arcades. A guide to choosing an arcade machine can also help when planning a dedicated gaming setup.
Leave a Reply