GTA: San Andreas best story in video games

Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas is an action-adventure crime open-world game of 2004. A remarkable one in the gaming industry. What makes it such an influential game? It’s extravagant missions, an extensive and interactive open world, and larger-than-life characters. Not just the San Andreas; it’s the common aim for all GTA games; the only thing is that GTA: San Andreas delivered these characteristics quite well.

As the title suggests, GTA: San Andreas is one of the best stories in video games, but the narration or the story didn’t get the attention of people, considering its gameplay. The story got buried under the mammoth of gameplay, its over-the-top actions, and preset viewpoints of people due to other GTA games. It’s not just the gameplay alone that could have made it so far, but the intertwining of gameplay and storytelling.

 

What’s this reading about?

• How does gameplay complement the story?
• What makes GTA: San Andreas one of the best stories in video games?

Average rating across platforms.

 

Why GTA: San Andreas is one of the best stories in video games?

• Diverse Map:

  The map is an essential piece of a narrative, especially for the adventure genre; the map shows us the scope of the journey in a story. When it comes to GTA: San Andreas, it has the best possible map for this game. Its geographical features are better than any other GTA game. GTA V has a similar map in terms of features, but it looks rather artificial and lacks the essence of a real diverse map. But in San Andreas, the regions have their own space, which makes them distinct. This played a huge role in describing the adventures of the protagonist and the development of the story.

   

   

• Anticipation Stages:

  At the beginning of any story, we’re quite excited. We’re expecting what’s going to happen or what the story will be about. This anticipation for most of the stories just ends right there and cannot be sustained at certain parts of the narrative. But with San Andreas, the protagonist is moved to different locations, which gives a fresh start to the storyline. Every time the main character CJ takes up the missions in these new settings, it brings anticipation to the story and keeps the excitement going. It’s a brilliant move from both a story and gameplay viewpoint.

   

• Character Arc:

  Rags to Riches is a common plot for all the GTA games. When compared to the previous instalments of this game, that is, GTA III and GTA: Vice City, GTA: San Andreas has a way better character arc. Since it’s an old game, it surfers in the visual domain but never in the storyline. The protagonist, CJ, goes through certain turning events and situations, which adds resonance to the character. Such predicaments not only the story but the character as well.

   

• The Missions:

  GTA story concepts are low-level (not a high amount of fiction), so it comes down to the premise. It’s quite challenging to make a compelling premise with a low-level concept. But in San Andreas, the over-the-top missions, which are full of fun and entertainment, take away the focus from just the story and split it with the gameplay. This is one of the key factors even in GTA V, where the gameplay complements the story.