Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas

For me personally the best game of all time and I'm including the Definitive Edition since there's no difference and bugs don't bother me.

First off I want to start with the setting. Rockstar struck gold with this. The 90s LA was perfect. Instead of the gloomy liberty city from GTA III or Neon bright lights of GTA Vice City they went with a sunset orangy brightness that rose over Los Santos. All regions had something different. Los Santos had the turf war and was frantic with gang crime. The countryside felt almost lonely and had that sense of CJ really being alone. San Fierro felt bright and heavily populated. It felt lifelike and really brought the game to life. San Fierro felt wild, almost like you had the sense of exploring the casinos and the desert. Even the hotels was creatively made like there's a casino called The Camel's toe and yes it's spelt like that too.

Now I want to talk about the music. This is why Grand Theft Auto San Andrea's is so near to me. I have about 100 save files on the old xbox and my grandad use to always watch me play in the living room. Cruising through the country side I put of the country radio and all of sudden I heard him sing "All my exes live in Texas" and I just laughed saying "you know these songs" so everytime I play that song on SA I think of him. Back to a more cheerful note songs like "Check yo self" and "hold the line" was absolutely brilliant songs and I absolutely loved it. This game introduced me to a catalogue of music that I enjoy to this day.

Now unto vehicles. This was the first GTA to include and drivable plane (I know GTA III had the Dodo but the controls was rediculous and you can only glide with it, not fly). I also think this is the only GTA where a protagonist actually tells the airport they're gonna land. The low rider in this game was absolutely brilliant and made you feel like ur part of grove street or if u just like nice cars it's definitely one of them.
There are also cars like the cheetah and infernus and oh my dais they are beautiful for a game made from 2004.

The last point I want to talk about is Story and Characters. All side characters in Grand Theft Auto felt instrumental to the story. CJ, Kendl, Cesar, Ryder, Sweet, Tenpenny, Pulaski, Hernandez, Big Smoke, The Ballas, Truth, Zero and I can name much more. They all felt important. The story of CJ returning after 3 years after the death of his brother which he felt responsible already made me invested. Sweet already showed he still blames CJ and is still angry with him. Tenpenny showing hes a corrupt officer and I searched this up but Tenpenny and Pulaski were known as the C.R.A.S.H Unit which was a real life incident in the 90s that includes corrupt officers involved in the LA Riot. CJ being away for so long he felt he had to make everything right and basically turned everything around. The Grove was on its knees and basically dying from the Ballas but due to CJ, The Grove felt like a indestructible force again. He wanted to earn his brothers love again but a
betrayal derailed everything. This is why Cesar is one of the best side characters of all time for me. He pointed CJ towards the betrayal of Big Smoke and Ryder. He looked after his sister Kendl, he introduced CJ to Wu Zu Mo which earned CJ alot of money and influence, he was helpful in killing Ryder and he helped CJ build up his empire. I'm glad CJ repayed the favour in helping CJ get his house back but honestly, that's the least CJ could do. Once Sweet went prison Cesar and Kendl were the only ones there for CJ. CJ didn't have his family or his friends. Ryder's betrayal hurt CJ alot but Big Smokes betrayal felt bigger. He was his best friend, the one CJ always thought of highly, the one who CJ knew Sweet trusted at one point more than CJ. It's fitting how in the last mission CJ told Sweet he wanted to do it himself. Basically saying, everyone died because me and he want to repay everything back.

Since I've done a San Andreas and Vice City review I'd complete the trilogy. GTA 3 ranks the lowest GTA game I've played BUT that don't mean I don't think it's an absolute banger of a game. For a game that came out in 2001 it revolutionized the gaming industry while also being a diamond among new games. The story was great but had some low points, the main character not speaking may be a put off but his facial expression was enough and I believe the main character is the only cold blooded psychopath in the GTA series

It was so nice I done it twice on PS4 & PS5. Judgment was my first Yakuza typish game and it remains my favourite. The story about a real world problem was so enticing and intriguing. The game had really memorable twists and turns and it really caught me how many great plot points there was. The characters were really thought out and I love the in depth detail they all had. Gameplay was absolutely phenomenal. Although I gave up on the plat then went back to it a year later I could never deny the story telling was world class. And it was English so that's a plus.

I don't give bad ratings to games since I like to see posivity in them but this is the worst game I've played on PS5. The side characters had way too much goofiness (and to be clear I love the comedy from Pierce, Shaundi, Matt and others from previous games) but I never saw anything serious about these ones. They are bland and although there were comedy jokes that made me laugh it didn't feel right. The protagonist had some elements that I can abroad with. He's too goofy too but after a while we saw his serious side and I wished that is what we got from the beginning. This is NOT a saints row game to me. The music to me in this game was TERRIBLE and even being able to make ur own playlist didn't make it better. The best part of this game for me was the way the cars look and I can jump and flip them. That was awesome.

It's a real shame I can't give this 3.75 because that's what I think this game is. This is my second Final Fantasy after VII Remake so my comparison of any Final fantasy game will come of that. For me what stops this games from get 4 stars is the relentless side quests. Some are actually fun but most are absolutely boring. The story is masterfully created. It got me hooked from minute 1 but somewhere in the middle it felt like it was dragging on but pick up again near the end. The combat was excellent but simple is not always better. This games combat might be easy and combos brilliant but if I compare it to 7 remake the combos in that game was god tier and absolutely OP even though the combat was a bit more complex due to Materia but that made that better. Also I'm not a fan of the cliffhanger at the end since I know Final fantasy isn't connected to previous or future games so there are still lore I'm curious about but won't get explained.

This is one of the greatest games of all times and everyones debate is: Vice City or San Andreas? For me I favour San Andreas but Vice City is on that level for a reason. I think the debate came down to one this: The environment. I preferred the SA atmosphere but the vibrant colourful coat of neon all around the city is so beautiful.The story in itself is amazing, the voice acting is legendary (R.I.P Ray), the side stuff ranged from mediocre to amazing and the Miami feel to the game gives you something different. Legendary game among a trilogy that ranks as the best trilogy of all time. Btw I don't care that's it's the definitive edition it's still the same in my book.

Thought I'd give an underrated game in the trilogy some love. I know that alot of people hate/dislike this game and I can see why. Mafia 3 is a great game, BUT it's not a Mafia game. This game felt so different to 1 & 2 that this felt more like a GTA Game. The historical importance of race was absolutely spot on and very realistic. The story was actually good but as I said it's not a Mafia story. The gameplay was really good and Clay had the best car in the trilogy and that a win in my book 👍

I've done the worst Saint Row game, now I'm going to do the most underrated one or at least what people say is absolutely rubbish and I'm going to say that's further from the truth in my experience. The main complaint was the superpowers and I'm telling you this, it was absolute carnage in a good way. Saints row already had the comparison to GTA but with what they added here was amazing. Adding elemental guns just added to the experience. Blowing shit never felt more fun and the traversal system was so good. It was so quick to A to B in a flash and if your like me sometimes you wanted to get in your car and listen to the absolute bangers that you could put on your mixtape. Why this game is not more than 3.5 stars? The story was really messy but that's one of my only complaints but that's what takes it down alot. The missions were fun like fighting with Roddy Piper and the side quests like getting more abilities was even more cool but it's literally just the story. The gameplay gets a ✅, the clothes and cars get a ✅ and the music gets a ✅

One of my first ever Sonic games and played this on PC and to me it's the best Sonic game ever made. The semi open world made this game felt better and the transition to 3D felt effortless with this game. Sonic obviously has the most enjoyable campaign, Tails felts like a cheat code, Knuckles campaign felt different and the emerald radar felt sooooo much better to the sequel, Amy's campaign is a bit weird but I'm all for different things, Big was absolutely annoying at first but now its really easy when u get used to it and E-102 was actually good. Really want a remaster for this game.