by First released in 2004 for the PlayStation 2, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas still ranks among the biggest, most ambitious, and most impressive games ever made. With an open game world that spans three distinct cities and miles of open countryside in between, it tells a story that starts with petty gang wars in a facsimile of early ’90s L.A., and eventually balloons to include government conspiracies, jetpacks, and massive casino heists that lead to absurd wealth. The idea that it’s now playable on our phones is a little mind-blowing — and yet here it is, without visible sacrifice or compromise, looking, sounding, and playing just like we remember. Well, almost.
San Andreas is complete on iOS — every big, epic mission and semi-hidden side activity is represented here — but exploring it with a touch screen device like an iPhone or iPad can be tricky. And despite several options for touch-screen controls (cars, for example, can be steered with onscreen buttons, a virtual thumbstick, or simple flick gestures), everything feels clumsy, in part because this was the GTA that decided to experiment with RPG elements. At the beginning of the game, protagoinst Carl “C.J.” Johnson is purposely a lousy shot and a worse driver, although he gets better at these things the more you do them.
