5 major downgrades that GTA 4 had compared to GTA San Andreas

When compared to GTA San Andreas, GTA 4 seems to be missing quite a few features, even though it was released as a successor. GTA 4 was a revolutionary title, but Rockstar had to sacrifice a lot to make the transition from the 3D Universe to the HD Universe. Although launched in 2008, Grand Theft Auto 4 seems to have been a step down in terms of gameplay as well as world design.

Here's a comprehensive list of some of the biggest downgrades in Grand Theft Auto 4 when compared to GTA San Andreas. Released in 2004, Grand Theft Auto San Andreas offered more character and vehicular customization, had a larger and more diverse map, had more weapons, and so on.

Note: This article is subjective and reflects the writer's opinions.

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Downgrades in GTA 4 compared to GTA San Andreas

1) Character customization

In GTA 4, you were able to buy and wear a small selection of clothes from the various clothing stores around Liberty City. When compared to GTA San Andreas, this number is really small and the variety isn't that great. There are no tattoos in GTA 4 either, and the fingerless gloves seen in so many promotional images didn't make it to the game.

Now, you can also customize CJ's hair in San Andreas, as well as his physique, none of which is possible in Grand Theft Auto 4. Working out at gyms makes him lean and muscular, whereas eating too much junk food makes him fat. In related news, a recent rumor suggests that gyms are returning to GTA 6.

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2) Vehicle customization

Player customization might not be your thing in Grand Theft Auto, but vehicle customization surely makes it much more interesting. After all, vehicles are a big part of the series, which is reflected in the title itself. GTA San Andreas was the first game in the franchise to introduce vehicle customization, and players loved it.

Thanks to this, car customization has now become a staple in GTA Online. However, with GTA 4, Rockstar went back to the age-old system of having to visit a Pay n Spray auto shop to get a random color for your car. Needless to say, fans weren't happy with this downgrade.

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3) Smaller map with less variety

The map in GTA 4 is only made up of one large urban settlement — Liberty City. This is quite small when compared to GTA San Andreas, which had three major cities and a large amount of countryside. Now, while none of the cities in San Andreas are anywhere as big as Liberty City, or nearly as detailed, the fact remains that the GTA 4 map is smaller.

Liberty City in GTA 4 is around 6.23 square miles or 16.14 square kilometers in size, whereas San Andreas covers an area of 14.75 square miles or 38.2 square kilometers.

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4) No planes, missing vehicles

You can't fly any planes in GTA 4 (Image via Rockstar Games)

GTA 4 has around 123 vehicles that you can ride. When compared to GTA San Andreas, which had over 180 vehicles, the number seems disappointing. What's more is that several unique vehicles, like the Hotknife hot rod, or the Vortex hovercraft, were missing. One of the biggest downgrades, however, was that you couldn't fly any planes in GTA 4.

The most you can do is fly a helicopter, like the Annihilator or the Maverick. This was done because Rockstar felt the map was too small for flying across with a plane.

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5) Fewer weapons

Niko didn't have access to as many weapons as CJ did (Image via Rockstar Games)

GTA 4 has a lot of cut content, and weapons are one of the things that supposedly didn't make it to the final game. When compared to GTA San Andreas, there's not much weapon variety. For example, Grand Theft Auto 4 includes two of each type of handgun, shotgun, submachine gun, automatic rifle, sniper rifle, melee weapons, and even throwables.

Iconic weapons like the chainsaw, or some of the more unique ones like a flower bouquet, are missing. San Andreas also had some unique equipment like NVG and thermal vision goggles, and there was even a suppressed pistol for stealth kills.

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