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GTA San Andreas was a game-changer in the GTA series as far as new features go.
GTA San Andreas definitely introduced the most new features compared to GTA Vice City. Some of these new features became staples within the series, while others strangely didn't last long. Either way, GTA San Andreas fans are bound to remember some of these great features.
This list isn't necessarily the five most memorable features introduced in GTA San Andreas. Rather, it's just five features that GTA San Andreas fans tend to remember. Sometimes, they might even be shocked to know that these features were introduced in GTA San Andreas and not in some other GTA title. Still, GTA San Andreas introduced so many good features, that it's tough to only talk about five of them.
Five memorable features introduced in GTA San Andreas
#5 - Girlfriends
The dating system in GTA San Andreas is a predecessor of the more advanced hang-out systems found in games like GTA 4 and GTA 5. Although it is simplistic by comparison, the sheer fact that players could have a booty call in the GTA series that didn't need money was pretty surprising.
All of the girlfriends in GTA San Andreas had certain thresholds that players could reach to earn a reward. For example, the player would earn a costume if they reach 100% in their relationship. If they were dating somebody like Denise Robinson, they could get a snazzy pimp suit if they did so.
#4 - Gang Warfare + territories
The idea of having to physically control a territory was first introduced in GTA San Andreas. Of course, the player couldn't just buy a territory or do a mission to earn all of these territories. Instead, they had to duke it out with rival gangs (the Ballas and the Vagos) to steal their territory.
It was brilliant and frustrating in some aspects, but that's what made it memorable. A similar feature returned in GTA Vice City Stories, known as Empire Building. In that game, the player only controlled a single property in an area, while also determining which gangs will spawn in that area.
As far as features go in GTA San Andreas, gang warfare was one of the most innovative ones.
#3 - Diving underwater
Technically, swimming has existed in games like GTA 1 (albeit, in a limited capacity). However, it is worth noting that GTA San Andreas was the first 3D GTA title to give the player the ability to swim. Not only that, but players could also submerge themselves to explore the underwater areas in GTA San Andreas.
One could dive underwater to avoid pesky law enforcement or to look for oysters. Of course, the player couldn't stay underwater forever (at least without something like a max lung capacity cheat).
#2 - Climbing
One of the most frustrating features in old GTA titles was that the player would jump into a wall. That's it; they would just jump into a wall. They were unable to climb it, which made them have to take a long detour in some instances. Fortunately, GTA San Andreas changed that, as this game introduced the ability to climb objects.
For example, players can vault over a fence in GTA San Andreas. If the same fence was in GTA III, Claude would have to go around. It's such a simple feature, but it's an amazing quality-of-life feature nonetheless.
Likewise, players could also climb objects near them, as opposed to having to hope that they jump onto it correctly like they would in the previous GTA titles. Unsurprisingly, most other GTA games have adopted a similar system.
#1 - Robust customization
Although the player could customize Vercetti's outfit in the previous game, GTA San Andreas expanded that feature significantly. Players could equip individual pieces of clothing (as opposed to just a full-on outfit), change their hairstyle, get new tattoos and customize their vehicles.
A lot of these customization features simply didn't exist in the prior GTA titles. Even some of the GTA games that came after GTA San Andreas lacked these features. Of course, some of them have been expanded upon in games like GTA 5, which only serves to show how great these features were initially.
A feature that never left GTA San Andreas was the ability to play as a muscular, skinny, or fat protagonist. A lot of this was determined by how much the players ate and how much they worked out, but it added a lot of immersion to GTA San Andreas.
Note: This article reflects the writer’s personal views.
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