How GTA San Andreas pulled off one of the best heists in the series

The GTA series has been around for a long, long time, and the franchise has fans both new and old. Older fans have been with the series since or even before Grand Theft Auto 3 (the first 3D universe game). However, newer fans joined in with Four and Five as they were released more recently and had HD graphics.

GTA San Andreas is one of the best games in the series, and fans still can't get enough of it. The brilliant writing and gameplay elements helped the game leave an indelible mark on gamers.

Grand Theft Auto Five brought about heists as a new mechanic, and it is featured in both the story and online. However, OG fans will also know that a mechanic existed in previous games. This article talks about one of the best heists the series has ever seen.

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GTA San Andreas pulled off the best Heist in the series

The heist mission in GTA San Andreas is called Breaking the Bank at Caligula's and is given to CJ by the leader of the San Fierro Triads, Wu Zi Mu (Woozie). The Sindacco Family formerly and solely owned the Caligula Casino. However, it was a shared property between the Forellis and Leones later.

The mission kicks off when CJ arrives at a rival casino called the Four Dragons on the Las Venturas Strip. Carl arrives, dressed as a Caligula's employee, while the rest of the team gets into a Securicar.

Upon arrival, CJ uses Millie's keycard to gain access to the lower levels of the Caligula Casino. Next, he knocks out the two thugs guarding the safe, using a can of tear gas, thrown down the ventilator shaft.

This is where the setup and planning come into play as Zero blows the Satchel Charges placed at the Sherman Dam. Once the charges are blown, the casino is enveloped in darkness as there is no electricity.

Interestingly enough, Carl has night-vision goggles to help him see, and the safe uses electronic locks as well. The disabled locks on the safe door make it easy to open manually. This is where CJ gets a forklift from the service bay to lift the door open.

Once open, the team in the Securicar enters the casino, ready to rob it blind. But things go sideways when the team discovers that the layout has changed. CJ takes over and leads the team to the vault while gunning down any guards along the way.

Once at the vault, Zero tells CJ that someone is trying to get the backup generators up and running again. In classic GTA fashion, CJ said: "I'll head back up to the generator room and shut them down for good." The Satchel Charges come in handy once again as CJ blows them up and destroys them completely.

Meanwhile, the team blows open the vault door and gets ready to load up on the cash. However, the two huge explosions have alerted the guards, and they are all in the vault. CJ must fight them off and then make an escape 'just like they practiced', but Zero improvises and instructs the entire team to follow CJ.

Zero used all this time to unload the previously stolen police bikes from the Securicar. Two team members change into police uniforms, and the rest of the team gets into the Securicar with the money. CJ, however, has to stay back as he is the decoy.

He must now fight off the remaining thugs and make his way to the roof. Once on the roof, he must jump off and parachute to a nearby building, which has a police helicopter being guarded by two SAPD men. A short trip to the nearest airstrip (verdant meadows) shows the rest of the team waiting with the money.

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Remember, this is a heist in a game that came out way back in 2004. When it was released, GTA San Andreas was way ahead of its contemporaries. It is a rare GTA game that does everything right, including writing, acting, and gameplay.