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GTA San Andreas is one of the most unique games in the series, which inevitably means that it has some features that later entries lack.
It's not uncommon for video game features to come and go throughout several titles. What's notable is when some of those features are yet to return, which happens for one reason or another. Either way, fans who enjoyed them will likely bemoan their absence from the other titles.
Every Grand Theft Auto game has something unique about its gameplay features, so it's worth looking at what made this title's exclusive features feel special.
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Five GTA San Andreas features that never came back to the series
5) Burglary
Some vehicle missions can easily exist in other Grand Theft Auto games but are strangely absent. Burglary is one of them, as the concept of stealing content from a random civilian's home isn't any more outrageous than the other crimes committed in this series.
It was also unique in that the player could only do the vehicle mission during nighttime.
4) Gyms
There were two main purposes to going to a gym in this game:
- Raising one's Muscle and Stamina stats.
- Learning new fighting styles.
This game was the first in the series to have RPG-like stats, but it wasn't the last one. However, later games like GTA 5 and Online don't include a Muscle stat and instead utilize Strength (which has nothing to do with a gym).
Gyms don't play a significant role in any game after GTA San Andreas. Likewise, there are no alternate fighting styles to learn in other games.
3) San Fierro and Las Venturas
Two of the most prominent locations in GTA San Andreas were San Fierro and Las Venturas. Both areas were crucial to CJ's visits to the second and third islands, respectively. The former was based on San Francisco, while the latter took several inspirations from Las Vegas.
Locations come and go in the Grand Theft Auto series, but their absence is strange given that they're still mentioned in the latest titles. GTA 5 brought back Los Santos from GTA San Andreas but chose to forego San Fierro and Las Venturas altogether.
2) Local multiplayer
Multiplayer still exists in Grand Theft Auto, but local multiplayer is a thing of the past. Nowadays, games like GTA Online use a player's internet to connect them with others around the world. That system is fine, but it's not a 1:1 replacement for offline local multiplayer.
It's worth noting that only the PS2 and Xbox versions of GTA San Andreas had local multiplayer, although mods exist for PC. This game had two main multiplayer features:
- Free roam
- Rampages
1) Body fat and muscles
Some of the later Grand Theft Auto games chose to return several of GTA San Andreas's beloved customization features. However, the one that never returned was body fat and muscles. This customization feature had minor effects on CJ's performance.
For instance, an overweight CJ ran slower than a skinny or muscular CJ. This feature was also tied to the game's eating and gym mechanics, which made it something that was surprisingly more in-depth than upon first glance.
Note: This article reflects the writer's personal views.
