History of porting disasters in GTA San Andreas

Given the major disappointments of its remastered versions, GTA San Andreas is best played in its original state.

The recent issues with the Android 11 version of GTA San Andreas bring to mind the less-than-stellar performance of its remasters. Since the initial release of the game, Rockstar Games has made it available on several different platforms, including those from Sony, Microsoft, and Valve. While the mobile versions are generally well-received, the console remasters and PC versions are not.

Whether it's due to game-breaking bugs, low frame rates or the removal of popular features, GTA San Andreas is prone to porting disasters.

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GTA San Andreas and its history of porting disasters

GTA San Andreas was originally released for the PlayStation 2 back in 2004. It is not only one of the most popular GTA titles in the series, but it also became the best-selling game for the PlayStation 2 (17 million sales). However, subsequent porting attempts have resulted in disastrous performance issues.

The remastered versions that weren't fully remastered

On the tenth anniversary of GTA San Andreas, Rockstar Games decided to release HD ports of the game to the Xbox 360 and PS3. The reception from the GTA community was overall negative. Some commentators jokingly state the remasters make the original look like a remake by comparison.

Rockstar handed over development responsibilities to War Drum Studios, who took most of the blame. Both the Xbox 360 and PS3 versions of San Andreas use the original screenshots and cover art. As such, GTA players were not buying the first edition games, but rather the updated ones.

According to a report from Digital Foundry, War Drum Studios simply took the mobile versions of GTA San Andreas and scaled it upward for console release. Screen distortions and random audio cut-offs only scratch the surface on why War Drum Studios failed to give GTA players an enjoyable remaster.

Major problems continually plague the gameplay experience

The HD remasters of GTA San Andreas are borderline unplayable for most people. The most frustrating experience, by far, is the constant game crashes. One example is the Homecoming mission, where the game freezes before CJ arrives at the police station. Unless they take a specific route, most players cannot advance the story.

There are several minor and major bugs throughout the remasters. Due to poor optimization, graphical mishaps and glitches consistently disrupt the gameplay experience. These include semi-transparent characters during cut-scenes, corrupted pixels that cover most of the screen, and blocky textures.

While there are graphical enhancements such as detailed hand models, the negatives far outweigh the positives. There are broken character models during cut-scenes, with awkward facial structures and proportion issues. A new reflective shine on these models can also be a distraction.

Steam didn't fare much better

GTA San Andreas on Steam is hotly contested in the gaming community (Image via Rockstar Games)

While the Steam version offers 16:9 resolution support, it breaks down the aspect ratio. There are minor bug fixes and graphical updates from the retail product. However, they create more problems than they fix. Due to a broken frame limiter, the Steam version of GTA San Andreas runs at a lower FPS than the original.

Just like the HD remasters, licensing expirations forced the removal of songs. Rather infamously, the Steam version broke multiple save files (specific to the Germanic region) due to a specific update. More than a few GTA fans were furious as they had to rely on an online save editor for corrupted data.

The biggest issue with the Steam release of San Andreas is the lack of mod support. Due to the Hot Coffee controversy, Rockstar Games sought to disable these features in the 3.0 update. The mod community has had to resort to downgrading the game back to the original 1.0 release, which includes cut songs.

GTA fans expect better from Rockstar Games

GTA San Andreas remains a historical cornerstone of the GTA series, mainly because the enjoyable gameplay still holds up today.

There are several mods available for GTA San Andreas out there, such as the popular San Andreas Multiplayer (or SA-MP for short). However, these are third-party modifications to the classic title since it uses a downgraded PC version. Nonetheless, the GTA mod community is still alive and kicking to this day.

Despite the disastrous efforts of these ports and remasters, the original GTA San Andreas is a crowning achievement for Rockstar Games. Yet, they cannot simply rest on their laurels. Fans of the game held Rockstar to a high standard, but the publisher failed to satisfy their needs with these ports and remasters.

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Note: This article reflects the writer's personal views.