We're all waiting for GTA 6, but if it turns out to be like GTA 5, people won't like it. To be successful, it needs to draw inspiration from the best GTA game to date: GTA San Andreas. Some might say, "Why GTA San Andreas? It's a 20 year old game, what's special about it?" In this blog post, I'II tell you 10 features that GTA 6 should copy from GTA San Andreas, and by the end, you'II agree with me.
Gym and Fitness
In real life, starting a gym routine is a heavy task, but in the game, going to the gym was fun. Every gym had plenty of equipment we could use, which impacted our fitness. Whether it was using dumbbells or a bench press to strengthen muscles, or cycling and a treadmill for increasing speed, we could maintain CJ's physical fitness very well. These skills were useful in the game, too.
With good fitness, we could run fast, climb better, and swim with a good oxygen level, allowing us to survive underwater for longer periods.
In GTA 5, there was a gym, but we didn't need to use it because the game didn't force us to. However, in San Andreas, If we wanted certain in-game benefits, you had to hit the gym.
Hopefully, GTA 6's gym system will be as advanced as San Andreas.
Different Body Styles
Continuing with Gym and Fitness, the eating feature was very well-utilized in San Andreas. If we ate too much pizza or burgers, CJ would become overweight and have trouble running. Conversely, if we regularly went to the gym and worked out, CJ would remain cool and muscular. But if we neither ate nor went to the gym, CJ would stay slim. At some point, the game would tell you to eat something, just like in the initial mission where Ryder says to CJ, “Looking too skinny, CJ. Go get us something to eat.” This feature was missing in GTA 5 but should hopefully be in GTA 6.
Emergency Missions
Remember when we weren’t doing missions or interacting with NPCs, we could do taxi, ambulance, and police missions. This was a unique feature in 3D GTA games, even if not entirely realistic. But as side missions, it was a good way to consume time and earn some money.
Firefighting missions were also fun, and I guess we all played them when bored.
These missions were removed in GTA 4 and GTA 5, but hopefully, they return in GTA 6 more realistically.
The Best GTA Map
The worst part of GTA 4 and GTA 5 is that they have only one city. The map is quite large, but GTA San Andreas felt like living in a big state with three major cities, each with its own airport and train station. Honestly, it was more immersive than the current games.
GTA 5’s map is big but only has one large city, Los Santos, on one side and mountains, forests, and villages on the other. It doesn't entice you to explore much, whereas San Andreas' map distribution was the best with three cities on three corners, and mountains, rivers, villages, and highways in between.
Drivable Train
Speaking of stations, I wish we could have drivable trains in GTA 6, like in San Andreas. We could take control of the train and drive it around the city, even causing it to break apart at high speeds. Some leaked footage shows a metro rail line, but it's unclear if we can drive it. We’ll see what the developers have planned for us.
House Robbery Missions
In San Andreas, we had cool side missions like burglary and trucking. In burglary missions, we’d sneak into houses at night and steal items while everyone was asleep. Many house interiors would open up for these missions. GTA 6 should have similar house robbery missions, where we can randomly break into houses and loot them.
Driving Skills
In San Andreas, as a new driver, CJ had to turn his whole body to look back while reversing. But as he gained experience, he could reverse by just looking in the rear view mirror. Such detailing in a 20-year-old game is astonishing. GTA 5 had a similar feature where experienced and inexperienced helicopter pilots were different, but GTA 6 should expand this feature further.
Character Facial Customization
We all remember the barber and tattoo shops in San Andreas. The barber uncle could even grow hair instead of cutting it, which, though unrealistic, was fun for customizing CJ’s facial features. GTA 5 also had barber shops, but the customization wasn’t as extensive. I hope we get to customize Jason and Lucia facially.
Long and In-Depth Storyline
Many people felt that GTA 5 lacked the long and engaging storylines of GTA San Andreas or GTA 4. GTA 5 had only 69 missions, compared to 100+ in San Andreas and 88 in GTA 4. We also never got the DLCs we expected for GTA 5. So, we hope GTA 6 has a long storyline with at least 100 missions.
Purchasing Property
In San Andreas, we could buy many properties in each city, and each safe house had a unique interior. The hillside houses were beautifully designed, giving a rich feeling after buying them. These safe houses made exploring San Andreas enjoyable and allowed us to utilize our money well.
Vice City is a beautiful city with lovely buildings, so hopefully, we get many properties to purchase and explore their interiors in GTA 6.
Conclusion
These are some wishes for GTA 6, hoping Rockstar adds these features from San Andreas to make the game fully enjoyable. If I missed any features, let me know in the comments. And if you're looking for other games that offer vast worlds to explore, check out my previous article on the top 8 open-world games for endless exploration.