San Andreas: Multiplayer

San Andreas: Multiplayer is an unofficial patch that allows Grand Theft Auto fans to play with friends and opponents. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, released in 2004 and 2005 on various platforms, was not intended to have multiplayer capabilities by the publishers and developers: this fix side-steps that issue, bringing players together without the need for buying expensive new games.

GTA: San Andreas should not be confused with the fault line in California, or the movie based on the rupture of said fault-line. Instead, the game is based in the fictional US state of San Andreas (which draws heavily on Nevada and California for inspiration!), and the three major towns of that state: Los Santos, San Fierro and Las Venturas. The cities are based on, respectively: Los Angeles, San Francisco and Las Vegas. The third-person game follows the exploits of Carl CJ Johnson who returns to Los Santos after his mother is killed. CJ re-establishes contact with his friends, touches base with old gang affiliates and works his way to the bottom of his mother's murder as the game plays out. The events in the game are largely based on real life issues: the 1992 Los Angeles riots, the fierce feud between the Bloods and the Crips, and the corrupt-cop LAPD Rampart Scandal of the late 1990s.

The game won acclaim for the tight storyline, great soundtrack and gameplay, even as it was decried for the acceptance of the violence and inappropriate sexual behaviour featured in the game, including a hidden sexual mini-game unlocked by a patch called the 'Hot Coffee mod'. The player can play solo or with one friend in the original version of the game, but the characters must stay close to one another in order to both be on screen simultaneously.

With the multiplayer mod, many players get together online to play the game, online via LAN or over the Internet. The mod also includes some customisable features and effects like siren noises for police cars and control over vehicle doors. The mod is upgraded fairly often, working through any reported issues and making improvements to the playing experience.

If you're one of the many players who wanted a multiplayer option for Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, you can download the San Andreas: Multiplayer mod and share games with others.

Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas came out in 2005 and moved the exciting racing game to the city of San Andreas. The game came with a number of great options that let you build up your money as you raced through the city streets and completed side missions. While the more difficult side missions helped you earn more cash, playing any of the side games helped you save up for new vehicles and for customized features for the vehicles you already own. The game required that you play against artificial intelligence competitors, though, instead of your friends. With San Andreas: Multiplayer, you can now play against your nearest and dearest.

This unofficial mod lets you increase the action and adventure in the original game. Your friends can help you complete some of the more difficult missions and unlock new achievements. They can also help you take on some of the fiercest and roughest gangs in San Andreas. Bringing down those gangs lets you take control over new areas of the city and make more income. The mod even lets you play online and compete against other players and their own groups.

While you can play Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas on your own and without an internet connection, you need the internet to download this mod and play online. Depending on the size of your group and what you do in the game, the mod can significantly slow down your internet speeds and cause lags that make it hard to accomplish your missions. Those lags may also interfere with how your vehicles move and how you race.

Though the developers created this mod for fans of the game, many players left the game behind for new entries in the Grand Theft Auto franchise. Because the developers no longer offer support for the mod, you may have problems installing the mod or even running it. There is no guarantee that it will function the way you want it to, either. If you and your friends still love playing Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, though, and wish you could play together, you can all download and install San Andreas: Multiplayer to play together online.