Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas making its way to PSN this week

Rockstar has been on a rereleasing spree when it comes to the older games in its Grand Theft Auto franchise. According to the PlayStation Blog, the company is set to release Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas on the PlayStation Network later this week. Despite the announcement, there has been no mention of the price just yet.

This could be seen as a way to hype up the company’s upcoming Grand Theft Auto V, which will mark the return to the city of Los Santos for the first time since San Andreas.

San Andreas puts players in the shoes of Carl ‘CJ’ Johnson. CJ is a gangster who left the city of Los Santos, San Andreas, after his brother was killed. He is returning home after a five year stay in Liberty City to bury his murdered mother. Shortly after arriving, things quickly go south as CJ runs into corrupt cops Frank Tenpenny and Eddie Pulaski. They pick him up and force him to work for them, and if he refuses, they threaten to frame him for the murder of a cop that they have committed.

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Go back to San Andreas and play CJ’s story

The game was a critical and commercial success and was praised by almost everybody. It enjoyed overwhelmingly positive reviews and has made millions in sales. The game was not without controversy, though, as it had the legendary Hot Coffee minigame scandal.

Earlier this month, Rockstar had released the prequel—both chronologically and in order of release—to San Andreas, Vice City. The game was released in celebration of the 10th anniversary for the series. It features enhancements over the original version, including updated graphics, character models and lighting effects. It also supports saving your game on iCloud and custom iTunes playlists. It is supported on iPhone 4, iPhone 4S, iPhone 5, all iPad models and 4th and 5th generation iPod touch.

Rockstar states the 10th Anniversary Edition will bring the full Vice City experience to iOS and Android, and will have native high-resolution graphics, besides several enhancements unique to the platforms. The enhancements include updated character models and lighting effects, new and more precise firing and targeting options, a fully-customisable control layout and native support for devices with Retina displays, among other improvements.

Earlier, Rockstar had also released a trailer for the 10th Anniversary re-release of the game. The trailer gives a good idea of all the graphical enhancements you’ll see when the game launches. It takes you back to the neon-lit parody of Miami and drops you in the midst of an alternate re-telling of Scarface.

GTA: Vice City tackles the backstory of the universe Rockstar created with GTA III. While GTA III takes place in Liberty City in the early 2000s, Vice City takes place in the titular city—which is modelled on Miami—in the 60s. Vice City’s protagonist is Tommy Vercetti and the game’s story is heavily influenced by the movie Scarface. Vice City was the first game in the Grand Theft Auto franchise to feature bikes as usable vehicles. It also introduced alternate costumes for the character as a gameplay mechanic that helps you lose the police.