This is by far the Greatest game of the GTA series.
After playing Vice-City even I was wondering that what else could Rockstar add in this game to keep it interesting & to match it up with Vice-City. But, hats-off to them for pulling off such a masterpiece.
When this game released, it surpassed everyone's imagination including mine by the depth & additions to it. San Andreas truly managed to outclass Vice-City [Hyperbole not intended] & made it look like a pest compare to SA.
New features include : Trains, Gym, Bicycle, Dating Girlfriends, Tattoos, Hair-Cuts, Driving Schools of Bike, Boat, Aircraft & Car, etc.
SA makes you do lots & lots of things. If you compare it with Vice-City in terms of Objectives/Missions that you have to do to achieve 100% completion, it's twice or maybe even thrice as large that excludes Unique Jumps which is surprisingly kept optional.
Also there are many Bulletproof/Fireproof/Damageproof vehicles & even planes that you can obtain in this game, Unlike Vice-City where I remember there was only one vehicle i.e. Admiral.
Also the inclusion of Hoods, Various form of Skill Levels, Robbery missions, Bank heist, Driving trains, etc. was simply fantastic.
The best inclusion according to me was Gang Wars & Swimming. Unlike in Vice-City where Tommy use to die from drowning, CJ can swim his way through. This quality is extremely useful when you want to decrease your Wanted level or travel from one place to another.
Another useful inclusion was no loss of weapons after you die which was missing in previous GTA games. But it happens little later in the game & you have to date a Girlfriend [Katie Zahn] for it.
Again this like other GTA games has superb & well-written storyline & dialogues with lots of unexpected twists. I personally liked the dialogues & acting of Carl Johnson [CJ], Ryder & Officer Tenpenny. It was simply superb.
Again sounds of vehicles, planes & especially the sound of Train Engine was extremely realistic.
Though this game had it's bit of controversies regarding the sexual element i.e. hidden sex minigames in the form of "Hot Coffee". This made the ESRB give an rating of AO i.e. "Adults Only".
Following the controversy, Rockstar installed the patch for it in the second edition of this game, making the ESRB revise it's rating from AO to M i.e. "Mature".
Keeping the controversies aside, this game still has strong use of language, nudity, drugs, etc. which is why it's not suitable for all age groups.
Having said that, Kudos to Rockstar for still keeping the GTA feel & charisma & not making you lose the grip of the plot/storyline despite including so many different things.
So should I go for this game?
If you are Mature then absolutely you should. You simply can't ask for a game better than this.
The Good : Great storyline & dialogues. Variety of missions/objectives. Long hours of intriguing Gameplay.
The Bad : Strong use of language, nudity, etc. Radio voices of DJ's can be irritating.
Final Verdict : This is one of the rare Masterpiece in Gaming. You simply can't afford to miss it. Highly Recommended.