One of the many allures of Rockstar's Grand Theft Auto games has been taking a destructive joyride in any vehicle players stumble upon. Throughout the franchise's 24 years of existence, it has included countless car models, armored vehicles, and tricked-out dune buggies. GTA 5 alone has hundreds of vehicles, and a constant stream of GTA Online updates ensures users always have new ways to cruise through Los Santos. Even so, the 2004 release of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas still touts the best vehicle ever to be added to Rockstar's open-world series.
The Comet and Bullet sports cars might've been the fastest cars on San Andreas' streets, but they pale in comparison to the title and series' most unique vehicle: The Jetpack. This personal flight vehicle can only be unlocked by completing a specific mission in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. Players have modded the Jetpack into Grand Theft Auto 4 (where it acted more like a helicopter than an actual Jetpack) but no such vehicle actually exists in either GTA 4 or Grand Theft Auto 5's single-player campaign.
The GTA Online Doomsday Heist update added the Mammoth Thruster, a military-grade vehicle that uses propellers to lift users off the ground. Still, it's not quite the same as Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas' fire-spitting jetpack, and the fact that it's not available in the main GTA 5 campaign lessens its importance. The Mammoth Thruster can only be equipped with a single set of weapons, either twin machine guns or homing missiles. The San Andreas Jetpack (pictured below in the game's mobile edition) lets players use some of protagonist CJ's weapons in lieu of its own, and players even get to keep it for the rest of the game's story.
How To Unlock The GTA: San Andreas Jetpack
CJ is ordered to steal the Jetpack by The Truth, CJ's hippie accomplice, hidden in the underground military base Area 69. Once acquired, CJ and The Truth use the vehicle to attack a military train during the GTA: San Andreas mission "Green Goo." The operation sees CJ board a freight train in the desert and gun down a group of soldiers to steal a mysterious jar of green ooze they're transporting. After that quest has been completed, players can head to the abandoned Verdant Meadows Airfield, where they'll find the Jetpack next to the Air Traffic Control Tower entrance.
Players can then freely equip the flying backpack whenever they want to. CJ can only use his one-handed weapons while soaring through the air with the Jetpack. Still, that's more than enough firepower to wreak even more havoc across GTA: San Andreas, and its an incredibly efficient way to get around and hunt for San Andreas' many collectibles. None of Grand Theft Auto's future vehicles ever came close to the same kind of vehicular debauchery and freedom - at least, not in the main storyline.
Image Source: GTA Wiki