The Grand Theft Auto: Trilogy was released in December last year and it feels like a half-finished remastered version of the immensely popular GTA 3, GTA Vice City, and GTA San Andreas merged into a package.
Graphics
Graphics is not up to the mark, not even something that deserves a remastered. The character models are cartoonish and the modification is the only upgraded 3D animations. The new rain effect is devastating which feels like quitting as it blocks the vision and does nothing else.
New map and checkpoints upgrades are added which are must-haves in modern games. New updates include a new crosshair allowing manual targetting. The shadows are improved but still feel like an animated film. The lightning has been improved but still fails to deliver well at some point. They’re like a shiny new sheet of high-resolution stickers. Improved draw distance may also contribute to this collection’s constantly wavering framerate on PS5. Then there are the bugs, which were waiting to ambush me around every corner. Hard crashes, frozen cutscenes, NPCs getting caught running in circles, bridges, and building exteriors disappearing are some examples.
Gameplay
As told earlier, a new map, marker, and checkpoint system are added. Now players need not worry about mid-checkpoints in a mission. Also, the free movement of the camera makes the game something which you would expect from a modern game. The game mechanics remains the same with no changes as like no swimming for the Vice City and GTA 3 characters, no fall damage from a car, and quirky walks.
The mission feels quite aged at this point but it still delivers the nostalgia with a smile. The lightning has been improved with some compromise in color correction.
The Future of Rockstar Games
The Original Trilogy was a revolution in gaming with new open-world features and story-telling. The announcement of the remaster was appreciated but soon the game has been titled a “disaster” by the critics and the response was not good. The players have been asking for the next big title from the Rockstar publisher but the official news of the next GTA title has not yet been confirmed. Rockstar Games is known for its masterpieces but couldn’t get through this newly launched remaster.
It was also quite fascinating to sit and play through the three games back to back and relive the rapid evolution of a series.
What’s Next
That’s what makes these re-releases such a bitter adrenaline pill to swallow. While these games may have aged too much to be attractive to new players, they are still fun to revisit for existing fans. It felt like a GTA reunion with some new resolution and lighting. Rockstar Games now should consider working on the next big release whether it’s a GTA title or Red Dead Redemption title and be on the top of the eminent video game publishers. The three games in this GTA Trilogy are all-time classics, but they’ve unfortunately been remastered poorly. New features are slight and only partially implemented, visuals are mixed, performance is inconsistent with an ample amount of glitches.
