The PS2 trilogyofGrand Theft Autogames was recently remastered for modern consoles and PC. Unfortunately, people are not happy about the quality of the updates. Many are displeased with the general look of the remaster and some subtle details they got wrong. All the same, there are plenty of things to like about the new versions of the game.
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Even though it is cleaner and runs smoother than the old releases, many would prefer the original look. Additionally,Rockstar Games ignoring the moddersand even taking down some of the most popular ones did not make fans happy. This list is trying to be optimistic, though, and wants to point out what theGrand Theft Autoremasters do right.
7Smooth Performance
The olderGrand Theft Autogames were technical marvels back in their day just for the ability to roam around a massive open world. Unfortunately, the frame rate took a backseat to the performance in order toput these games on the PS2. This new remaster fixes that issue, making all three games run at a smooth 60 frames per second.
With this being said, there is still plenty of jitter players are encountering. Considering the oldest of these three titles is 20 years old and the newest is 17 years old, it seems like all of these should be able to run at 60 frames per second with no issues. Hopefully, some updates will iron out the kinks in the frame rate.
6Higher Resolution Textures
All the media surrounding the game stresses how the games are meant to look and feel like they did in their original carnations. The game is updated to take advantage of 4K displays and has improved textures.
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They are meant to look like the old art style, so don’t expect any major upgrade. Some wish they either hadn’t upgraded the textures at all or had done a heavier overhaul of the whole aesthetic. It wouldn’t bother people as much if the older versions weren’t all delisted from digital storefronts.
5Weapon And Radio Wheel
Grand Theft Auto 5introduced a wheel for both the radio stations and the weapon selection. Not only that, but time slows down to almost a halt when players activate the wheel. It makes gameplay way more convenient and prevents any accidental deaths or car damage.
This innovation was put into the old games for this remaster. While all the radio stations are selectable, not every song made the cut.Grand Theft Auto 3is mostly intact, but some songs were taken out of the iconic soundtracks ofVice CityandSan Andreas.
The olderGrand Theft Autogames had some massive load times.This tradition has continued on throughout the series and other games from Rockstar. Anybody who boots upGTA 5orRed Dead Redemption 2is familiar with how long players have to wait before the protagonist is dropped into the open-world setting.
In the old PS2 games there used to be a slideshow of different pieces of art before the gameworld loaded up, Thankfully, players are dropped into the game world in just a couple of moments once they load up any of the three titles.
3Free Aim And Improved Aim Assist
These two upgrades benefitGrand Theft Auto 3andVice Citythe most.GTA 3in particular had a legendarily bad auto-aim. This issue is fixed thanks to the ability to play the games with free-aim or a different auto-aim setting.
San Andreasalready has improved aiming, so it does not benefit as much. Even though this feature is appreciated, players should not go into these old titles expecting the tight aiming of more modernRockstar games likeGTA 5andMax Payne 3.It is still a massive upgrade, though.
2Checkpoints And Quick Restarts
InGrand Theft Auto 3missions are not especially long. Still, it is extremely annoying to fail them. In older versions, restarting a mission means heading back to the character who gives the player the assignment.
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This process is streamlined in the remaster. Upon failing a mission, players are asked if they would like to start from the nearest checkpoint. InGTA 3, this means restarting from the beginning of the mission. It is a small change but ultimately ends up saving potentially hours, depending on how often one fails a mission.
1New Control Scheme
More outdated than the responsiveness of the older games might be the actual control scheme themselves. Games had different standards back then, and open-world games were especially controlled differently because of the degree of freedom and variety of actions.
Some ideas like accelerating using a face button are outdated, so the controls have been changed tomore closely resemble those ofGTA 5. Even though the button mapping is changed, the gameplay is still restricted to what was available in the older games. This means you won’t be climbing, swimming, or hiding behind cover inGTA 3orVice City.
Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy - The Definitive EditionIs Out Now For PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series S and X, PC, and Nintendo Switch.
