It was May 2021 and I was already feeling the smell of the summer to come but the thought was sitting at something else.Even through that period, rumors began to walk about the remastered versions of a few Grand Theft Auto titles, and the period perfectly suited the moment I released the franchise history in a video of almost half an hour..And look at how half a year ago we got to talk about the Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy - The Definitive Edition.
The collection includes the Grand Theft Auto III, Vice City and San Andreas, ie the first three games in the 3D universe of the franchise.Even if we all know how the launch went and what problems the games have, in this material I want to speak more from the perspective of a nostalgic gamer, not of a critic who has to put this launch in competition such as Mafia: The Definitive Edition.So let's see if the new collection rises at least some of the expectations we had from the first rumors.
A short history lesson
Grand Theft Auto is a series of games that debuted in 1997 and offered the public freedom of movement in a fictional city from a 2D perspective, top-down.That was the situation until I belong to GTA III, when the 3D universe was made and I received the fictitious version of the American metropolis, New York.The end of 2001 was to be imprinted in the history of video games for how GTA III launch influenced any Open-World game after it.
It was followed shortly by the Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, and the modern action of 2001 was given aside in favor of the Miami in the 1980s.Florida, powerful cars, racing boats, mafia clans and of course, drugs and money.The neo -specific periods of the period gave the city a special feeling that conquered a lot of gamers.The story evolved, the name that Ray Liota appeared in the credit and the music in the game that has now remained only a strong dose of nostalgia.
In a break of only two years, Rockstar launched at the end of 2004 a new series title, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas.While the world would have been waiting for an alleged GTA IV to carry on the story in Liberty City, what I received was perhaps the best game of the series: three cities in California and Nevada compressed in a story about the gangs inLos Angeles and all the illegalities that happened in America of the 1990s.A turning point for the series that put the development team on a pedestal in the eyes of gaming enthusiasts around the world.Rockstar was the company that brought to the world San Andreas.
Further we all know how things are going.It is made in the HD universe with GTA IV, we have two episodes, after which GTA V and its online mode come which today and today the tops of the most popular titles.And how we don't seem to be too close to GTA VI, I needed a launch like this collection.
Graphics, sounds and cockroaches
Well I think it is fair to start the discussion about the changes made by Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy - The Definitive Edition with the most obvious of these changes.All three games have received a controversial visual upgrade and where some hoped to see GTA III with V graphics, others are happy that the remist of the three games and do not try to change the recipes that have ensured their permanent success..
Grand Theft Auto III is the oldest of the three games, so I think it was obvious to receive the most attention.Paaaai, the situation is different: it seems that GTA III received the least attention from the team that took care.At the base of this version is a porting for the phone launched 10 years ago.The latter was not too happy, and the bugs that haunted that version can be found here.
The graphics changed, but in the process it was lost from the atmosphere of the original.Where the kinematicians had a blue target and I remind them so, when I put my hand on the remodal version I was left with some bitter taste.But we have to give Caesar what's of Caesar and appreciate the improvements.All the near Blocky graphics and deleted textures have been improved and adapted for today's standards.That was possible with the help of the Unreal Engine 4 graphics engine.
I received a restrained lighting system from scratch, a system of particle that had the same treatment, new textures, remodeling of characters and vehicles, replaced material textures and combining everyone in a package that respects the original design direction..And succeeds to some extent, bringing significant improvements when it comes to how dynamic cars, reflections and umbrellas and some of the characters.Here the discussion is longer, as some characters really look good, but some look like they have birth deformations and are already subject to memes.
Everything I said earlier is valid in the case of the whole collection, but each game enjoys a different level of success.And GTA III is at the bottom of this top, as overall, the remastered version brings more problems than solutions.Although more realistic, the graphics have lost its personality, the optimization is weak and the hardest of the three titles goes and in the end, it feels the oldest of them.But if you want to take a look at how Liberty City was before GTA IV, the city's personality is still there, even if the game in which it is included seems to have moved quite a lot of origins.
Gta vice city seems to me the most careful.Illumination drops where and properly, optimization is good and maintains a constant frame, the characters are greatly improved and the city feels much more alive than before.He now has a color palette that makes him get closer to fortnite than GTA but in a good sense.Vice City was the first in the series to come with memorable characters, serious actors who animate them, note 10 music and an elevated gameplay that leaves you free through Miami.
At that time it was a revelation for gamers and even though there were more beautiful, or more advanced games from the perspective of the gameplay, none offered the satire atmosphere of American society as brave as Grand Theft Auto did.That was the basis of the franchise since the beginning and remains the only common denominator the last few launches have.
A story about mobsters, about respect between families and betrayal.Influenced by films such as The Godfather and Scarface, GTA Vice City hit the popular culture of that period and contributed to its return in modern times.Lighting is very well done and makes the game more plastic.I can't say it bothers me and I think that's how Rockstar wanted the game in 2002 but they were limited by the time technology.Unfortunately, along with the beautiful graphics, bugs also appeared, sometimes the textures look bad, more picing through the map (quite often and by chance) and with some occasions I also encountered crashes.
The sound was improved at times, and the radio songs were reintroduced to HD quality.Okay, those that have remained because some licenses have expired in all the years that have elapsed since the launch of these games.In GTA III you will not notice much difference, but from Vice City and San Andreas some hits are missing, while some are still there.You will no longer hear Ozzy Osbourne, Rage Against the Machine, 2pac or N.W.A., but you still have a beautiful selection of emblematic songs.
Gta San Andreas holds well when it comes to graphics.Being the newest and far the most complex of the three, its graphics were better in front of time and until recently there were modes created by the community that made it much more realistic than in 2004.Unfortunately, these ways were better than the remsterized version I received, but even so, San Andreas looks good.The characters are more realistic, the atmosphere of the game is much closer to GTA V, the control has been a little changed and I find the happiest of all when it comes to bugs and problems.
Yes, yes, I know the memes about the number 7 that can be seen under other numbers on the shirts of the gangs in Los Santos and the dubious trying to be the faces of some characters, but even so I can not appreciate the improvements to the lighting, the special effects and the models ofcars and characters.I still consider it under Vice City from this perspective but it is not bad at all.And certainly much better than the first remastered version I received on Steam.
Ok maybe I called a little too optimistic in the graphics discussion.I cannot look at the fact that the little makeup versions of some PlayStation 2 games have problems in optimal running in 2021 on superior net hardware, that at so many years some disturbing bugs are still there, and even as inplace to try to modernize GTA III, developers have used a mobile version.And one thing I hate from the soul and which is present in all three games is the rain.Only ... what the hell did they go through this head?!To say I had the active HDR when I was playing and I thought I was going to blind?Instead of rain we have some white rams on often closed backgrounds that greatly reduce visibility and only realistic does not look.
Control saw significant improvements but also has shortcomings
As with the graphics, the total control was slightly rethought;well, at least aspects of it.First of all the room moves easier, which is best seen in GTA III.Movement is fluid and you can enjoy these games at 100+ FPS.And this is Nice, especially at 1440p resolution with 144FPS and HDR active.Another big change is the inclusion of the selection wheel from GTA V.This also works with weapons and radio stations and is present in all three games.
The Pac-Pac system was also a little changed.Weapons behave the same, but the way you put the target is a little better.But here I have a complaint, namely the white outline that appears around your target.On the console I would somehow understand its meaning, but the PC is completely useless and breaks the visual thread of the game with a shrill white contour.
One thing that has not changed but I like it, it is the control of the cars.Each of these titles remained in the collective memory and through the control of vehicles.GTA III was among the first Open-World games with such freedom so it was clear that it would be a reference point.And let's not forget Dodo, the plane with cut wings you can pilot.After that Vice City came with multiple cars, boats, engines of all kinds, tanks and helicopters.Then we have San Andreas in which cars finally felt different depending on the class and weight, you could drive or ride a lot of things and you had all kinds of relief to cross..
Another thing that has not disappeared from the Grand Theft Auto the Trilogy-The Definitive Edition is the existence of Cheat Codes.So excuse me as much as I write "Hesoyam" a few times to boost my budget on San Andreas.And on this occasion, please tell me in comments how many of you have kept hand-written sheets for these games?I think I still have them somewhere through an old map, and I will give them to grandchildren.
And if I ever hated something more than losing a mission, I had to have to take it from scratch.Thus the games in the remsternized collection have a much better checkpoint system and give you a restart button if you puddle in the puddle.A very welcome edition that will relieve you for a long time wasted crazy.
Overall, on the control side the games in the Grand Theft Auto the Trilogy-The Definitive Edition collection behave well and even if they need to improve here, compared to how GTA III is played for example, it is a good improvement.coming.I would like a free camera mode like the one in GTA V and I think we will receive something through the modes, as the graphic engine allows.
Is it worth buying Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy - The Definitive Edition?
I also came to the hot question tonight: it is worth giving the price of a full game on three playstation 2 games, with quite big problems, which were to be found on the PC about two days after launch and who received notes such as notes0.5 on metacritic?Well, the answer has no way of being objective.Certainly there are people who cannot overcome problems and are not satisfied with the attention that the games have received, so they consider them good to throw in the garbage, or they are people like me, who wanted only one way to reject someOf the favorite titles in decent conditions on modern hardware.
And the fact that I can wander the streets of Gta Vice City with cleaner graphics, high resolution and 144fps gives me what I needed.The graphics do not bother me even in the original versions, so I thank the graphic improvements brought, especially to Vice City.And with the partial exception of GTA III, the other two games gives me the same atmosphere I felt and 15-20 years ago.Manages to awaken the nostalgic in me and I am sure I can't be the only one in the world with that perspective.So the opinions are divided, and I am in the camp of those who support this launch.
But looking from an objective perspective, it is difficult to recommend the Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy-The Definitive Edition at the price of 60-70 euros.There are games from at least 15 years ago, with no improvements as we saw in the case of mafia, with many problems and with missing content.If I had not received it for free, I would not have bought it at more than 40 euros and that is quite pulled.I mean yes, it's good, but it's not good 60 euros.I hope I managed to clarify you.
Grand Theft Auto III - Grafică și Sunet - 5
Grand Theft Auto III - Gameplay - 7
Grand Theft Auto III - Atmosferă - 4
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City - Grafică și Sunet - 7.5
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City - Gameplay - 7
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City - Atmosferă - 8
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas - Grafică și Sunet - 7
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas - Gameplay - 8
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas - Atmosferă - 6.5
6.7
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Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy - The Definitive Edition is more of a favor to the nostalgic fans, managing to leave the younger players who have not caught these games at their time and are used to newer than 2010.At the same time he upset many old fans who had too high expectations.
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