Written by Anthony L. Cuaycong
Title: Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy – The Definitive Edition
Developer: Rockstar Games
Publisher: Rockstar Games
Genre: Action
Price: $59.99
Few game series can lay claim to the gravitas that Rockstar Games’ Grand Theft Auto series carries. Like it or hate it, Grand Theft Auto is iconic in what it does, and brings to the table its intense stories about living the life of a criminal hand in hand with its robust, enjoyable open-world setting. With a free sandbox to explore, many side activities to enjoy, and plenty of characters to love, it's no wonder that so many have such an affection for the franchise. With the Grand Theft Auto releases being solid hits all around, and with plenty of remasters already lining the industry landscape, it really was only a matter of time before Rockstar Games did the same and remastered their older titles.
To this extent, Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy – The Definitive Edition delivers on getting its three games out. These three releases bring to the table their original content with some much-needed quality-of-life improvements to boot. The games themselves are mostly present in their original quality, and barring a few minor alterations such as a modernized control scheme, it's the same games enjoyed via a modern system.
However, the texture upscaling in Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy – The Definitive Edition is far from perfect. Some character textures have been stretched even more across their models, accentuating the looks and designs that already seemed out of place in the original releases. The removal of the games’ fog effects hasn't removed the texture pop-ins, and some areas look considerably worse when you can see vehicles and people spawn in. Worse, the rain effect at times just obscures the game screen, and can even follow you when you’re under buildings. These are all-new features with all-new bugs, and while the game is still playable, they do ruin the concept of a definitive edition if it feels undercooked.
There’s also the audio remaster in Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy – The Definitive Edition. Characters sound muffled and distant, and while the original voices have been kept, the sound quality is far from what you'd expect of a company whose previous releases have all been of topnotch quality.
The technical missteps in Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy – The Definitive Edition wind up hurting the gameplay. Issues like waypoint bugs, car sizes expanding when turning, and a fairly janky auto-aim system prevent it from feeling polished and ready. Instead, a lot of the time, it feels like both a step forward and a step back. Better-looking graphics, but more bugs to deal with. More QoL features, but more of the ways these same features interrupt the game flow. There’s a bizarre give and take that serves to highlight its wanting performance.
Which is just too bad, because Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy – The Definitive Edition has a lot going for it. Rockstar Games pledges to keep working on it until it’s worthy of its legacy, not an empty promise given the publisher’s excellent track record. Until then, however, it’s a work in progress that is, at best, a sign of better things to come.
THE GOOD
- Still-excellent storylines
- Quality-of-Life improvements
- Control updates suited for current-generation specifications
THE BAD
- Imperfect texture upscaling
- Unbalanced audio remaster
- Technical missteps get in the way of gameplay
RATING: 6/10
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