new GTA Trilogy: The Definitive Edition The re-release is an opportunity to revisit some historical classics-but compared to some other remakes I have played recently, the original material does reveal its age.
These are some of my favorite games of all time, but still-it’s impossible to completely ignore how these games usually feel…old. Last year we collected a series of Mario games, including the 25-year-old Super Mario 64. I was shocked by the age of this game. Its movement, its feel-although it is a typical “blueprint” 3D adventure, it is still compact and satisfying to this day. GTA3 is also a feat defined by genre and generation, and it is still imitated today… but it is not as eternal as eternity. Its movement and handling methods are a bit sloppy. Compared with some other games of this era, it is more like a trailblazer.
Perhaps part of the problem is that open world games have developed and expanded so explosively since the release of the trio. First is the imitator, but then slowly everything becomes at least a little open world, which will definitely affect one’s point of view. There are many things to compare with it, the muscle memory control habits of the past two decades do not exist here. Obviously, the game feels that their age is not wrong-but in my opinion, these three are relatively eternal-so I am surprised that this view is broken by this remake. After a while, I have to admit that I just started thinking about reinstalling GTA5.
Despite any visual changes, one aspect that will definitely age the game is its humor and writing. The humor of GTA3 and its siblings is often itss. According to modern standards, some people feel lazy and rote memorization-but this is how time treats many comedies. Other times, the mean and exaggerated satire of the American state in the early 2000s feels like it can now be removed from the headlines. GTA still receives a lot of support from mainstream and professional media because of its politics, but I really realized how much the series has actually matured in terms of GTA5’s worldview and delivery after returning to the original 3D trilogy. This is a major leap forward.
Nevertheless, I still think these games are fun to play, if occasionally there will be some mission designs that will never fly now. This is comparable to the old game’s course, but the point is that it is still fun. For example, the particular way the vehicles in Grand Theft Auto 3 (GTA3) glides is fascinating, and one thing I found particularly fascinating is to track the evolution of the series in three games. It makes perfect sense to tie these three together, because one naturally flows to the next. There is a gradual approach to how everyone builds the final failure on the basis of success and power-in the modern context, this is a fascinating and fascinating history lesson, which provides a new perspective for the three. Playing games on Xbox Series X and using Quick Resume to instantly switch between the three is an inspiring experience.
The remastered version itself… is good, at least if they are working properly-annoyingly, this is usually not enough, errors or other smart adjustments ruin the good changes, and these adjustments can have unintended negative consequences. These are all artisan games, although your mileage will vary, depending on how attached you are to the original appearance of the game and your tolerance for chaotic artistic changes, errors, and performance issues.
On a basic level, these are sufficiently solid remades-but sometimes they do resemble the old lady “restoring” a precious historical painting of Jesus, uh, ruining it. As a Final Fantasy fan, I know this feeling very well, because Square Enix has routinely processed their classics.
In any case, for example, the extra draw distance is undoubtedly an undeniable positive change. Yuanjing and Changjie look better and have a larger population. The city feels more vivid and real, especially when you reach Los Santos. On PS2, its density ensures that the viewing distance in front of you is ridiculously short, farther than a few blocks. However, even this positive change will be partially counterproductive-jumping on a plane or climbing the highest mountain, the lack of rejection and atmosphere means you can see San Andreas and other areas completely from a distance-will They are exposed as a living, breathing world, but as an abnormally shaped land floating in the middle of the Dead Sea, like a damn super monkey ball-essentially a video game.
But there is a more positive side. Improvements in control, shooting lock, etc. are important and not bad. These games do feel more modern in terms of control than before.
Other changes are controversial-more radical reflections look better in some places, but distracting and incredible in others. Most texture upgrades are fine-but in some places, changes in colors and lighting can weaken the established mood of certain places and scenes. Finally, there are purely bad things—such as how the small NPC with a very unique character design in the original game can be homogenized into a more versatile creature through the re-production process. I don’t know what the effects of rain are, but they are so aggressive and make me feel uncomfortable. Then there is the missing music! Don’t even let me start. If Billie Jean does not play in the car for the first time, is it really Sin City? I don’t think it really is. For the sake of God, they paid Jackson Manor whatever they wanted. This version is not cheap!
Basically-and please forgive the clichés-this is a mixed bag. There are also obvious performance issues, bugs, and weird bugs-but I do hope that these issues will be fixed in the next few months, because the commotion on social media is perfectly justified. Switch is one thing, but even with visual improvements, such an old game shouldn’t have performance issues on PlayStation or Xbox. But even if all these issues are resolved, there are still developer options in these remakes, which means they will always be an unbalanced experience.
If we assume that serious errors and performance issues will be resolved, then the rock properties of the remastered version are almost appropriate. These are imperfect remakes of completely imperfect games. Despite their cultural significance and universal talent, they are never perfect. Not everyone with a long history will age gracefully-these trilogy may be the ultimate proof of this. Having said that, it is best for Rockstar to patch and adjust some negative changes.
It is best to run the versions of these games on the current hardware, and run more forward-looking software in terms of compatibility in the updated software. They just don’t think it deserves a full RRP. Even so, if you discount it-don’t expect it to be as popular as it was in the 1920s. Some games have eternal magic, but not these. If you want that feeling again, it might be better to play GTA5.