5 reasons why GTA Trilogy The Definitive Edition failed to impress fans

The GTA Trilogy Definitive Edition was a much-anticipated compilation that underdelivered on all the things that it promised. Fans waiting to play all the trilogy games together with enhanced graphics and improved features were mostly disappointed with what Rockstar offered for $60. While there were some great moments, overall, the remaster failed to impress.

There are certain reasons behind the failure of GTA Trilogy Definitive Edition, and a lot of people were expecting it even before the game rolled out in 2021. Rockstar outsourced the remaster to Grove Street Games, a small team of developers and artists, leading to several flaws in the final product.

This article will highlight the five biggest reasons why the trilogy remaster was not as impressive as it should have been.

Note: This article is subjective and solely reflects the writer's opinion.

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5 reasons behind GTA Trilogy Definitive Edition's failure

1) Numerous bugs at launch

Players were disappointed by the numerous bugs and glitches that they had to face while trying to play the remastered Grand Theft Auto Trilogy. This was one of the biggest letdowns because fans were expecting decades-old titles to not have these types of pesky bugs.

The issues ranged from a simple glitched-out fence to full-blown opaque raindrops. The physics of a lot of other objects in the games were also peculiar, leading to them falling through the ground. Rockstar Games fixed a lot of these issues eventually, but the damage was already done.

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2) The incomplete soundtracks

The other major thing that most players immediately noticed was the missing tracks from the games. Grand Theft Auto 3, Grand Theft Auto Vice City, and Grand Theft Auto San Andreas all have several iconic songs that make them memorable.

Unfortunately, the definitive edition of these games had a couple of them removed. This is mainly due to licensing issues from Rockstar's end and internal problems with the song labels and artists.

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3) Graphics were not up to the mark

Rockstar Games promised to enhance the graphics of the 3D-era games and deliver them with impressive textures and reworked character models. However, this did not go as planned and caused a lot of issues.

Some of the characters look ridiculous in the remastered edition of these iconic titles with disproportionate bodies. GTA San Andreas was hit the worst due to the variety of customization options that it offers. These clashed with the new models, leading to weird glitches.

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4) Dumbed down mini-games

The mini-games in the original GTA Trilogy titles were either very fun or a nightmare. However, completing them felt rewarding and gave players bragging rights. Unfortunately, things are slightly different in the remaster.

Grove Street Games decided to make some of the iconic mini-games and certain features from GTA San Andreas easier in comparison to the original title. For instance, players can lift weights without having to mash keys, and the Ceaser Vialpandi mission now gives you hints before the next pattern shows up on the screen.

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5) A variety of cheats were removed

Cheats were a big reason the open-world titles in the GTA series were so much fun. Rockstar Games allowed players to spawn anything from weapons to an almost invincible tank. This used to be quite fun as everyone kept trying out different things.

However, a lot of the iconic cheats are missing from the remastered version of the games. Below is a list of some of the cheats that the developers removed from the titles because they were allegedly interfering with performance.

Grand Theft Auto 3

• Invisible Cars
• Flying Cars

Grand Theft Auto: Vice City

• Armed Female pedestrians
• Big Wheels
• Invisible Cars

Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas

• Infinite Health
• Maximum Sex Appeal
• Bunny Hop High
• Adrenaline Mode
• Flying Cars
• Ninja Pedestrians

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After the disappointing remaster of the iconic games in the series, fans want Rockstar to redeem itself with the upcoming title. Since the rumored GTA 6 budget is exponentially high, the developers have no excuse for releasing a half-bake game.