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Is the GTA remaster trilogy worth it now?

Aaron Olive

Member
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Majormaxxx

Member
I am pretty sure there were some issues with software emulation. My slim is modded, but it can only run a small selection of PS2 titles well. I do not think San Andreas is one of them.
I haven't done it in a few years, but I never had an issue with any game I converted to use from the original ps2 disc to a file for the ps3. I completed gta 3 just fine on it. Also was playing the first yakuza.
 

Soodanim

Gold Member
Get the PC DVD version off ebay.
+1 for this, or check if key seller sites still have them.

You can grab mod packs from Steam's Guides section for each game and make it a very simple upgrade. You end up with by far the best version possible of each game with a full OST - the way it should be.
 

Kadve

Member
I had no problem with them but I don't give a fuck about the originals. They put some nice quality of life features into them.
 

EDMIX

Member
With how some of you feel about remasters, I'm shocked some of you are not asking how Rockstar made GTA VI in 2 years lol The amount of uneducated people on here is shocking that do not even know their own hobby in regards to game development.

I feel like you have to spell it in crayon to explain to them that a remaster and a new game are different things and generally done by different teams...
 

Soodanim

Gold Member
Let's throw away the remaster for moment which butchers the visuals. The stories in the original trilogy are heavily inspired by classic gangster movies and then run through Rockstar's satire and parody machine. Characters are often one-dimensional caricatures and largely used for comedic effect. It can be a bit sophomoric but it all sort of works as it is cohesive with the environmental storytelling, radio stations and the presentation style. It's why I don't really like GTAIV or GTAV as they lack cohesion. Trying to tell a more serious story always falls a little flat when juxtaposed with all the dick-and-balls jokes littered throughout the rest of each games' presentation. Further, as Rockstar has become better and better at realistic graphics, those one dimensional caricatures just feel out of place. Mechanically, the original trilogy can feel quite dated, especially when it comes to combat but the vehicle physics are still a joy to experiment with and the games are worth playing for the radio stations alone (something I found really lacking in IV and V as well).

IV is the worst one in my view. The story is so predictable (from your new lady friend being a cop to the final mission taking place on the Statue of Liberty). Nico isn't a bad character but it's hard to like him when he's coming to America for a fresh start and then mowing down rival drug dealers for a guy you met ten minutes ago. The rest of the cast is, outside of maybe Playboy X, is varying levels of annoying. The game obviously pushed for a more realistic presentation and while it was a huge step forward in that regard, it also makes the sophomoric dick-and-ball jokes feel out of place. The tone is just all over the place and that isn't a problem for the originals.

It's a matter of taste, but I couldn't stand the vehicle handling physics. It is the low point radio stations for the series, including a nosedive in quality from Lazlow) and the map is just boring.
Very well said. 4 lacks the character of the trilogy, and all it really has going for it over the trilogy is better shooting mechanics. I find 5 suffers from it slightly less, but it's much closer to 4 than the trilogy.

I do need to play BOGT though, people speak highly of that whenever 4 is brought up.
 

YCoCg

Member
The original PC versions with mods like Silent Patch, GInput and SkyGFX are still the best way to play these, you get the restored graphics from the PS2 version, better reflections from Xbox, a load of bug fixes and modern style control options.
 

Skifi28

Member
Buy a PS2/xbox and the real games off eBay.
The originals play and look better.
They don't though. Low framerates, shit auto targeting sytem for 3 and vice city with no option for free-aim and you don't even have proper camera control with the right stick. I'm really surprised so many people recommend them, the remastered trilogy controls objectively better and runs at a very consistent 60fps which further enhances the experience. I tried going back to the PS2 versions and they just play like shit these days, even worse if you get the PS4 emulated versions on a pal region as you're stuck with 25fps. I get part of the hate the remaster gets, but I feel people are just jumping on the bandwagon at this point without giving it a fair chance after the updates. Sort of PC mods, these are the best versions of the games you can play right now.
 
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They don't though. Low framerates, shit auto targeting sytem for 3 and vice city with no option for free-aim and you don't even have proper camera control with the right stick. I'm really surprised so many people recommend them, the remastered trilogy controls objectively better and runs at a very consistent 60fps which further enhances the experience. I tried going back to the PS2 versions and they just play like shit these days, even worse if you get the PS4 emulated versions on a pal region as you're stuck with 25fps. I get part of the hate the remaster gets, but I feel people are just jumping on the bandwagon at this point without giving it a fair chance after the updates. Sort of PC mods, these are the best versions of the games you can play right now.
Xbox versions of III and Vice City are a lot better.
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They don't though. Low framerates, shit auto targeting sytem for 3 and vice city with no option for free-aim and you don't even have proper camera control with the right stick. I'm really surprised so many people recommend them, the remastered trilogy controls objectively better and runs at a very consistent 60fps which further enhances the experience. I tried going back to the PS2 versions and they just play like shit these days, even worse if you get the PS4 emulated versions on a pal region as you're stuck with 25fps. I get part of the hate the remaster gets, but I feel people are just jumping on the bandwagon at this point without giving it a fair chance after the updates. Sort of PC mods, these are the best versions of the games you can play right now.
They have the proper music though. The atmosphere is what makes the games.
 

Grildon Tundy

Gold Member
Very well said. 4 lacks the character of the trilogy, and all it really has going for it over the trilogy is better shooting mechanics. I find 5 suffers from it slightly less, but it's much closer to 4 than the trilogy.

I do need to play BOGT though, people speak highly of that whenever 4 is brought up.
I just played TBOGT last week for the first time after playing Niko's story through again, and TBOGT's missions were way more varied, outlandish, and FUN.

Definitely seems like Rockstar learned to loosen up again with TBOGT because GTA V's story missions are also way more varied, outlandish, and fun compared to Niko's.
 
GTA trilogy should be fine based in this list.

I wasn't talking about digital versions with soundtrack cuts. I was referring to physical PS2 discs. Early PS3 slims had software emulation. Based on the provided information above it is possible to convert physical discs, but emulation on PC is so much easier and feature rich than PS3 at this point...
 

Hudo

Member
They don't though. Low framerates, shit auto targeting sytem for 3 and vice city with no option for free-aim and you don't even have proper camera control with the right stick. I'm really surprised so many people recommend them, the remastered trilogy controls objectively better and runs at a very consistent 60fps which further enhances the experience. I tried going back to the PS2 versions and they just play like shit these days, even worse if you get the PS4 emulated versions on a pal region as you're stuck with 25fps. I get part of the hate the remaster gets, but I feel people are just jumping on the bandwagon at this point without giving it a fair chance after the updates. Sort of PC mods, these are the best versions of the games you can play right now.
PC Versions of the originals are above and beyond the "remakes".

Edit: And the PC versions are what I played as a kid and what I still play to this day. I tried the "remakes" and returned that (Thank god for the 2 hour limit on Steam).
 
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Skifi28

Member
PC Versions of the originals are above and beyond the "remakes".
With mods sure, without I disagree. You have to either chose 60fps+ that breaks physics or lock it to 30 which sucks with a mouse. There are also some weird issues with the mouse not working and having to alt-tab and they're not exactly stable on a modern PC, I've had tons of crashes and San Andreas specifically gave me the most issues.
 
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With mods sure, without I disagree. You have to either chose 60fps+ that breaks physics or lock it to 30 which sucks with a mouse. There are also some weird issues with the mouse not working and having to alt-tab and they're not exactly stable on a modern PC, I've had tons of crashes and San Andreas specifically gave me the most issues.
Yeah the PC releases of GTA III and San Andreas sucked after seeing what Xbox versions could do without any of the technical issues.
 
I remember when this came out I went to the store and I overheard some poor soul getting convinced/gaslighted by a Walmart employee to get the Switch version.

I almost said something, but I didn’t want to be “that guy.”
 

Soodanim

Gold Member
With mods sure, without I disagree. You have to either chose 60fps+ that breaks physics or lock it to 30 which sucks with a mouse. There are also some weird issues with the mouse not working and having to alt-tab and they're not exactly stable on a modern PC, I've had tons of crashes and San Andreas specifically gave me the most issues.
Definitely a YMMV thing, as I did all 3 games modded on PC in the last couple years and I don't remember having a single issue. Very smooth and stable from start to finish with a controller.
 
I guess this is my most controversial gaming opinion: the remaster trilogy is pretty awesome. Been playing on pc recently and really having a great time.

If you don't like the originals, don't buy it. If you never played the originals, realize these games are almost 20 year old and may not hold up to your standards.

Anyone that says the original versions are better is on crack. They've added significant quality of life improvements like checkpoints and autosave. In the old games, if you failed a mission you'd have to start from square one which could mean driving halfway across the map. You'd have to constantly drive back to your apartment to save the game as well. Also improved weapon swapping which was a pain in the ass in the originals.

Graphics improved significantly. People were miffed that they didn't give us gta v graphics but the game still looks great in hd.
 

dotnotbot

Member
I guess this is my most controversial gaming opinion: the remaster trilogy is pretty awesome. Been playing on pc recently and really having a great time.

If you don't like the originals, don't buy it. If you never played the originals, realize these games are almost 20 year old and may not hold up to your standards.

Anyone that says the original versions are better is on crack. They've added significant quality of life improvements like checkpoints and autosave. In the old games, if you failed a mission you'd have to start from square one which could mean driving halfway across the map. You'd have to constantly drive back to your apartment to save the game as well. Also improved weapon swapping which was a pain in the ass in the originals.

Graphics improved significantly. People were miffed that they didn't give us gta v graphics but the game still looks great in hd.
These QoL improvements were done a lot better ages ago by simple mods.
 

Mr Hyde

Member
I took the plunge and bought the PS4-version. It was on heavy discount so I got it for about 10 bucks. I don't have the original games left in my collection on PS2 and Rockstar delisted everyone, so what're you gonna do?
 

Muffdraul

Member
I bought it when it released, never even cracked the cellophane because of everything I was hearing about how fucked it was. Been sitting on it ever since.

After the GTA VI trailer, I had to play some Vice City come hell or high water. I finally cracked it open and started playing.

I'm like 75% through VC. Based strictly on that, seems pretty OK to me.
 

JayK47

Member
I bought it when it released, never even cracked the cellophane because of everything I was hearing about how fucked it was. Been sitting on it ever since.

After the GTA VI trailer, I had to play some Vice City come hell or high water. I finally cracked it open and started playing.

I'm like 75% through VC. Based strictly on that, seems pretty OK to me.
I forgot how short Vice City was. Sticking to doing missions, these games are short compared to GTA 4 and 5.
 

Muffdraul

Member
I forgot how short Vice City was. Sticking to doing missions, these games are short compared to GTA 4 and 5.
Yeah VC is just small in general, still blows me away how quickly they made it. Last night I did the mission where I aquired Diaz's mansion and I thought "Already?!" Last time I played it was probably 2011.
 

Puscifer

Member
No and it enrages me to think about. Does anyone else think Rockstar is pretty much the scum of the earth due to releases like this? It's not so much the incompetence and crappy job the "Grove street games" did here, its that Rockstar and Take 2 shouldve made the necessary changes to fix the thing!

They should've at least fixed the lighting and colors so that the atmosphere of the game is true to the originals! They should at least make sure the god damn shooting/aiming mechanics feel good!

Rockstar of all company's with their money and "reputation" I expected to go above and beyond to fix it but they really are a pos greedy company.
Yeah pretty much, I felt bait and switched so bad when I got excited about the changes the blog mentioned it really sounded like they overhauled the gameplay which I was down for but then it just turned out to be the PS2 versions with horrible art styles and a weapon wheel
 
Xbox could not do HD/4k or good performance or free aim.
No high resolution or high framerate, but the assets were not built for it. Rendering those assets at a high resolution just shines a magnifying glass on their flaws. Xbox version's performance is more stable in observable physics. GTA III also did have free aim for a number of big guns in first person. You are right in the sense that most weapons did not have it in GTA III. Vice City and onward had the free aim toggle option on the other hand. The most annoying thing about the console versions before San Andreas is right stick switching view to first person.

SilentPatch, GInput and SkyGFX are all you need for these games on PC to instantly become the best versions.
GTA III can be modded to run close to Xbox version with some strange interactions taking place on occassion, but San Andreas is busted no matter how many mods are put on top of it. I have had occasions where the game would crash and even the save files themselves would become corrupted.
 
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