The 10 Biggest Changes In Grand Theft Auto – The Trilogy (Definitive Edition)

Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy – The Definitive Edition has been released digitally and will be available for physical release on Tuesday, Dec. 7. Fans have complained about the game’s launch, however, as it is filled with bugs and glitches.

While Rockstar works on fixing a lot of the issues, the game does have a lot of changes from the original trilogy that are worth noting. Most already expect things like improvements to graphics, but things such as control updates and controller support may not have been as known. It helps make for a unique experience this go around.

Graphical Improvements

One of the main staples in the trilogy remaster is the graphical improvements, including everything from better textures to updated character models. The overall artistic style has not changed with the games still giving off that PS2/original Xbox aesthetic, but most things has been smoothed out to look better, and that includes the architecture as well.

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Each of the games got an upgrade to what made them unique. Vice City is easily the most colorful, with a lot of neon buildings and signs and thus the colors stick out even more in this version.

Some Missing Music

Licensing is a tricky beast and unfortunately, there is missing music that just could not be carried over to the remaster because of those issues. However, the majority of music is still intact, but there are a few missing songs depending on the radio stations. For one example, Radio Los Santos is missing “Express Yourself” by N.W.A. in San Andreas.

For fans of Vice City, which touted a lot of ’80s hits, the station V-Rock did take big hits with missing songs including but not limited to “Bark at the Moon” by Ozzy Osbourne and “She Sells Sanctuary” by The Cult.

Controller Support (For PC)

For anyone who owned the originals on PC, controllers were not supported in the slightest and usually, the workaround involved mods but even then, the controls were usually broken half the time as compared to their console counterparts. However, the remaster makes controllers fully supported.

While not necessarily a big issue, the addition of controller support does allow fans on PC to enjoy the games easier, especially for those that do use them instead of keyboard/mouse.

Updated Control Layout

Speaking of controllers and controls, all three games did get an update regarding them and they feel much more akin to Grand Theft Auto V. This is especially evident with the weapon selection wheels.

San Andreas also got an update to its drive-by mechanics as well. This was an easy decision for Rockstar to do as most fans are familiar with GTA V‘s control scheme and bringing that over to the old games allows fans to enjoy faster gameplay and more modern controls.

Larger Draw Distance

With the current issues the games have, this one is a polarizing change. Essentially, the draw distance has been increased for all games meaning the environment farther away loads in sooner than the originals. This adds more depth to the environment. However, this has led to some issues as despite the idea being sound, the areas take a while to load in and look incomplete.

Some fans have stated that because of this, the draw distance should not have been expanded but Rockstar will likely patch the issues soon.

Enhanced Environmental Effects

Similar to graphical improvements but also its own thing, the environments got a big upgrade including water and weather. This includes the lighting as well, which both GTA III and Vice City definitely see a big boost in this department. All of the lighting improvements include shadows and reflections as well.

Although, many of the bugs and glitches have also been because of the lighting and environmental effects. Mods are usually a quick fix for things like this such as when Mass Effect: Legendary Edition launched with some issues to a similar effect, but just like Bioware, Rockstar should also include these fixes in a future patch/hotfix.

A New Mini-Map, and Waypoints

Another new edition is an upgrade to the mini-map and the addition of waypoints. This is also very much in the realm of GTA V and IV but waypoints will make things easier for players to navigate the various cities and to get around quicker.

This was not really an issue in the originals but the modernizing of the map does make playing the games much easier, especially with the ability to mark waypoints.

Restarting Failed Missions

In the originals, when players failed a mission, something to the event of taking a taxi in Vice City would need to happen, or driving all the way back to the mission’s beginning. Now, also in the vein of how GTA V plays, players can simply restart missions as well if they fail them. This can come especially in handy for longer missions including the infamous “follow the train, CJ!” mission.

This is another upgrade that comes in handy although some might like that extra challenging aspect of the originals. This also means that taxis have little to no use in Vice City now. Although, few might have issues with this as it just modernizes the game more so and eliminates the hassle of having to drive back to the mission’s start to try it again.

4K Resolution, 60 FPS, and NVIDIA DLSS Support

This change is a pretty obvious one given that most games nowadays have 4K resolution capabilities and 60 FPS. Still, it is another update to the original games as those with trilogy on Ps2 will no longer be playing in 480p, unless they had an adapter or a way to upscale to 720p-1080p. One addition that is also key is the ability to use NVIDIA’s DLSS’s AI technology.

Essentially, DLSS is an artificial intelligence technology that helps with graphics performance and was released not too long ago in February of 2019. It uses what is referred to as Tensor Core AI processors on any GeForce RTX GPUs, according to NVIDIA’s website. This means the graphics on PC are getting even more of a boost up compared to the originals with some pretty brand new technology that future games will likely use.

New Achievements and Trophies

One of the smallest updates to the games is the addition of new achievements or trophies. Most of the achievements are still from the original trilogy’s PS4 re-releases before the Definitive Edition but there are some new ones for the completionists to get.

While achievements are not the foremost thing on players’ minds, they do add a fun spin onto the games, and considering that there are few new ones that were not included before, the true perfectionists have more of a reason to pick up the game. PC also has achievements through the Rockstar Games Social Club.

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