GTA: The Trilogy Definitive Edition review: 2021, You’re Done

Title: Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy
Developer: Rockstar Games
Publisher: Rockstar Games
Platforms: PlayStation 5 (reviewed on), PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, PC
Release Date: November 11, 2021

I have been hearing my husband tell me for almost a decade about how amazing GTA Vice City is. I’ve heard about how amazing the music is, how awesome the story is and how it looks JUST like Miami? As someone who actually lived in Miami, I seriously doubted that. With the launch of the GTA: The Trilogy Definitive Edition, I knew it was my chance to finally experience what he was so hyped up about, and possibly finally shut him up about Vice City. Unfortunately for him, this launch was a supernova sized disaster.

$60 is a big chunk of change for games about 20 years old, but Rockstar put out that one single trailer and it made everything look so tasty that people went nuts for it. Many people were fans of the franchise and went in with some form of expectation, but I went in blind, and honestly, that was the way to do it. Definitive Edition means the ultimate edition. It’s supposed to have everything you need: updated graphics, gameplay, music. HOWEVER, that is not what people got. On top of it all, the day after launch, no one on the PC could launch any Rockstar games due to maintenance. Because of that, all Rockstar games were pulled from PC sales for two days. Not a good look, gentlemen.

If you’re new to the games, as I was, The GTA: The Trilogy includes GTA III, GTA: San Andreas and GTA: Vice City. All of them have updated graphics, which is bizarre to look at. The environments are crisp and the characters are improved but the faces are terrifying in that sticker face quality that PS2 games have. It’s all just hilarious and unsettling. Some of the controls have been changed, like using the right trigger on the controller to accelerate but for the most part, it has the Rockstar game controls. The voice acting is the game but that has always been a positive in Rockstar games. They always have an impressive lineup for the voice acting and it’s usually done really well and turns out entertaining.

There are issues…there are a lot of issues. There are bugs and glitches with the character models making them look like your paralysis demon, issues with vehicles that will randomly launch them across the map, issues with the in-game weather reminiscent of any season in the Midwest. If you’re not careful you will just randomly fall through the map. This whole trilogy feels under baked. All of the attention went into the game’s hype but not enough care went into actually making these good remasters.

Not only that, an issue that I have been hearing people complain about is the fact that despite this being the definitive edition, songs are missing from the in-game soundtracks. Both San Andreas and Vice City are very known for their soundtracks and many people who are playing, played the original games in the early 2000’s. There is an expectation and that expectation was not met at all. If the Friday the 13th game taught us anything, it’s that licensing in video games is a tricky business. I get that some of the songs are missing, HOWEVER you cannot call something a definitive edition if there is content missing.

Out of the three, again coming in blind, I had the most fun with GTA III and that surprised me the most. I love the sounds and colors of Vice City and I was expecting to like that the most, but it almost felt like GTA III was the most put together. San Andreas was a hot, steamy garbage fire which is unfortunate because the story is a lot more fun to me than GTA III. The better soundtrack is definitely Vice City and I can easily spend most of my time cruising and listening to the radio stations they created for this game. That may be the best part of this all.

My point with this review is that if you are already a fan of these games, you would do better to just play the originals or wait until GTA: The Trilogy goes on sale and gets some game fixing updates. If you are like me and new to the franchise, then you can go in with your horse blinders on with no expectations whatsoever. You can’t truly be disappointed if you had no expectations to begin with. Play GTA: The Trilogy Definitive Edition now on PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch and PC…if you dare. Okay, 2021, I’m done now with the crappy launches. Can we get to the good stuff now?

Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy – The Definitive Edition (PS5) Score: 6/10

If you had high expectations for GTA: The Trilogy Definitive Edition, that’s going to be your downfall with these games. The Trilogy is just alright and the upgraded graphics don’t cancel out the missing content and the infuriating bugs. Either play the originals or wait until the remastered games are on sale.

A copy of this game was provided to App Trigger for the purpose of this review. All scores are ranked out of 10, with .5 increments. Click here to learn more about our Review Policy.