Grand Theft Auto The Definitive Trilogy - I've been dabbling around with GTA III and Vice City mainly in this package. I finished III, started Vice City and still haven't gotten around to San Andreas yet.
Where do we begin? First off, how can you call this the definitive edition when it is missing songs from the original release? Doesn't seem very definitive to me
When you start playing, it looks okay at first sight. But the more you play, the more you notice what's wrong about it. While not entirely unplayable, it's still pretty god damn rough in all areas.
Graphically its a mixed bag. I don't necessarily mind what I've seen of character models in III and Vice City. There's only so much you can do with the original low poly models and I think they look okay for the most part. I've heard San Andreas is the worst offender though and like I said, still haven't tried San Andreas. Environments are a mixed bag generally speaking. It looks at odds with itself as it tries to implement a bunch of new rendering techiques into what is essentially low poly count PS2 geometry. Sometimes it looks nice, other times not so much.
As for bugs? I had my fair share in GTA III. A lot of game crashing bugs. The game crashed on me many times while playing. Also just weird little bugs in general. Cars floating out of the underground tunnels like they were hover vehicles was a common one I experienced. There was one point where I was killed while driving a boat so I retried the mission, however as I sailed by I noticed my old dead-self still floating in the water. And of course, falling through the world into the underground tunnels.
The rain effect is REALLY bad in GTA III...yet the rain effect in Vice City looks better to my eyes? Not sure what the fuck happened there.
I kind of like the implementation of the free camera. It doesn't fix the woes these games always had when it came to gun play but it does help a little have free-camera control.
All said, I don't think these games are unplayable but they definitely leave a lot to be desired. By all accounts, these games deserved better.
You would think that a company of Rockstar's quality would have at least a little quality control? They have millions upon millions of dollars, they must know these games are beloved. You would think they would have a little more quality control and actually do something special with these games? Nope! This screams rushed-to-market all around. I think Grove Street Games were just way in over their heads. When you count how many versions they had to release, I think it just got away from them. I blame Rockstar entirely. Rockstar has enough money in their accounts to do something special with these games and instead, they shat out 3 rushed-to-market games all for a quick buck.
It's a sad statement as to where the industry is nowadays though.