GTA Trilogy ripped apart by disappointed fans, "it's a joke"

Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy came a bit out of the blue for many fans who are still wondering when Rockstar will start working on a follow-up to their critically acclaimed franchise.

While GTA V and its online component continue to print money for the developers, the GTA Trilogy seems aimed at pleasing nostalgic fans eager to replay three genre-defining open-world titles as they fill the inevitable void of a sixth entry that, let's face it, we won't be seeing any time soon. 

Not everyone is happy with the final product, on the contrary, a lot of people seem to be showing their discomfort for what's been labelled a "half-baked" attempt to cash in on a rabid fanbase who were hoping the remasters would prove to be the definitive way of playing these titles, when in fact, they're not.

It starts from the seemingly harmless, with the games losing over 40 tracks due to licensing issues the multibillion-dollar company couldn't be bothered to negotiate. From Michael Jackson to N.W.A and even 2Pac, iconic tracks that accompanied thousands of hours of unrelenting destruction gone.

Then, we get into the nitty-gritty, with the gameplay and art style criticised for not feeling polished enough to warrant a full price tag ($60 or the equivalent in your region). You can make an argument about the availability of GTA III via PS Now (starting on 7th December) and San Andreas via Game Pass serving as a free sample to what the entire package has to offer, but overall, the vast majority of fans will have to fork out a frankly exuberant amount for what they're getting. 

Take a look at some of the images being shared both on Reddit and Twitter showcasing the bizarre anatomical proportions of certain characters, the lack of depth while seeing cities from the sky, and even egregious spelling errors.

Is "AR Guitars" a big brain wordplay, or did they really just miss a letter?

Due to technological limitations at the time, the GTA games used to feature a dense fog to hide the lack of drawing distance, now, cities look completely lifeless and plain. 

Big endemic publications like Kotaku have called out the shortcomings of the title, especially as it boasts such eye-catching buzzwords like "definitive edition."

"Right now I’d recommend not grabbing the Trilogy collection on any platform. Currently, these games feel floppy and rough in a way that the old games didn’t, even taking into account some of the original clunkiness present in these games," Zack Zwiezen writes.

Over at Push Square, they noticed how the Trilogy features a "performance mode" for a PS2 port that doesn't even work properly as it does not hold a constant 60fps, as games like GTA III dip hard into the 30s when playing on a PS5.

Overall, it seems Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy is far from the product fans deserved, making it one of the most disappointing releases of the year.

• Read more: GTA The Trilogy launch times, download size and more
  

In any case, if you've already bought and are starving for some more news, check out our dedicated GTA section to get your fill.

Featured image courtesy of Rockstar Games.