Grand Theft Auto 3 Definitive Edition Tech Review: Is It Really That Bad?

There's been a wave of controversy surrounding GTA: The Definitive Edition. We'll be looking at all three of the games in the pack but we wanted to begin with GTA3 - the title that stands to improve the most via remastering and the genuine 'granddaddy' of today's open world games. In this video, we check out every current-gen and last-gen console version of the game, and stack up the best of the bunch to the PS2 original.

[ENXGMA_YT]

So, Take-Two went on a copyright-strike rampage, removed their 3 most iconic titles from sale then branded this mobile travesty as "Definitive" Edition. They've lost their minds.

[stealthninja]

The sad thing is, Rockstar themselves would have made fun of this kind of cash grab years ago in an actual GTA game.

[dr.loomis]

I can't believe Rockstar gave a big project like this to a mobile game developer. Games of this magnitude deserve a dev like Bluepoint Games. Rockstar has been giving GTA fans the middle finger for years now.

[streetwizard]

A small thing I noticed was that there is no longer any trash flying around on the ground! Miss that little detail.

[ωις-λπ]

We've had the definitive edition for 20 years, what a twist!

[lukapogo]

What makes this unbelievable, to me, is that Rockstar and Take2 had a treasure trove of passionate modders who gave so much to make these games look better, and yet decided to go with a studio which had already proven they couldn't do their work properly.

I'm gonna bet none of the management who approved this ever even played a game from the original series.

[DolanDarker]

I still can't get over the fact it drops to like 15FPS with PS2 graphics, when games like Ratchet and Clank and Returnal run 60fps smoothly

[psivewri]

The rain looks like the snow you'd see in an Old School Runescape Christmas event.

[LNSLateNightSaturday]

That is *THE SINGLE WORST* rain effect I've ever seen in a video game, regardless of what generation it released. Rockstar should be ashamed to have let something like that out the door. Wow!

[lxXSuddenDeathXxl]

How can these games not run at 60fps?? It’s horrendous that Rockstar didn’t quality check these games.

[Xammael]

Still baffled that a “Definitive Edition” (backed by a company with all the GTAV online money, I might add) looks & runs like an Early Access asset flip game from Steam.

[Ingel_Riday]

The moment I found out that "The Definitive Edition" was a remastering of the awful mobile ports outsourced to the very creators of such said awful mobile ports, my heart broke. Absolutely revolting. Rockstar should be ashamed.

[KillianCC]

"Which version do you recommend Richard?"
"NO"
"I concur"

Perfect response and sums it up.

[illuminotme]

The irony is that the "old" Rockstar Games would have parodied this horrendous screw up as a commentary on corporate greed and anti-consumer practices in one of their games. They've become what they use to laugh at.

[wiggypv]

I'm absolutely astonished that R* allowed this out of the door in this kind of state. These games are so beloved to so many people and to see them handled with such little care is actually quite upsetting

[YouthEnergy]

"Which version do you recommend, Richard?"

"NO."


This is gold.

[DannyScottyEnty]

Richard's "No." is the funniest thing I've ever seen on DF. Great review, John.

[RMMachinimas]

i cannot believe the base consoles run this at less than 900p, literally
insane

[TheSterlingArcher]

Rockstar: “After rereleasing GTA5 for nearly a decade and making billions, we need you to remaster the PS2 GTA games.”
Studio: “Great, what’s our budget?”
Rockstar: “The best I can do is $10.”

[wengeance]

the fact that this game needs a performance mode LMAO