Like CJ Says...

There's been a lot of talk recently about the Grand Theft Auto Definitive Edition Trilogy.  Needless to say it hasn't been good; missing music, poor collision detection, graphics glitches, removed features, and some odd typos (caused by an A.I. algorithm upscaling in-game textures) are just a few of the issues.  Far more frustrating than a lack of proper quality assurance though are a bunch of cease-and-desist notices sent out to mod makers attempting to fix some of the bugs.  Adding insult to injury, the original version of these three entries in the GTA series have been delisted from console webstores.  If you want to play these games and don't have a gaming PC you have to purchase the "definitive edition" which is ironic because it is (in many ways) inferior to the originals.  Overall, the entire attempt to remaster this trio of games has been disaster.  It also makes the publisher (Rockstar Games) and the developer (Take-Two Interactive) look rather inept.  There's also the simple fact that older GTA games haven't aged especially well.

Don't get me wrong, when GTA III bumped the franchise up to three dimensions it did a lot to pioneer open-world game design.  Vice City made few minor improvements, such as adding bikes and watercraft, but basically copied its storyline from the film "Scarface."  Then came GTA: San Andres which had an interesting and original story complete with sympathetic protagonist, as well as rural regions between cities and even a proper swimming mechanic.  Because San Andres basically got what we nowadays call the GTA formula firing on all cylinders, it went on to be the most played game on PS2.  Despite all the success though, the gameplay felt a bit dated (even for the time) with sloppy third-person shooting and clunky character controls.  These were (and still are) weak points found even to this day in all of Rockstar's open-world games, as are semi-pointless minigames.  When it came to San Andres and the character of CJ, I simply got him as buff as possible in order to maximize his effectiveness in combat.  The whole eating and exercising thing felt like nothing more the annoying obstacles impeding that goal.  The dating sim aspects also seemed rather pointless.  Having said all that, I still enjoyed GTA: San Andres because I was invested in CJ.  Plus, the driving has always been fun for me.  The most interesting challenge the GTA games have ever presented, in my opinion, is procuring all the car collections.  True to the name of the game, Grand Theft Auto is at its best when you are doing just that.  The actually storyline missions, on the other hand, are very hit and miss.

Perhaps the way missions play out is something that could have been fine-tuned in a proper remake.  Sadly, a janky remaster is all were are ever getting (at least for the foreseeable future).  It's a shame because we as players already have to endure the indignity of unfinished games being pushed out to market on a regular basis.  Here though we are experiencing finished games being reverted back to an unfinished state.  Somehow things continue to get worse.  Also, sorry CJ...you deserved better than this.