When the Definitive Edition of Grand Theft Auto hit digital storefronts late last year, it was met with unanimous negative reception and basically mockery. It's perhaps an even worse video game launch than Cyberpunk 2077, and fans felt that its developer, as well as Rockstar, had not given the classic trilogy the love that it deserved. Since then, there have been some significant improvements to the GTA remasters, but there are some out there who are deciding to take things into their own hands instead.


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As an example, modder flyaway888 has taken Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas and upscaled it "six times" to give the original installment a much crisper look. Images and video footage show that, while retaining the look of the 2004 release, the visuals have been given a bit of a boost. Many would likely argue that this version is a vast improvement of the upscaled trilogy that Grove Street Games did. The details in this mod breathe a new kind of life into the beloved GTA entry, so players may be interested in checking it out.


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So bad was last November's remaster that GTA Trilogy players demanded refunds, citing the incredibly poor quality of the three beloved games. What was made worse at the time was that the original trilogy, that many will remember from the PS2 era, was promptly removed from digital marketplaces to make way for the Definitive Edition. Rockstar did eventually reinstate the classics, but by that point, the damage had already been done and the new trilogy had received very negative feedback.




Out of all the games in the long-running open-world franchise, San Andreas is considered one of the best GTA games, just falling shy of the money-spinner that is GTA 5. Although it featured one of the most infamous missions in the series, the one simply called "Wrong Side of the Tracks," it had an incredible story and was a continuation of the success of its Vice City predecessor.




Not only is San Andreas one of the best Grand Theft Auto games, a recent study showed that 2004 was one of the best years for gaming. A total of 168 releases were in the top games for that year, which saw the release of such classics as Half-Life 2, Doom 3, World of Warcraft, and Halo 2. What flyaway888's mod intends to do is show what a remaster should look like, while also retaining what made that era of gaming so special.


Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy - The Definitive Edition is available now on PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.


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Sources: PCGamesN, ModDB