Grand Theft Auto: Definitive Edition(s)

[one-armed dwarf]

Hey, maybe don't buy this

 

Vice City squad, I come to you with gameplay clips littered with copyright claims. Not that there's a shortage of videos out there about this but it helps to see how little the gameplay has changed as well.

 

 

I'm a couple hours into the opening sections. Actually, I could be a bit beyond the opening sections. Was this game short? I'm already at the bit where you are doing missions for Diaz. Visually I think it looks ok, I think they could have done a lot more work here tho and it's a bit perplexing that this is more demanding for my machine than The Witcher 3 maxed out. No ray tracing or anything like that is in it. It could be a rough one to play on PC for this reason but maybe the settings are more scalable on lower settings. I think the volumetric lighting is what is killing it. Also the game comes close to dying every time I pause, I found out I'm not the only one with this issue so it's a problem with the PC version. 

 

Vice City now is a game that is hard carried by its soundtrack I think. I don't think I could stick with this type of thing without these tunes. It's also weird to think Vice City is now more retro than the year 1986 was when Vice City itself came out. It's like a russian doll of nostalgia or something. I will say for VC first thing you should do is turn HDR off and set contrast to 0. The default contrast level is hideously oversaturated and destroys the tone of the game. At zero it is not a million miles away from the original's visual style

 

Going back now also it really feels like Ray Liotta phoned in his performance as Tommy Vercetti, but the people around him do a good enough job to make up for that fact. Especially the lawyer guy. It's weird to think how they got all these really big movie stars in a game like this (Burt Reynolds is in this game, if you forgot). Nowadays you can see that these movie people don't exactly translate their talents to the digital screen, some of them are pretty bad at adapting to it. Or are just used to sell the game. But back then this was a really big deal for Vice City.

 

There's one visual thing which has really annoyed me early on, the rain effect. It is a constant streak of white lines that make it impossible to see anything and actually made me feel a kind of motion sickness I've never felt with a game. I haven't heard anyone else talk about it, it could be a subjective thing. But man, it is rough to look at. On the other hand they add a cool effect where you get puddles and the grass gets wet. You slide in the rain also, I think that's new. Might not be but it seems new.

 

Gameplay clips, spoilered for post length not spoilers cause this game is 20 years old now

 

Spoiler

 

 

 

 

 

 

[bellow]

The 'problem' I have with discussing San Andreas is that I've never been able to find serious fault with the game. Sure, I disliked failing a mission and the palava you had to go thru to restart, but back in the day that just seemed like the way they'd organised the difficulty. I've always felt the game was near perfect, and this version has done nothing to alter that conviction. There's just nothing in gaming like accurately 'handbreak' turning a high powered motorcycle around a tight corner with Freebird blaring on the radio. And now it's just so smooth and clean looking it's just wonderful to play. I still haven't got over the way they bollocksed up motorcycling in subsequent games.

 

If there's a fault in this version it's that the checkpointing and such has made failing a bit inconsequential. Fine for me, cos I've played the game as it was intended - but I can imagine new players feeling that a lot of missions are a bit of a pushover. And things move along a lot faster, story wise, with these modern safety nets.

 

With that in mind I've decided to put more time into the RPG elements of the game. I've already been to the gym 3 times and look a bit like a tattooed Arnold Swarzenegger.

 

With this and Forza I'm sort of in gaming heaven at the moment.

[one-armed dwarf]

I dunno I've a different view of the checkpointing, I had a thing happen in VC where I had to kill this French guy (for reasons?) and he shot the tires out on my bike. I could not get a replacement vehicle quick enough and the checkpoint was at the start of the mission. Lost due to RNG. Definitely this is not the thing that I miss about these games and some of the later missions really take the piss. Especially in San Andreas, that one with the remote controlled helicopter. I would very much like they dial it down to stupid levels, me would like much

[bellow]

You know, I don't think I've heard anyone claim these were difficult games before. The odd spike, maybe, like the the legendary RC bi-plane shootout in SA. 

 

I don't know. I seems quite hard to fail missions, for the most part.

[one-armed dwarf]

Fuck, I got called out. I should never have made this thread 😢

 

BTW, this is weird but I read that 'Video killed the Radio Star' is not in this version of Vice City but it definitely played while I was playing. Some people think the removal of songs is actually bugged, which is kinda funny. MJ definitely isn't in though or you'd have heard of it by now

[bellow]

I've also PM'd @Maf about your rather embarrassing frailties. PC master race, my codlings😃

[bellow]

Such a shame about all the palava attached to this release. Rockstar need to go and have a quiet talk to themselves. Greedy bastards.

 

Having said that, my own experience has been just about what I thought it was going to be. A visually sharpened trip down memory lane, with a few enhancements to make the journey less bumpy (easier).

 

Cards on the table I would never have bought this at release date prices but, with a gamepass sub, it's been great. Just hit the countryside, where the pines are lonesome, and the radio is full of heartbreak. How does this game look so shite yet still hit the 'feel' of its locations perfectly?

[one-armed dwarf]

I may yet contribute to this thread a different way. Although Rockstar have forbidden me from playing the games that I bought off them I found a cool mod for San Andreas also called 'Definitive Edition' which restores a bunch of effects from the PS2 version (fog, hazy sunny visuals) and makes it run at modern resolutions and stuff.

 

To your point, what I think SA does that a lot of modern open worlds don't is maximise use of the limited space it has. That's why I think it seemed so big at the time, you spend an eternity just in the cul de sac around grove street, going to the gym and around the surrounding neighbourhood. Like it's your whole world. It takes its time making you go the other areas of Los Santos. You talk about invisible hands in gaming, SA for the first couple hours it's like an invisible leash. But it makes the world feel lived in and tangible. While in other games they are in a hurry to make you see as much stuff as possible

[bellow]

It could have taken even more time before moving you out in my opinion. It's a great opening location. 

[bellow]

Everyone's probably seen the 'rain' effect in these games by now, but it really is hilarious. Possibly the worst design decision I've seen in gaming.😄

 

Can't see a feckin inch in front of your car.

[bellow]

Apparently they've already modded the rain on PC. Apart from a few missions glitching out it's my only complaint.

 

Having said that I wasn't that impressed with the initial reveal if this collection so I wasn't expecting miracles (and my expectations were certainly realised😄)

 

Also, I never forked over 50 quid for it.

[one-armed dwarf]

Honestly at this point my main complaint with the collection (besides rain) was that they removed it from people's libraries for days on end. I just refuse to buy anything from them again just for that.

 

I don't know if people understand what they did there. It wasn't an outage that prevented the DRM from activating, they just locked the games from launching. Removed them from your libraries. Said 'no, you cant play this game now cause we have to unfuck the licensed music out'. And then ignored refund requests, so you had to go around them to the merchant instead. If they're that careless you can expect them to do it again and again.

 

 

So that's it, done with rockstar games on PC. Maybe in general. I'm glad this has turned into such an embarassing mess for them

 

Say what you want about CDPR, they refunded that shit to people

 

[bellow]

I've made it to Las Venturas, the final metropolitan sprawl of GTA: San Andreas and I now have a share in a triad owned casino. Obviously this is pitching me against the Mafia, but luckily Carl is proving to be quite the homicidal maniac, so I'm sure we'll muddle through😕

 

This is still by far my favourite GTA. Sure, the format has gone a bit stale on me, and I'm hardly shaking with anticipation for the next Rockstar opus - gangster or cowboy style (in fact I'll probably ignore it until a hefty price drop) but there's still enough here to make me smile.

 

What I've unexpectedly enjoyed, or at least been relaxed with, is the lack of a taxi type fast travel system. I couldn't bear the fast travel option (or lack thereof) in RDR2 and those awful horse rides were the reason I never got close to the credits in that game. But driving or flying around in this is somehow joyful and relaxing. I don't know why. It should, as it was in GTA 5, be annoying. There's something about SA that's just 'right.'

 

And look below. They appear to have fixed the rain.

[Metroid66]

I've decided to have a R* month, swapping between San Andreas, one of my favourite games of all time, and RDR2, a game which took me several years to come to love.

 

When they did the definitive editions I played it on gamepass, and they pulled the bugger before I finished. I'm doing it on pc now, but I don't mind restarting. The Grove street opening to this is just one big gaming hug for me. They nailed an atmosphere that had little to do with graphics and loads to do with 'feel.'

 

They haven't half updated the definitive release in the intervening years too, with a cool 'classic colour' option that stops the game getting too clean in 4K, and gives it a really nice old school murkiness while still retaining high definition.

 

Looks really good, although I'm tempted to load this 'insane' graphics option I found on nexus.

[Metroid66]

As someone who's played and enjoyed GTA 5 more than once, I have to say there's just something about this game (San Andreas) that hits the spot for me. It's just so silly, brutal, and 'videogamey.' It's still the best one for me.

 

The fucker is nuts at times, to the point where you're sometimes looking over your shoulder to see if anyone is watching you enjoy the carnage with a disapproving look on their face. 

 

And the motorbikes! Why don't bikes handle like this in subsequent games? Someone definitely dropped the ball on that one at R*North.

 

Anyway, I was going to play this in sections, but I've hit the badlands and I feel I could play on for a while. 

[Metroid66]

Check out this crib, busta's!

 

I'm trying to buy every available property in the game, which is easy if you know your way around the old 'Inside Track.'

Anyway I've reached San Fierro, so I'm parking this game until March to keep it fresh. Got to the second camp in my other R* joint, RDR2, too, but I'll probably keep playing that just for relaxation. It's very relaxing at times...