When looking at the history of open-world games from the last twenty years, few franchises have been as formative as Grand Theft Auto. Now, after months of speculation, fans will finally be able to revisit the three games that started it all with Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy - Definitive Edition. After a reveal that didn't disclose too much information just over a week ago, Rockstar Games recently gave gamers a trailer that finally showed what Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy will look like, and how some of the most important games in history have been updated for a new generation.

As rumors were circulating on Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy - Definitive Edition, many fans were wondering just how extensive the collection's remastered updates would be. Rockstar Games has released some remasters of older games in the past, but they mostly served as ports for newer consoles. Now that Rockstar has revealed extensive details alongside the trailer for GTA: The Trilogy, it's clear that this experience aims to improve on the three classic games in a way that truly modernizes them, while maintaining the core of why they're so special.

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Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy - Definitive Edition's Enhanced Graphics

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After GTA: The Trilogy was formally announced by Rockstar Games, fan speculation went wild over how different the games might look from their original releases. While the originals still hold up to some degree, there's no doubting that graphics have come a very long way since the era that these games first released in. To the satisfaction of many, Rockstar has more than delivered when it comes to making GTA: The Trilogy look like a true graphical remaster of GTA 3, Vice City, and San Andreas.

Looking at the games in their original state, it's clear what the graphical limitations were at the time they were made. Characters and environments are rather blocky, and textures are mostly plain with only some pops of color. GTA: The Trilogy gives the games a huge overhaul on almost every graphical front possible. Character models, while maintaining the personality of their original blocky frames, are much more detailed than they were before. The overall texturing of hair and clothing has been greatly improved, and perhaps the greatest indication of change is that characters have individual fingers when they didn't before.

On a greater scale, just about everything in each of the three GTA worlds has been improved. Vehicles, roads, and buildings have received much better textures, and modern lighting effects have been applied to make GTA: The Trilogy look closer to a truly next-gen experience. Draw distances have also been improved, which should make driving through Vice City or flying through San Andreas much more immersive. For those that have gotten their hands on a PS5 or Xbox Series X/S, GTA: The Trilogy will support 4K gameplay at up to 60 FPS.

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Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy - Definitive Edition's Gameplay Improvements

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Luckily for those looking for a fully updated experience, graphical improvements aren't the only changes coming to Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy. Just as the games' visuals have aged somewhat compared to modern games, the gameplay of GTA-then and GTA-now are two very different games. Even when games like San Andreas first released, some of the driving controls were considered clunky and difficult to get a hold of. Rockstar Games has fortunately taken this into consideration, and made a number of gameplay adjustments.

Rockstar Games isn't pulling any punches when it comes to changing up gameplay for GTA: The Trilogy; as the game's official site says, it will have a GTA 5-style controller layout. This should make things like basic traversal and combat much more familiar to those that have played GTA 5 for close to ten years, and the changes don't stop there. GTA: The Trilogy will also have updated weapon and radio station selection wheels, and navigation will be improved with better mini-maps and the ability to create waypoints. To top it all off, players will be able to restart missions right away should they fail, instead of painfully navigating back to the start.

GTA: The Trilogy also has an interesting feature for Switch owners, which should make GTA's first outing on a Nintendo home console unique from other versions. For those that want to bring GTA on the go, this collection will support touch controls for camera zooming, pans, and menu selection. There will also be motion controls for aiming on the Nintendo Switch, which should be an interesting way of combining modern gaming innovations with classic GTA gameplay. If anything, it's a nice way to show that Rockstar cares about how GTA: The Trilogy plays on every console it's available on.

Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy - Definitive Edition has been a long time coming for a lot of gamers, so it's exciting to see how much effort Rockstar has put into remastering its most iconic titles. Not only will this be a great trip down memory lane for some, but it also serves as a way for other gamers to experience some classic games if they never got to before. Considering Grand Theft Auto 6 won't be coming out any time soon, Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy should be a great way to hold some fans over in the meantime.

Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy - Definitive Edition releases November 11 for PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S, with mobile versions also in development.

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