A collection of remasters of three classic Grand Theft Auto titles has been officially announced following rumors and leaks about its existence. The collection includes Grand Theft Auto 3, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, and Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. While the announcement did not include any kind of release date, fans of the series are already excited to return to some of their favorite Grand Theft Auto stories with enhanced graphics and gameplay.
For newcomers to the series, who were perhaps introduced to it by Grand Theft Auto 5 in recent years, the collection is also a great way to look at where the series has come and grown from. While the Grand Theft Auto franchise has evolved and grown over the years, older releases in the series still have the same open-world gameplay, tight storytelling, and havoc that players expect. Now that Grand Theft Auto The Trilogy: Definitive Edition has been officially announced, fans can start getting ready to sink hours into the classic titles.
Grand Theft Auto 3
- Main Story: 15.5 Hours
- Completionist: 40.5 Hours
Grand Theft Auto 3 was responsible for taking the series 3D and revolutionized both the series and the open-world genre in the process. The game was incredibly successful when it launched, and sits at a 97 on Metacritic to this day. For players who want to run through Grand Theft Auto 3's heart-breaking story, they'll have to dedicate an average of just over 15 hours to see all of it. The story follows the small-time criminal Claude as he tries to break into the money and power that comes with a higher level of crime in Liberty City.
Of course, Grand Theft Auto games are also well known for how massive their worlds are that offer players hours of entertainment outside the main story. Fans who want to see absolutely everything that Grand Theft Auto 3 has to offer will have to spend around 40.5 hours doing side missions and mini-games like vigilante activities or being a taxi driver. Completing the side content not only rewards characters with money, but sometimes also grant players unique rewards that will hopefully make it into the Grand Theft Auto 3 items being added to Grand Theft Auto Online.
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City
- Main Story: 19 Hours
- Completionist: 43 Hours
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City was released just a year after Grand Theft Auto 3, and has largely similar gameplay. However, it does feature a new location based on Miami as well as a gripping new story to play through. It follows Tommy Vercetti who is released from prison only to slowly overtake control of Miami's entire illegal drug trade. Grand Theft Auto: Vice City's story has been regarded as a timeless improvement over Grand Theft Auto 3's thanks to its star-studded cast, intense plotlines, and dramatic moments. Its story only takes 19 hours to play through, bringing the story of both of the first titles up to 34.5 hours.
There are also more side activities and hidden details that many Grand Theft Auto: Vice City players don't know about. This gives players more to do in the game's open-world on top of it still including many of the fan-favorite minigames from Grand Theft Auto 3. On average, however, completionist runs getting all of the collectibles, items, and completing all activities and mini-games in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City takes a bit longer than Grand Theft Auto 3 at an average of 43 hours. This brings the total for super fans who want to fully complete both games up to 83.5 hours.
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
- Main Story: 31.5 Hours
- Completionist: 82 Hours
Just a couple of years after Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, Rockstar Games released Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, which completely changed what fans expected from a Grand Theft Auto title. Set in San Andreas, a fictional city inspired by Los Angeles, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas gives players more freedom to customize their characters, level up their attributes, and even introduced the ability to play rampage missions with a second player. The story was also largely based on real-life events, which managed to strike a chord with players for its dark realism. The iconic Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas storyline was also the longest yet for the series, clocking in at 31.5 hours. This brings the total playtime for players who want to see the stories of the entire remastered trilogy to around 66 hours.
The increase to scale was also applied to the side activities and open world in the game as well. This included more mini-games like basketball, gang wars that players could get involved in, the ability to customize cars, burglary, and even a system that allows players to go into gambling debt. It also expanded on the number of vehicles that players can experiment and play around with, especially when it comes to airborne vehicles like airplanes and helicopters. Combined with its stylish soundtrack and the sheer amount of customizability, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas is one of the most timeless classics in the series. Its increased size leads to a completionist playthrough averaging around 82 hours, bringing the total completionist run of the remastered trilogy up to 165.5 hours.
With how many hours players can put into each of the three titles in the remastered trilogy it seems to be a great deal for fans of the series and newcomers alike. Grand Theft Auto The Trilogy: Definitive Edition was announced without a release date, but, hopefully, Rockstar Games will announce some more information for players soon so that they can get ready to return to some of the very best open-world games in the industry.
Grand Theft Auto The Trilogy: Definitive Edition is in development for PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.