2021 marks the 20th anniversary of Grand Theft Auto 3, a landmark video game release that created the blueprint for the countless open world games that would follow. Grand Theft Auto 3 is easily one of the most significant video game releases of all time, and so Rockstar Games enlisted Grove Street Games to bring it and its PS2-era sequels to modern consoles in the form of Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy - The Definitive Edition. Rockstar was bizarrely secretive about Grand Theft Auto Trilogy after its announcement, but now that the collection is out in the wild, it's clear why.

GTA Trilogy features Grand Theft Auto 3, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, and Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, the critically-acclaimed, trendsetting PS2-era Grand Theft Auto games that are still held up as some of the finest games ever made. Considering how good the games were when they were originally released, one would think GTA Trilogy would be an easy win for Rockstar and Grove Street Games, but unfortunately, it's been botched.

Before diving into GTA Trilogy's many problems, it's worth pointing out what it does right. Grand Theft Auto Trilogy uses a GTA 5-style control scheme, and it's much better for it. Maneuvering the characters, shooting, and general gameplay are definitely improved with these modernized controls, though driving does feel a bit off. Many of the vehicles are jerky, and there's no feedback in the controller triggers when driving them, which is difficult to get used to.

Other attempted quality of life improvements are pulled off with a bit more grace, like the revamped mini-map and the introduction of mid-mission checkpoints in GTA San Andreas and the ability to restart missions after failing them in all three games. This makes failing missions in the older games much less frustrating, as it eliminates the need for players to travel all the way to the mission marker to start again, though it's odd that checkpoints weren't added across the board and are only in San Andreas.

Besides the quality of life improvements, one of the main selling points of Grand Theft Auto Trilogy is its graphics, with the collection offering remastered visuals for GTA 3, Vice City, and San Andreas. There are good things and bad things about GTA Trilogy's graphics, with the environments enjoying a significant upgrade but the character models leaving much to be desired.

A lot has been said about Grand Theft Auto Trilogy's character models, and they are certainly a mixed bag. The main characters usually look pretty good, but sometimes CJ's character model from San Andreas looks rather outlandish as his weight fluctuates, and there are many NPCs in the game that don't even look human. However, the GTA Trilogy character models are really the least of the collection's worries when it comes to graphics.

The biggest graphical flub in GTA Trilogy is its rain effects. Whenever it rains in Grand Theft Auto Trilogy, big bold white lines fill the entirety of the screen, making it very difficult to see, especially in Grand Theft Auto 3. Modders have already started work on "fixing" the rain effects in Grand Theft Auto Trilogy, which goes to show that many players are finding the rain to be obnoxious. With how obviously overbearing the rain is in Grand Theft Auto Trilogy, it's strange that it wasn't caught and changed ahead of launch.

Grand Theft Auto 3 seems to have gotten the short-end of the stick when it comes to GTA Trilogy graphics, and it extends beyond the rain effects. GTA 3 is noticeably darker than the other two games in the collection, likely in an attempt to mimic the grey skies and dreary weather from the original game. However, GTA 3 is a little too dark in Grand Theft Auto Trilogy, even when the brightness is cranked all the way up. This issue relents when players are able to visit more GTA 3 islands beyond the first one, but still brings down the game's opening hours.

A general lack of polish permeates throughout Grand Theft Auto Trilogy. Players will spot endless technical hiccups, glitches, and graphical mishaps in all three games. They'll witness everything from large textures disappearing to cars floating in mid-air to game crashes and more. There are many, many problems with GTA Trilogy, resulting in an experience that's far less reliable than the 20 year old original games. Playing it dashes any hopes one may have had for potential future Rockstar Games remasters.

What makes the entire GTA Trilogy situation worse is that Rockstar removed the other versions of the games from digital storefronts. This includes the GTA PS4 re-releases that upped the resolution, improved the performance, and added trophy support. These offered the truly definitive versions of the classic PS2-era Grand Theft Auto games, and it seems like it would have been a better move to simply bring those to more consoles.

After all, the PS4 enhanced versions of the games were actually more content-complete than the new "definitive" versions. For example, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas is missing its co-op mode in the Definitive Edition, and while it was fairly restrictive, it was still fun.

Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy - The Definitive Edition has a mountain of technical flaws, some of which are pretty egregious. Despite these issues, the collection still has some redeeming qualities. All three games are beefy, giving players plenty of things to do if they want to fully complete them. There are also GTA Trilogy cheat codes available for those who don't care about completing the game sand want to make their own fun. Players could completely ignore the main story missions in the games, do nothing but use cheat codes and explore, and still get their money's worth, playtime-wise.

There are great stories here, memorable characters, fun missions, and the tools players need to create countless hours of their own entertainment. The foundation of GTA Trilogy is comprised of three of the best games ever made, and so there is inherent value, especially for newcomers. But while the core gameplay of GTA Trilogy is truly incredible, the overall package feels rushed and haphazard. Those desperate for old school GTA on modern consoles should check the collection out, especifically if the promised Grand Theft Auto Trilogy fixes come through, but everyone else can safely skip it.

Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy - The Definitive Edition is out now for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X. Game Rant reviewed the game on Xbox Series X.