Driving in GTA 4 is Annoying

Driving is an important aspect of the Grand Theft Auto franchise, and GTA 4 is no different. Liberty City is filled with vehicles for players to purchase and steal. With this title, Rockstar strove for realism and this extends to the handling of vehicles.

Unfortunately, the result is that cars feel like they’re slipping on ice, and they sway far too much. It’s a damper on gameplay, and it makes driving from point A to B a tedious task. The problem also rears its ugly head when attempting to escape from the police, as weaving through traffic almost invariably results in collisions. Luckily, this issue was addressed in GTA 5.

In a statement provided to IGN, Meta has confirmed that it has suspended development of GTA: San Andreas VR indefinitely.

“GTA: San Andreas is on hold indefinitely while we both focus on other projects. We look forward to working with our friends at Rockstar in the future,” a Meta spokesperson said.

There’s no word on whether the companies intend to revive the project at any point down the line, but for now, it doesn’t look like San Andreas VR is going to see the light of day- or if it does, it will not be anytime soon.

It also remains to be seen what this means for Take-Two Interactive’s future plans in the VR space. The company has expressed interest in expanding its VR presence in the past, though with San Andreas VR’s development being put on hold, plans may have changed internally.

Halo 2 

The original Halo was a driving force in creating a substantial market share against Sony and Nintendo, and expectations for the sequel were naturally high. Halo 2 delivered upon those expectations in spades, combining an adrenaline-pumping story with a comprehensive suite of multiplayer options making for an experience that keeps you hooked and doesn’t let go. Hundreds of thousands of fans would have fond memories of duking it out against friends, and Halo 2 might just be the defining Xbox experience for a majority of those fans.

Starfield

Starfield is Bethesda’s newest IP in over 25 years, and it’s a testament to the developer’s amazing world-building chops. The NASA-Punk designs on offer look really amazing, but Starfield isn’t just shown without substance. You get to explore a massive space world inhabited by different cultures and factions, and you get to take on a wide variety of well-written quests that twist and turn based on your choices. Add to that some massive improvements in combat, and Starfield becomes a really tantalizing experience. 

Dead Space

Dead Space is one of the best survival horror games of all time, and the popularity of the recently released remake is a testament to the timelessness of this classic. The protagonist’s journey through the foggy and claustrophobic compartments of USG Ishimura is brimming with ferocious Necromorphs waiting to maul you at every instance of reckless behavior. Between a brutal gameplay loop and ominous atmosphere, Dead Space is an impressive survival horror game that’s just as fresh as it was more than a decade ago.

Horizon Forbidden West

Horizon Forbidden West is a game that takes what worked in the original, and expands upon those concepts in new and interesting ways. Forbidden West thrusts players into a beautiful open-world brimming with both beauty and suffering, and you must do everything in your power to free the world from the titular Corruption that’s raging in full force. The gameplay also features key improvements like expanded mobility options and better platforming, which makes for a worthy sequel.

Ori And The Will of the Wisps

Moon Studios delivered an excellent platformer with Ori and the Will of the Wisps, a game that does a good job of combining a fantasy style story with a smooth-flowing combat loop. The game takes you through a bunch of wonderfully well-realized locales, and what makes it so special is the excellent understanding of when to dish out new powers and new kinds of obstacles – which makes the progression and gameplay loop surprisingly addictive for a single-player game.

Resident Evil 2 Remake

Resident Evil 2 stands tall as one of the best and most important survival horror games in history, and Resident Evil 2 Remake does an excellent job of taking those ideas and presenting them in a way that today’s audience will definitely appreciate. The myriad of visual improvements and gameplay overhauls really bring out the best in Resident Evil 2, and it’s a constantly thrilling experience with a rich atmosphere and brutal gameplay.

Red Dead Redemption 2

Red Dead Redemption 2 is a heart-wrenching tale about the gradual fall of the Van Der Linde gang as law and order start to rapidly penetrate the Wild West. Red Dead Redemption 2 features some of the best writing that we have seen in gaming, and it presents it all with some stunning attention to detail. The world is brimming with different quests to undertake and things to do – and you could spend dozens upon dozens of hours wandering aimlessly and just soaking in the sunsets.

Super Mario Odyssey

Super Mario Odyssey is a wonderfully imaginative game that’s entirely based upon using your magical hat to take control of objects in the world and cross all kinds of obstacles in the many sandbox levels. The mechanics and level designs are top-notch, and Odyssey does a great job of inducing a big grin on your face as you hop and glide through these platforming jungle gyms.

Uncharted 2: Among Thieves

Uncharted 2: Among Thieves might just be the best rendition of a non-stop action movie in video game form. Nathan’s journey to finding the coveted Chintamani stone is punctuated with all sorts of whacky set-piece sequences and frenetic gunfights, and the accompanying story also manages to tug at the heart’s strings without compromising on the signature pompous thrill of the series. 

Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty

Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty is a game that was well and truly ahead of its time. The narrative tackled heavy themes such as the effects of information misspread and the power of social media long before any of these things had much value in the world, and it’s all accompanied by a strong foundation of gameplay ideas that beautifully work together with one another. And then, of course, you also have a sizable portion of memorable boss fights that will stay with you long after the credits roll.

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

Set against the monster-infested fantasy world of Continent, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is all about adventuring your way through its many areas in the hopes of finding the whereabouts of Ciri. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is a game with a complex web of mechanics and systems that intertwine with each other to create something that’s truly wonderful. Add to that a bevy of diverse and engaging content on offer, and Wild Hunt becomes a truly spectacular experience.

Grand Theft Auto V

Grand Theft Auto 5 is one of the highest-selling video games of all time, and it’s the most profitable entertainment product in all of history – and those records should alone tell you about the game and its massive popularity. Grand Theft Auto 5 dumps you into a beautiful world inhabited by all sorts of colorful personalities, and tasks you to take on daring heist missions or just carve out your own fun in this wondrous sandbox. It’s a game that puts fun at the epicenter of its designs, which makes the final product so much more addictive than its peers.

Grand Theft Auto San Andreas

Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas might just be the most influential game of the PS2 generation, and for good reason. Rockstar provided a significant bump in quality over Vice City, incorporating multiple open cities to explore, activities to pursue, and a buffet of mission types to choose from. San Andreas was unlike anything we had ever experienced before, and despite a few obvious cracks – it remains a highly enjoyable game to this date.

Grand Theft Auto IV

Grand Theft Auto 4 tells the story of Niko exacting a long awaited revenge on an enemy while coming to grips with the frailties of living your dream. It’s a compelling story that expertly juggles some heavy themes with the signature humor of the series, and the bevy of gameplay improvements like combat and mission designs haven’t gone unnoticed by fans. Grand Theft Auto 4 is an underrated classic, and deserves a lot more credit and appreciation than it gets.

Red Dead Redemption 1

Yet another one of Rockstar’s works on this list, Red Dead Redemption puts players in the shoes of former Van Der Linde gang member John Marston as he tries to earn his long-due redemption by working for lawful authorities. The Wild West setting marked a fresh change of pace from the bustling metropolitans that we saw in the Grand Theft Auto games, and it’s all brought to life with plentiful attention to detail in aspects ranging from horse riding to mission designs and so much more. 

Far Cry 3

2012’s Far Cry 3 was an incredibly successful venture for the open world genre, and a lot of that could be attributed to the excellent combination of a strong story and an open-ended gameplay loop that’s entirely based on systemic game design. Far Cry 3 takes you from one thrilling mission to the next, and you can spend a ton of time just roaming around the open-world, hunting prey for a fancy piece of equipment or taking on enemy encampments in creative ways.

Mass Effect 2

Mass Effect 2 is a massive space opera where you take control of Commander Shepard and his crew as they embark on dangerous missions across the galaxy. Mass Effect 2’s set of missions and the accompanying story is arguably the peak representation of the genre – which makes it worthy of being on this list.

Gears of War 3

Gears of War 3 combines an entertaining story with its action-packed cover shooting gameplay – which results in a high-octane experience that’s just hard to put down. Released in 2011, the game was supposed to be an end to the original trilogy – and the developers made sure that it all went down in style. This entry features some of the best firefights in the series, which makes it really hard to put down once you get the hang of it. 

Half-Life 2

Much like Alan Wake 2, Half-Life 2 is the sequel that truly showcased the capabilities of the original game. The story of Gordon Freeman taking charge of forming an uprising against the Combine is punctuated with plenty of set-piece moments, and the many physics-based puzzles that pepper the story were ahead of their time. It’s possible that you might notice some pacing issues when comparing it to more break-neck modern titles, but Half-Life 2 holds up surprisingly well even after all these years.

Marvel’s Spider-Man 2

Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 doubles the action and the fun by letting you switch between Peter Parker and Miles Morales at the flip of a button. It’s a sequel that knows what works within the context of the franchise, and does everything in its right to make the adventure a grandiose one that’s filled to the brim with interesting boss fights and a myriad of main missions that should keep you busy for hours on end.

Bloodborne

Bloodborne thrusts players into a wondrous world that feels like the embodiment of your worst nightmares, and tasks you to trudge through labyrinthian levels that continue to get increasingly brutal with new kinds of enemies and obstacles. The combat dares you to get up close and aggressively push back against enemies, but being reckless with your actions will get you nowhere. 

Shadow of the Colossus (2005)

Fumito Ueda is a master of creating games that have a strong foundation of core gameplay ideas, and those merits shine extremely brightly in his original 2005 PlayStation 2’s release of Shadow of the Colossus. It tells a surprisingly emotional story about a boy tracking down Colossi to bring a girl back to life, and each of the sixteen boss fights has been meticulously constructed with great attention to detail making it a truly special experience. 

Batman: Arkham City

Batman: Arkham City took Batman from the claustrophobic corridors of Arkham Asylum to the large open expanse of Arkham City. The story features plenty of different villains from Gotham’s Rogues gallery, and it’s all stitched beautifully through some amazing gameplay sequences and an open world that’s just an absolute joy to explore.

Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory

Splinter Cell stands tall as one of the most prestigious stealth action franchises of all time, and Chaos Theory might just be the peak experience that it has to offer. The level designs are varied and require players to be thoughtful of each and every action they take, and the feeling of sneaking right past enemy guards in pitch-black corridors is just something truly special. Chaos Theory might be dated in some aspects, but it’s still a game that’s worth playing and worth appreciating to this date.

Alan Wake 2

The original Alan Wake was an inventive action horror game that had a unique setting and featured some impressive mechanics, but it’s Alan Wake 2 that does the needful changes and additions to fully realize the potential of the original game. Remedy’s excellent gameplay mechanics shine brightly, and the Northlight Engine does a wonderful job of presenting it all with astonishing attention to detail. It’s really hard to describe Alan Wake 2’s merits without spoiling it, so be sure to check it out.

God of War: Ragnarok

God of War: Ragnarok is an excellent culmination of the narrative that kickstarter with God of War 2018, and it’s a conclusion that’s well worth the massive journey. Ragnarok amps up the narrative’s emotional and action elements by eleven, and the gameplay has also seen iterative yet appreciated changes that make the end product a worthy sequel and one of the most impressive action-adventure games of all time. Once you are done with the campaign you can jump into the game’s rogue like mode which will add more hours to your gameplay.

Elden Ring

Elden Ring is a game that takes you through an unforgettable journey through The Lands Between. It truly feels like everything the Souls genre has been building towards, and Elden Ring features best-in-class combat customization, a vast open-world peppered with valuable secrets, and large labyrinthian levels where every room tells its own story. It’s a brutal game that asks a lot from the player, but investing something here will yield some intangible rewards that will stay with you long after the credits roll.

Baldur’s Gate 3

Baldur’s Gate 3 is exactly what a massive adventure through a fantastical kingdom feels like. Set against the backdrop of a challenging setting, Baldur’s Gate 3 presents a barrage of gripping moments where you get to meet a bunch of characters from all walks of life – and go on massive treks and come across intimidating encounters. The gameplay is highly dynamic despite it being turn based, and it’s all executed at such a massive scale that it almost feels surreal.

Final Fantasy 16

To say that Final Fantasy 16 is one of the best games in this long-running genre would undoubtedly be a bold statement, but it’s not without its reasons. Final Fantasy 16’s action hack-and-slash game just fits the bill, and what we get is a game where the setting strongly resonates with the fast and frenetic gameplay – making for a tightly designed experience where everything beautifully meshes with one another.

Super Mario Bros. Wonder

Nintendo’s Super Mario offerings continue to be extremely enjoyable adventures for decades at this point, and a lot of that can be attributed to the constant evolution of the game’s level designs and the addition of new kinds of obstacles with each new release. Super Mario Bros. Wonder represents the latest in the line of long-running platformers, and it features a bevy of new obstacles ranging from dangerous level geometry to power-ups that turn Mario into a gargantuan elephant and much more. 

Tears of the Kingdom

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is an important release not only for the open-world genre but for single-player games as well. It’s a game that delivers thanks to player freedom and curiosity which is at the forefront of every mechanic. Tears of the Kingdom is a game that is just hard to put down once you start playing it. 

Halo: Combat Evolved

It’s crazy to believe that Halo: Combat Evolved began as a third-person shooter for the Mac. Developed by Bungie, the original game arguably took console first-person shooters to the next level with giant sandbox levels that facilitated multiple approaches, an incredible soundtrack and massive battles. Sure, the level design and story could have been better, but as many gamers’ first introduction to Master Chief, it was perfect.

MULTIPLE PROTAGONISTS

Grand Theft Auto 5 was a big step forward for the series in many, many ways (to say the least), but one of the biggest leaps it made was with its protagonists, becoming the first game in the series to have multiple (three, to be specific) playable protagonists that you could switch between at any time. Interestingly enough, Rockstar flirted with that idea long before that. They originally planned on having multiple protagonists in GTA: San Andreas, though as you’d expect, due to the technical limitations of the time, they ended up having to drop the idea.

SUPERNATURAL SIGHTINGS

GTA 5 is sort of the pinnacle of how much Rockstar’s open worlds encourage players to dive deep into their worlds and obsess over the tiniest and most out-of-the-way details. A lot of these boil down to stuff that’s a little out-there, and appropriately enough, GTA: San Andreas, which shares GTA 5’s setting, also had a lot of that going on. From Bigfoot to aliens to the ghost of protagonist Carl Johnson’s (or CJ’s) dead mother, players spent countless hours running around in that open world to chase down all kinds of virtual urban legends.

CRYPT

Speaking of spooky stuff, there’s quite a bit more of that to look for in San Andreas if you go looking for it. The Los Santos graveyard in Vinewood, for instance, has a crypt that you can enter that has pretty intriguing stuff going on inside. You’ll spot a TV and a couch and some old pizza boxes- all of which is a pretty neat nod to Buffy the Vampire Slayer character Spike.

VEHICLE DESIGNS

GTA: San Andreas has an impressive roster of more than 200 vehicles, and the design for a lot of these was tied in a very interesting way to narrative elements of the game. Set in the year 1992, chronologically, San Andreas is sandwiched between Vice City, which is set in 1986, and GTA 3, which takes place in 2001. A lot of vehicles that had different variations and models in both GTA 3 and Vice City can also be found in San Andreas, and Rockstar leveraged the game’s chronology by using elements of both games’ designs for certain vehicles. The Landstalker has the body of Vice City’s 1986 model, but the headlights of GTA 3’s 2001 model.

CLAUDE

Returning characters in San Andreas aren’t limited to just references. There are several characters from GTA 3 and Vice City that make appearances in San Andreas, including, of course, GTA 3 protagonist Claude. In fact, it wasn’t until his appearance in San Andreas (which happens several years before the events of GTA 3) that Claude was even given an official name. Once he was given a name, of course, most people assumed that he and GTA 2 protagonist Claude are the same person, though that’s not something Rockstar has officially confirmed yet.

LIBERTY CITY

Claude isn’t the only connection GTA: San Andreas has with Liberty City. Of course, other characters from GTA 3 (such as Don Salvatore Leon, Catalina, and others) also make appearances, but as many players will remember, CJ also briefly heads to Liberty City as well. It’s a pretty small section and most of the city isn’t accessible, but Rockstar did recreate at least some parts of it that players can access with a little mid of modding (and the use of jetpacks). Obviously it’s not a fully constructed environment, but Liberty City is still technically included in the game.

WANTED LEVELS

GTA: San Andreas really liked to play around with its Wanted system (perhaps more so than most other games in the series), and it often did so in some interesting ways. For instance, if you equip a firearm while you’re in any of the police stations scattered throughout the entire map, CJ will instantly pick up a 2 star Wanted rating. Funnily enough, if you only equip a melee weapon, your Wanted level won’t be affected. Of course, players can always use cheat codes to get around that.

TOMMY VERCETTI

GTA 3’s Claude wasn’t originally going to be the only protagonist from a past GTA game to show up in San Andreas. Rockstar had plans to bring Vice City’s Tommy Vercetti as well. Unfortunately, thanks to a dispute between Rockstar and actor Ray Liotta, those plans had to be shelved. We do still get a brief mention of Tommy at one point in the game, which serves as a nice little callback for fans of Vice City, but if things had gone to plan, the man himself would have had at least some role to play in the game.

VICE CITY

Players don’t get to go back to Vice City in GTA: San Andreas the way they do Liberty City, but there’s still plenty of references and callbacks hidden in the game. On top of returning characters, you can find action figures from Vice City in the backs of shops, you can find maps of the city in dumpsters, you can find a statue in the game resembling one of the collectible hidden packages from GTA: Vice City, and much more.

BODY HARVEST

It wasn’t just older GTA games that got some love with references in San Andreas. One particular mission, for instance, is called Body Harvest, which, of course, is a pretty direct callback to Body Harvest, a science fiction action adventure game back when they were still called DMA Design. In typical Rockstar fashion, that game was quite violent (minus the green blood).

SAN FIERRO EARTHQUAKE

This might not be a detail that many people might have even come across in the game, but it’s an interesting one. Apparently, parts of the map in San Fierro were hit with an earthquake not long before the events of the game, and you can hear people talking about it on the radio. In fact, if you head to San Fierro, you can even spot several leftovers from the quake, like half-standing buildings.

SAN FIERRO BRIDGE

There’s other interesting stuff to look out for in San Fierro as well. There’s the Gant Bridge, for instance, which rewards you if you climb all the way up to its stop with a message carved on top of a suspension tower that reads, “There are no easter eggs up here. Go away.” Meanwhile, close to the bridge, you’ll also find a sign that contains some interesting information about it, like the file size for the bridge or the model’s polygon count.

As announced today at the Facebook Connect, a VR version of the game will come to the Oculus Quest 2, which is the latest wireless headset from the company (now being rebranded as Meta). Unfortunately, no details were given about when to expect it or no footage to give an idea of what that may look like.

This isn’t the first time we’ve seen a classic from that era reimagined for the Oculus Quest 2 as Facebook/Meta partnered with Capcom to release a VR re-release of Resident Evil 4, so it seems this could be a trend. We’ll keep you updated as more information comes out.

As spotted (once again) by GTA Forum members (via Rockstar Intel), the individual logos of each of the three remasters have also surfaced thanks to recent updates made to the Rockstar Launcher (as seen above). GTA 3, Vice City, and San Andreas all have the subtitle of “The Definitive Edition” attached. Recently, Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy – Definitive Edition was also rated in South Korea, and the naming is definitely consistent.

The trilogy is rumoured to launch this November for PS5, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, and Xbox One, followed by PC, iOS, and Android versions supposedly coming some time in 2022. An announcement by Rockstar should be coming soon to make all of this official- or we hope so, at any rate.

As spotted by members on the GTA Forums, icons for achievements of the GTA Remastered Trilogy have seemingly been found in the Rockstar Launcher. Some of these are quite similar to existing achievements for ports of the games that already exist, but a few are new, suggesting that there might be new content in the remastered releases- or, you know, at least new achievements.

Meanwhile, individual mentions of GTA 3, Vice City, and San Andreas remasters have also been found in strings within the Rockstar Launcher’s files, while icons for each individual game have also been discovered. Interestingly enough, the strings mention that the games run on Unreal Engine 4, which matches up with what’s been said about the trilogy in leaks.

Whether or not a GTA Remastered Trilogy exists is still not officially confirmed, of course, but one would have to imagine that with all of these leaks and rumours and the collection’s release (allegedly) coming soon, an announcement won’t be far away. Stay tuned for more updates.

#GTATrilogy icons have also been discovered within the Launcher – with shiny gold outlines!

Credit to @bs_blackscout https://t.co/b9F4oqMIKH https://t.co/FV5bfAutgo pic.twitter.com/StBfo4UhxH

— GTANet (@GTANet) October 5, 2021

https://twitter.com/GTANet/status/1445462206053715968

According to the report, the GTA Remastered Trilogy is scheduled for release this November. Originally, the plan was to bring it either in October or in November, but now, the latter seems to have finalized, with PS5, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch being the launch platforms, and PC, iOS, and Android getting the collecting some time in 2022.

Rockstar Dundee – formerly Ruffian Games – is supposedly heading up development on the remasters. Previously, it was suggested that the trilogy’s launch might slip into 2022, but with Grand Theft Auto 5’s PS5 and Xbox Series X/S versions having been pushed out of November and into March, the late 2021 window is open for the trilogy’s launch.

Of course, this is all unverified information for now, but there’s quite a bit of smoke here- it remains to be seen when Rockstar will officially talk about the fire. Stay tuned, and we’ll keep you updated on any new details that come our way.