The tech-focussed Digital Foundry took a closer look at one of the games in the recently released Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy – The Definitive Edition for the Nintendo Switch.
The game they have looked over in this is the iconic Grand Theft Auto 3 which originally launched on the wildly successful PlayStation 2 console. The team says that the remastered game runs at a very disappointing 648p when playing on Nintendo Switch in docked mode and roughly 480p handheld. The frame rate is capped at 30fps but there are noticeable dips when the action unfolds.
Yeah, we have a remaster but should we even have gotten it?
Digital Foundry: Grand Theft Auto 3 findings
- Shift in art direction compared to the original
- Rain effort is poorly done
- Updated car models are a plus, but aspects of rendering the vehicle are off
- Character models are different
- Differences in way the environment is rendered
- Using the original city model while replacing textures and adding in objects where appropriate, but there are issues like texture alignment
- AI upscaling that was used can lead to things like typos in textures
- GTA III Switch resolution is about 648p when docked
- Around 480p in portable mode
- No ambient occlusion on Switch
- Missing some of the more advanced effects like reflections
- Switch version is blurry and lacking in detail
- GTA III Switch frame rate is capped at 30 FPS
- Has frame pacing issues like other platforms
- Frame rate drops a lot
- Performance is slightly worse in portable mode
- Traffic density and draw distance reduced on Switch
- Shadow maps are present, along with some dynamic shadows from headlights
- Game has a variety of bugs
