Well it finally happened for me. The GTA PS2 trilogy re-released with trophy support. That was always going to be the only way I revisited these games, as I'll never be pulling my fat model PS2 out of the closet. Yeah I could have redownloaded them digitally last gen, (or played on another platform like iOS) but I was always holding out for a true HD remaster with trophy support. While there was a stink among fans for it being PS2 emulation, I had no problem buying the entire trilogy on a flash sale for around 18 bucks. So finally, since the age of 18, I was able to revisit these games that meant so much to me during my teenage years.
GTA 3 was my first PS2 game. I remember being blown away by the graphics and open city. This was a live, breathing city! The cars played music. Planes flew through the sky at random. The people of Liberty City would go about their day whether you contributed or not. It was amazing. To a 15 year old on the verge of getting his license in a year, and experiencing his first taste of the real world, it was like a sneak peak of what it'd be like really cruising the streets of my (small) town... ya know, without all the murder and hookers. It was after 9/11 and I was kind of getting bullied at school during that time, so sometimes switching on that console and hearing that jazzy piano play at the intro credits of the game was an escape to me. Revisiting this game as an adult brought back alot of nostalgic feelings, and I was surprised at how much easier it was than I remember... and I didnt use a single cheat code.
Next came Vice City. What can I say??? This game is my favorite game of all time. This game was released a few days after my 16th birthday, and I still have the original PS2 disc with a written letter from dad telling me happy birthday and he and mom loved me tucked in the case. I remember the day I got this game... we had a field trip that day at school and me and a girl named Krysta had been exchanging glances and smiles all day at some Kangaroo zoo or something. When I got home I immediately fired this game up and called her. We talked for probably an hour while I cruised the streets of Vice City. I remember how the sunshine glared off the other vehicles while I drove past palm trees under a perfectly blue sky. I will never forget that. And as a 29 year old man, almost 14 years later, Vice City still holds up. The 80's theme, the soundtracks, the voice acting, the missions.... it's held up so well. The whole franchise has.
Finally, we come to San Andreas. I havent had time to dive headfirst back into this game but this game holds lot of precious memories for me as well. I had a part time job at a grocery chain, and although I've never been one to do this.... I called in sick the day this game came out. By the time this game came out, I was on the front half of my senior year in high school. I got out of school, called in sick, and went to Wal-Mart, and picked this game up. Came home, popped it in, and first thing I remember was being shocked at how freely this game dropped the F word. I had never heard it in a game before! I played the game for awhile... but at this time, I was in the zenith of my teenage years. I was always running. I had a click to run with! Who had time for video games? I sold the game for 40 bucks to a friend and that was that. I was done with video games....
...not so fast my friend.
Then flash forward literally a year later. My girlfriend at the time was dominating my life. Work, and college was dominating my life. I had no time for video games. Except this ONE day off. She was at work, I was off work, no homework. I bought, and fired up San Andreas. What the hell, I was bored. I literally started at 10:00 AM and ended that night at 7:00 PM. I never stopped. That PS2 never shut off. 9 hours I played that game, and I was hooked. I was home. Grand Theft Auto, the franchise that saw me go from a bullied kid, to a cool kid with a license, to a young man who didnt have time for video games.... it was still there for me. Still there to take me away to another universe when sometimes this one isnt so kind. (The irony right?) And it still is, till this day. Those cities are still here for me to take just a little time off from the real world, if even for just a little while.
Sorry for the long winded post, and God bless you if you read it all. I wrote this post mostly for myself.... because sometimes these blogs work more as a journal than anything. But hey, if you did read this, thank you. And game on.