Ask Grand Theft Auto fans which of the PS2-era trilogy they prefer, and you'll likely get different answers. Some may say GTA 3 because it was the one that kick-started the franchise's rise to open world fame. Some may prefer San Andreas for its iconic voice actors. Others still may say their favorite is Vice City and its timeless soundtrack. In terms of the game's music, it's a bit of a shame that the recent remaster had to remove some of the most iconic tracks. However, a new mod has been released which puts them back into the latter game, as well as adding more.
Yesterday, a modder by the name of ToxicLBC uploaded an add-on to Nexus Mods for the fourth Grand Theft Auto installment, Vice City which re-introduces the cut songs from the original, putting them back into their "respective radio stations". On top of that, they've also added in songs from Vice City Stories, as well as thrown in more than 80 bonus tracks from bands and artists like Michael Jackson, Billy Ocean, Metallica, Van Halen, Duran Duran, and many more.
As many are aware, Rockstar removed some songs from the GTA Trilogy, which has upset a number of fans, making the remastered version feel "incomplete." Songs such as Ozzy Osbourne's "Bark at the Moon," Michael Jackson's "Wanna be Startin' Something," 2Pac's "I Don't Give a F**k," NWA's "Express Yourself" and a bunch of others were nowhere to be seen in the recent trilogy. The reason is most likely due to licensing renewals, but some fans are not happy with that excuse given how powerfully affluent the studio is.
ToxicLBC's mod will be a welcome relief for many fans of the classic trilogy, especially this installment. Vice City has a roster of beloved radio stations, which play a breadth of different genres of music, from classic pop, to heavy metal, and funk. Even if Rockstar's reasons for cutting down the track list for the remaster are genuine, it's just one of many ways that the release of GTA Trilogy has been a disaster.
Grand Theft Auto - Definitive Edition has had some updates which fixed some of the bigger issues plaguing the release since day one. However, modders are also tasking themselves with throwing as many fixes at the game as they can as well, essentially trying to undo the mess that developer Grove Street, as well as Rockstar, has unleashed into the gaming world. For some, it may be too little too late.
Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy - The Definitive Edition was released on November 11, 2021, and is available on PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, Android, and iOS
Source: Nexus Mods
