*UPDATE – October 29th*
Yes, it is.
Today, without announcement, RockStar released a ‘HD’ version of GTA: San Andreas via the xbox live store.
Even better, it’s just £2.99!
As is to be expected at that price, the game has not seen a complete graphical overhaul à la Halo 2 – it uses the same engine as the original – however, the HD version sports cleaner textures, better draw distances and improved lighting.
For less than the price of a pint, we can’t complain.
For a comparison between the original version and the re-mastered one, watch this:
____________________________________________________________________________________________
*ORIGINAL STORY – PUBLISHED: 22nd October 2014*
Chillin’ wit da homies, stealing whips and shooting feds – get ready to relive your childhood.
That is if a leaked list of achievements that popped up on ‘Xbox Achievements’ today is to be believed.
If so, it means that Rockstar could soon be bringing us a re-mastered version of their 2004 classic, GTA: San Andreas.
The New York-based game developers are yet to confirm anything officially. However, they have recently removed the ‘original’ version of GTA: San Andreas from the Xbox Live Store. Could this be in preparation of a re-mastered version coming out soon?
And by ‘soon’, we mean soon. October 26th will mark the 10th year anniversary of GTA: San Andreas’ original release. All seems to add up quite nicely, right?
However, one thing that does seem strange is that the achievement list claims that the new version of San Andreas will be coming to Xbox 360 – which is now ‘last-gen’ technology. Aren’t they a little late to the party? Although admittedly, there are still millions of gamers who haven’t upgraded to new-gen hardware, so it’s not as if they’d be taking a huge financial risk – the audience is undoubtedly still there.
But there’s one more thing that just seems a little off.
If we assume that Rockstar do plan to re-release San Andreas 10 years after its original release date (October 26th), that would mean that that:
A) It would essentially be being released without any substantial marketing push behind it at all.
B) It would be being released extremely closely to GTA: V’s release on Xbox One and PS4 (Nov. 18th).
Surely Rockstar wouldn’t want to potentially diminish their own sales by launching two of their own titles so close together?
Who knows.
All we know is that we’d love to see a re-mastered version of a San Andreas released… but we won’t get our hopes up until we hear confirmation from Rockstar themselves.
Give us your thoughts –
Do you think that there will be a a re-mastered of GTA: SA coming out soon?
If it’s only available for last-gen consoles, would you still be interested in buying it?
Let us know in the comments below!
Words: Charlie Staples
Pictures: DualShockers