But how does it stack up against the original PS2 version?
The Dreamcast burned brightly from 1998 to 2001 but Sega’s financial situation famously ended its life early.
That’s right - GTA2 received a port to Dreamcast during its short life.
The result is certainly interesting but as a game designed for PlayStation first and foremost, it’s limited.
It runs very poorly on Dreamcast, which feels unacceptable to me given its origins.
GTA was popular but not popular in the way that the series would become after GTA 3.
Fundamentally, this is the complete version of GTA3.
This is an accumulation style blur which uses previous frames to create a sort of post-process motion blur effect.
Right away, I noticed some minor texture blending issues here but also differences in the character model.
I also noticed that texture resolution has taken a hit, to fit into the Dreamcast’s memory.
Subtract framebuffer data and other VRAM resident objects and they’re left with only 2.3MB of VRAM for textures.
There is still hope, however.
I also noticed issues with light flares from headlights clipping through the world.
It’s all here.
The team sent me an updated build that prioritises CD-ROM performance and… it works.
It works surprisingly well from a CD and that’s a real achievement.
In terms of performance, let’s discuss the permutations of my testing.
I used the V1 trail effect on Dreamcast, which is the closest match with PS2.
It’s unlikely that we’ll see more than 20 fps with trails, though.
I always noticed this back in the day - GTA3 is not smooth compared to its contemporaries.
The thing is, this is all measured in fairly undemanding areas.
Traffic is far more dense, models are improved, while elements like fences and fire escapes are added.
The lighting is better and the frame-rate is much smoother too.
There’s definitely a lot of additional headroom here.
To be able to run such a large scale game at this level of performance already is really unbelievable.
The Dreamcast can, in fact, handle Grand Theft Auto 3 in its entirety.
The dream will never die!
