Even the best modern open-world games sometimes struggle to provide a world that you just want to exist in without doing anything in particular, and I genuinely think the strength of those original GTA soundtracks is a big part of the reason why they excelled at offering that kind of elusive environment.īesides, so many of those songs may have theoretically been available elsewhere, but for many young gamers at the time, the GTA soundtracks were the first place we ever properly heard them. GTA may draw a lot of heat both then and now for its violence and themes, but there were so many times when I was happy to simply drive around those games and listen to the radio without going on the kind of crime spree that some people associate with this series. I’ll be the first to admit that there were times when I waited for the right song to play on one of GTA‘s radio stations before I tried to pull off a jump or start a high-speed chase, but more often than not, it really was about bowing down to the brilliance of these perfectly picked songs and the way that they underscored the thrill of experiencing these sandbox games that we could barely comprehend at the time. It wasn’t just that the GTA teams were trying to capture specific eras (the ’80s and ’90s) through music but that they used music to capture that thrill of driving around when the perfect song happens to play on the radio at the perfect time. That’s especially true in the case of Vice City, which is often remembered for its soundtrack above all else. Yet, those songs were an undeniable part of the GTA experience and a big part of the reason why the GTA games felt so different from everything else out there at the time. After all, not only did the songs on the Vice City and San Andreas soundtracks already exist but there were obviously other ways to experience them outside of the games themselves. I know that probably sounds a little ridiculous. To be perfectly honest, though, anything short of 100% restoration of the trilogy’s original soundtracks will always feel like a punch to the gut for a generation of gamers who consider those soundtracks to be as definitive to their childhoods as any album released at that time. That particular possibility would be especially devastating considering that Rockstar has also confirmed that they are removing the existing versions of these games from digital platforms starting next week in preparation for the “Definitive Edition’s” launch. Actually, there’s a possibility that Rockstar may have to remove additional songs from the soundtracks if they were not able to renew the rights to them for these remasters.
While there is currently no word from Rockstar regarding whether or not these upcoming remasters will restore those songs, it’s highly unlikely that the remastered soundtracks will restore any lost songs. The Gap Band – “You Dropped A Bomb On Me”īlack Harmony – “Don’t Let It Go to Your Head” Rage Against the Machine – “Killing in the Name” Compton’s Most Wanted – “Hood Took Me Under”