A TEAM of massive Grand Theft Auto fans have re-imagined one of the franchise’s best-loved games with ultra-realistic graphics.
The reworked version of Grand Theft Auto (GTA) San Andreas features scintillating lighting effects and even a bit of extra wildlife.
Crafted by South American group ArcadiaSquad, the revamped game is a bolstered render of the San Andreas map.
That means you can’t pick up a controller and play the original 2004 game on it, but it’s sure nice to look at all the same.
A video uploaded to the ArcadiaSquad YouTube channel last week gives viewers a tour of the gorgeous remastered landscapes.
As well as boosted graphics, the team – made up of friends Santiago Ibarra, Fabian Álvarez and Juan David Góngora – added new creatures.
They include a deer that can be seen dipping its head to much on some grass at one point during the clip.
Hailing from from Chile, Colombia and Argentina, the team has no plans to make the souped-up map playable for now.
They spent nearly a year tweaking the graphics of the original San Andreas using the Unreal 4 engine.
Unreal 4 is a game engine made by behemoth games developer Epic Games.
It’s used to power the high-intensity graphics of many AAA titles, including Epic Games’ own Fortnite and the Gears of War franchise.
Earlier this year, gameplay footage rendered in the new Unreal Engine 5 was released to gamers.
The impressive real-time video demo showed how game makers are now one step closer to “photorealistic” graphics, according to Epic Games.
It was largely used to show off what PS5 games could look like when gamers get their mits on the console later this year.
Sony officially unveiled the PS5 last month, and game-makers are already testing their wares on it.
And with its pre-Christmas release drawing near, Sony is now desperate to drum up more interest in its rival to Microsoft’s Xbox Series X.
Both consoles are expected to cos somewhere in the region of £500 / $500 at launch.
