Grand Theft Auto: Vice City (PS2)

As the game starts you take control of Tommy Vercetti (voiced by Goodfellas star Ray Liotta) who gets involved in a bungled drug deal and must set himself up from scratch as a crime boss. Unlike in GTA III, you're not restricted to being a small-time hood any more; the game now allows you to purchase property (porn studios, strip clubs, cab companies and so on) and run extortion rackets, which cleverly widens the scope of the game while keeping the controls and gameplay pretty much the same. Which means that you still spend the majority of your time driving cars very dangerously and shooting and maiming anyone that happens to get in your way. Indeed, in most respects the game is very similar to its predecessor--the graphics, for example, are improved but hardly groundbreaking--though there are numerous minor additions, most notably the chance to ride motorbikes--which is particularly satisfying--and fly proper aircraft.

Vice City can't be recommended unreservedly though: if you're intending to buy this game for someone under 18, you really should think again, as it's violent, filled with sex and swearing, and is totally and utterly immoral. Which is why it's guaranteed to sell and sell. --David Jenkins

The improvements include the addition of 3 types of bike, which handle incredibly, the use of interiors of buildings, which adds to the overall feeling of as close an approximation of freedom of movement as you will get and the ability to purchase domiciles and businesses as you go along giving another dimension to an already winning format.

Added weapons include a knife, hatchet, screwdriver, hammer, golf club and Kitana sword allowing you to despatch your foes in even more brutal ways than before. Some of these can even be used to smash up cars - ideal for tension relief after a hard day.

I've never played any game quite like this, and I guarantee you'll be glued to this one for months. A must buy - eve if you already have GTA III.


A bit disappointed....   November 14, 2002
Kris (England)
25 out of 48 found this review helpful

I was a bit disappointed at this new game. It was rumored to be an add on pack, and although it was dismissed, I don't think it is that far off GTA3. I expected it to be a whole new game, and it isn't really much different. Even though you have helicopters and planes, new weapons and more missions, there's still the same boring noise of certain cars, people that do near enough the same things ( mainly walking about ), and missions being a lot more harder. Sure, it's good to know that finally there's something challenging in the game now: not getting money for nothing, actually having to work hard for it.However why hasn't a certain feature been changed: this is when you carjack someone, and they walk up to the car, instead of running, that they would do more than throw a couple of hopeless punches at you. As well as this, why do the police suddenly run after someone, and kill them for no apparent reason, yet let you be beaten to a pulp by someone armed with a baseball bat, or a similar weapon? This time the police are clever, more than can be said for GTA3. However, try getting a three star wanted level, and run up to the top of a building. The police just stand there, as if they don't know how to climb stairs. They leave it up to a helicopter to kill you, as their hopeless shooting does nothing. This was supposed to be the best game of the year, but in my opinion, it's simply an add on pack. All these so called 'confirmed features' in the game have certainly been wrong, for example having the whole city open for you to explore from the start, and 60 indoor locations that you can visit ( I've searched high and low, and the most I can find is 38 ). For a new PS2 owner it's a must have, but for more experienced GTA players, I think we'll wait for the next one.


Amazing...   November 23, 2002
Kris (England)
25 out of 28 found this review helpful

What an amazing follow on to GTA3, it's amazing that all this can be done in less than a year. There's many new features, for example being able to go inside buildings, rob stores, buy assets and actually having to work for money. In GTA3, you could just blow up a car and you would get money for it, whereas in Vice City it's a lot harder to come by. For example, without giving anything away, in Vice City breaking someone out of jail, gaining a four star wanted level and taking him right to the other side of the city will earn you a measly $1000, however as some of you may well remember from GTA3, picking someone up from a location, and driving them a few hundred yards to their house, without a wanted level, would earn you as much, if not more money.

This time money serves a purpose. Unless you can kill someone ( like a gang member )and get their weapon, and no doubt the rest of the gang will come after you, you'll have to go and buy a weapon. A chainsaw will set you back $500.

Another excellent aspect of the game is the missions. It isn't as simple any more, as dropping someone off and getting paid, you may have to dispose of the car or lose you're wanted level. Certain vehicles are also needed for certain missions, which can make them a lot more difficult. For example, you may have to ride a bike to catch up with someone as there is no car available.

Weapons are most likely the best feature of the game, as well as helicopters and planes. You have such a vast choice to choose from, however there are limitations as of how many you can carry. Another great improvement is the ability to burst tyres, however do expect police to throw stingers into the road should you gain a high enough wanted level.

However, there is a downside. This may not apply to everyone, but it does to me. For example, enter Sunshine Autos. Go up to the top and shatter a window. Do whatever you need to do, to get a 6 star wanted level. This will include police with guns, the FBI, the army and more. You may even get a couple of helicopters. Now notice that no-one will come up after you. Instead they will shoot the ceiling below. Stupid, hey?

When something new enters the game, something else has to go. For example, the addition of motobikes saw the car crusher ( what use was it anyway ? ) go as well as the trains.

However, you cannot expect anything to be perfect. Yes it is very similar in some aspects to GTA3, like the noise of cars, how you get the people who are driving out of the car and the weather, but who knows what the next will bring?

Personally, I can't see that there's much more to be added, apart from a few things, like damaging weather ( tornados etc ), bicycles, and new characters, but no doubt there will be many more things that I haven't thought of.

With GTA3 never leaving the top ten, what can we expect from this.

A must have for anyone, even if you don't think you'll like it, a few minutes and you'll become a total addict.


Not as good as the hype - or GTA3. Still, top notch.   December 13, 2002
20 out of 28 found this review helpful

Nothing could have matched the amount of hype wrapped around this game, so the fact that it didn't live up to it isn't really an issue. Nor is the fact that it isn't as good as GTA3 (in my opinion), because quite frankly this is still a hugely fun title which every PS2 owner should play, if not own.

As everyone else has extensively covered what makes this game so good, I'll focus on the niggles I had with the game. For starters, the framerate is not as smooth as the original - during hefty cop chases it, quite frankly, chokes. The motion trails are also far more prominent this time around, which can make it difficult to judge what's going on in some instances. (There was no need to put motion blur on a pedestrian at walking pace, for example - luckily the trails can be removed, but with a rather barren result - it's a shame that they ditched the graphical equilibrium of GTA3 to make such sacrifices). The game also pays for some of its new tricks, such as having cops chase after other criminals on the fly - these are actually spontaneous events, and on the flipside if a real gang shootout takes place, then the cops will simply drive past...a real slap in the face as you can imagine. There are also some really patchy areas - especially on the second major island, where most of the island seems to be made up of junk yards and big open spaces of nothingness. Other new introductions such as building interiors are fun, but once the novelty wears off, you'll realise there is little need whatsoever for these graphically inferior areas, beyond a few missions which seem to only be using them to give some reason to their presence. The game is also riddled with glitches - cars disappear occasionally when you go to recieve a mission. Then there's the age old problems such as a marginally remedied yet somehow still tediously haphazard aiming system, and the fact that jumping out of a boat is always a 50-50 gamble between life and death.

For all its shortcomings though, it's still a real joy to play - the missions are now far more varied and enjoyable as a result, and the added feature of buying property to gain revenue and save points (along with extra missions for some properties) is probably the most successful element which has been added to the series. The characters are much more convincing thanks to a talented voice cast and much more involving and freeflowing stroyline, and of course then there's the 'real' 80s radio and the motorbikes and the helicopters... (contrary to most expectations the motorbike adds far more to the series than the helicopters.) There are many aspects of this game you should really experience without any preliminary knowledge for maximum enjoyment, so I'll leave it at that.

If you enjoy playing videogames then you'll no doubt enjoy something of Vice City, but if you expect perfection then you're in for a disappointment.


The Best shall get Better   November 4, 2002
19 out of 26 found this review helpful

The year of 2001 will be remembered for oh so many things- one of which being the release of what many people consider to be the greatest game on any machine, period. But a year has past and all owners of GTA 3 think that their favourite game cannot get any better, I mean come on it has everything- then you hear news that he best will get better. Rockstar announce the upcoming Grand Theft Auto: Vice City!

This time around, the new addition to the familiar series is based in Miami in the 80s as you play as Tommy Vercetti- thats right the guy has a name you will be pleased to know. With the 80s comes glamour, sunshine and a whole lot of violence and corruption for you to play around with.

A whole new variety of vehicles are equipped with that element of the decade in which the game is set, again no licensed cars but each one will be unique in it's own right. Whats more theres a whole lot more than speedy cars under your control, there will be a healthy selection of boats, helicopters that you can actually fly properly and what I think is the best news, the return of motorbikes which mean the oppotunities for dare devil stunts are back and this time with a graphical upgrade.

Talking about the graphics, some would consider it to be a vast improvement whilst others will believe it to be on par with it's prequel. I do think that there is a lot of improvement, huge amounts of detail can be found around Vice City and the animations from the public give the game a whole larger feeling of the real world. Whats more the public will interact with you a lot more than in number 3, coming up with more hilarious one liners and insults. An other good point to mention is for all those who get annoyed by being singled out by the police, this time they will go for other members of the public when they commit a crime also- this should come in handy!

Onto the weapons. GTA 3 gave you a nice selection of guns and everyone liked the molotove cocktails, but GTA 4 not only gives you an improved gun power but melee attacks will become great what with the infamous baseball bat and the introduction of such weps as chainsaws and even screwdrivers! On an other good note your hand to hand combat system will be improved giving you a new selection of fighting maneuvrers and your martial arts skills will actually allow you to take on multiple enemies.

Now for the missions- not only will there be great missions at your hands driven by a powerful storyline but there will be more missions at the sideline waiting for your disposal! Who knows how many secrets there are hidden within the large city! Lets hope Lazlow's back on the radio to keep us laughing because I think this game's gonna keep many of us awake till late hours of the night at our TV screens with a controller in our hands.

96/100