Grand Theft Auto: Vice City

GTA: Vice City, the game of ruthless criminals and fast cars, packs more action during the first few hours than you can find in the most games. It improves upon its previous game in the series and expands on the themes and concept found in there. It manages to fix minor issues and add lots of new abilities and items, which complete this stylish and enjoyable game.

Released almost a full year after Grand Theft Auto III, it captivated the gamers from all over the world once again.

Graphics — 4/5

Vice City improves on GTA III graphically. However, the frame rate has a tendency to bog down when you are in a middle of the hassle with the police, making your escape much harder. But it’s not really a big deal as the game looks better overall. Vice City has a different, more polished appearance. The characters are significantly better looking, and animations look great as for the time the game was released.

The draw distance is much farther out this time. So, you can see a longer distance down the road comparing to GTA III. It’s even more noticeable when you are flying high above the city and see almost all the way across the other part of the city.

The game's textures look bright and colorful, properly reflecting the '80s-era Miami. Nearby buildings are laced with neon, which glows nicely at night. Plus, there are lots of great little touches like the glint of the sunshine off the windows of the cars.

Gameplay — 5/5

Without a bunch of gameplay improvements, Vice City would have been just a mission pack to the GTA III. But Rockstar has been working hard in this department and delivered nice additions to already great concept.

The obvious addition is the inclusion of various motorcycles among all the vehicles on the road. There is a decent variety of two-wheelers in the Vice City, including street bikes, mopeds, big hogs, and dirt bikes. Each bike handles differently from another.

A basic street bike is a nice mix of speed and maneuverability. Big choppers are harder to steer, though they have ludicrous top speeds. You will get tossed off a bike in almost any collision, which costs you a bit of health or armor. It makes them pretty much useless in situations that involve the police. However, they are incredibly handy for the missions that require speed. Plus, you can pull a lot of cool tricks on them.
You can also do a bit of flying in the game. After a few major plot points, you will open the west half of the city, which is locked at the beginning due to a hurricane warning. Then, you’ll get missions which let you fly a seaplane, enjoying the view. Later you'll also find different helicopters too. Flying around the city is quite impressive, and it showcases the game's engine pretty well. Also, expect to discover a few of the game's hidden items scattered at the top of the buildings.

There is a few player actions have been added to Vice city as well. For example, you can lock Tommy in a crouched position, which lets you take cover behind objects and also improves your shooting accuracy. Besides, you can dive out of moving vehicles, which is handy for escaping a burning vehicle, ditching bikes or cars into the ocean, or ramming your empty car into other cars. The same as wrecking a motorcycle, diving out of a car causes a bit of bodily harm.

You can also enter some buildings in GTA Vice City, which makes the game even more realistic. You can go into your hotel and sprint all the way upstairs to your room. Plus, you are free to enter a nightclub, the Vice City mall, a strip club, and a bunch of other buildings. There are load times before entering a building, but they are pretty brief.

The game's story missions are more than just “get something or take someone somewhere and go back for your reward.” Of course, this kind of quests are present here, but most of the new missions are multiple-part affairs, involving more than just point A and point B. Such parts can be simple extensions like having to visit a shop after pulling the main job. However, the main part of the missions requires the use of more advanced tactics.

Controls — 4.5/5

While the controls in Vice City is mostly the same as in GTA III, the handling of various cars feels different. A lot of vehicles drive looser on the road and seem to get knocked much easier.

So, you will see many car-flipping and explosion-filled action during the entire gaming experience. And if you have a flat tire after some shootout, handling becomes an even bigger problem. And as if cars weren't dangerous enough, a bike with a flat tire is just useless as it spins out and throws you over the handlebars each time you try to attain any serious speed.

Replay Value — 5/5

GTA Vice City is an open world game, so you can launch the game anytime and do whatever you want. Missions are not a necessity here. You can just explore the city, find new vehicles, weapons, punch people to take their money, etc.

In-game purchases

GTA Vice City costs just $9,99 with a single payment. There are no additional purchases required.

Conclusion

GTA Vice City is not a perfect game, but it propels you past the weaknesses so quickly that you will only begin to notice dull spots once you purposely start looking for things to criticize.

During the game, you feel like you are pulled into the exciting experience with a fun plot, challenging missions and authentic Miami environment.

• Graphics 4
• Gameplay 5
• Controls 4.5
• Replay Value 5

Pros

Challenging missions;
Authentic 80’s Miami settings;
Engaging plot;
Ability to fly around the city;
Various types of motorcycles;
Ability to enter the buildings.

Cons

Frame rate issues;
You can’t swim.