Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories

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With Vice City Stories, Rockstar brings us another shot at the world of Grand Theft Auto. It's the usual suspects here; drugs, prostitutes, guns and a whole lot of violence.

Pros

  • Pure, unadulterated GTA gaming, more in-depth missions than previous GTA games.

Cons

  • More or less identical to PSP version.

Bottom Line

Some will complain that the formula is starting to get stale, but the same thing can be said about any brilliant video game series. A worthy addition to the GTA collection.

Would you buy this?

  • Price

    $ 49.95 (AUD)

Set in the Miami-esque city of Vice City, you play as Vic Vance, brother of Vice City character Lance Vance. Vic has joined the army to make some money and support his family, but before he knows it, his commanding officer has him running a whole laundry list of criminal errands. It can be a little jarring as you find yourself picking up drugs and attacking gang members before you're totally sure why. Vic constantly reminds anyone who will listen that he has no interest in a life of crime but can't help but get deeper and deeper into Vice City's seedy underworld.

Nothing New Under the Vice City Sun

Fans of previous GTA games should stop reading here: beyond Vic's ability to swim short distances, there isn't anything new about this game. You go on missions that involve chasing or being chased at high speeds, kill a lot of people, avoid the cops and fight the temptation to forget all about the missions and go on a one man crime spree. Of course there are plenty of side missions along the way. Steal any of a number of police vehicles and you'll get the opportunity to go on a Vigilante mission (though it's difficult to tell the difference between those and regular missions). Though it takes a while to get into this one, but Vice City Stories, like most GTA games, can grow on you.

As with other GTA games, controls can be maddening as beginners will find shooting to be a little hectic, but veterans should have no problems. Driving will have you smashing your controller into the ground as both the controls and the huge scope of Vice City will take a long time to become acclimated. Even with the map--which you'll be checking constantly--it's easy to get very, very lost.

Graphics are pretty good but not much better than previous GTA games. The bright pastels combined with the 80's music and DJ chatter add to the atmosphere of the game. I definitely crashed plenty of times when I paid too much attention to the radio drama known as Angel and the Knight.

If sprawling, open-world games are your thing, look no further; Rockstar is your best bet. Vice City Stories is a fun game that lets you jump into right into the action, but don't expect anything special or new from this game.

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