Grand Theft Auto: Vice City isn’t just the best game I’ve played this year on Sony’s powerful PlayStation 2 home console. It is also the coolest game I’ve ever played. Tommy Vercetti isn’t here to collect mushrooms or save some princess like some other video game heroes! He’s here to kill people, make money, sell drugs, and even hang out with a famous porn star. Don’t let the kiddies play this one, folks.
Vice City is the sequel to last year’s incredible open-world hit Grand Theft Auto 3. That game changed the franchise in a big way! GTA is no longer a top-down 2D adventure. Instead, things are finally looking realistic and 3D. And with Vice City, the wizards at Rockstar Games have turned all the knobs to 11 on the PS2 and cranked out something incredible. This is the most realistic city I’ve seen in a video game. When I visited the beach, I saw six computer characters walking around and getting a tan. All of them were moving about at the same time on one screen. Oh, and yes, a few of them were sexy babes. I really appreciated those extra polygons!
This time around, Rockstar Games transports players to the 1980s, complete with a killer soundtrack that beats any chiptune garbage you might find in other games. I was banging my head to songs like Ozzy’s “Bark at the Moon,” Lionel Richie’s “Running with the Night,” and not one, but two Michael Jackson songs. Heck, after the cinematic introduction that sets up the game’s whole story, the first song you hear is “Billie Jean” by MJ himself. It perfectly sets the tone for Rockstar’s latest blockbuster! Without these tunes, you’d lose so much, so I’m happy they’re included.
Also included are dozens of cars and boats to drive! And unlike in Grand Theft Auto 3, here you can fly helicopters and drive motorcycles. Coasting above the massive, nearly 6-square-mile landscape of Vice City really shows how far games have come. I can’t imagine Rockstar will be able to top this map in size or scope unless they get access to a supercomputer!
GTA: Vice City isn’t perfect though, unlike many of the smokin’ ladies you’ll encounter during the game’s story mode. The game’s controls are very similar to those of GTA 3, which means you lock on to targets and spam the fire button until they die. It works, but it lacks the precision of other console shooters I’ve played recently, like Halo on the Xbox or Turok: Evolution on PS2. But, then, those games don’t include awesome songs from the ’80s or the ability to chainsaw police officers.
Also, Tommy can’t swim! Dude, why did you travel to a city on the beach if you can’t swim? Maybe water is just too hard for Rockstar Games to figure out? Perhaps the power of a future PlayStation will finally let us (and the stars of future GTA games) swim and splash around.
For fans of multiplayer, I’m sorry to say GTA: Vice City on PS2 doesn’t include any way to play with a buddy. It’s a shame that a game this cool can’t be played with friends. They’ll just have to watch as you cruise around Vice City or complete the game’s various missions, some of which might have you tossing your controller in anger. Tell your friends to bring a helmet!
There really isn’t anything like Grand Theft Auto: Vice City out there…well, besides GTA 3, but this new installment is so much better. It looks better, has cooler music, more hot chicks (including a porn star named Candy Suxx), and so many new vehicles that make exploring this incredible free-roam world so much fun! I can’t wait to see what Rockstar has in store for us gamers when GTA: San Andreas arrives, I assume, next year on PS2! Imagine getting a new GTA game every year! We’re going to be so spoiled.
