*** THE CASUAL GAMER ***
| Main | Rating: Commendable |
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City
"I love Vice City. I got a boner this big just from playing it. It's way better than Viagra. And that song, 'Call Me,' is badass. Thanks Rockstar!"
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City is the much anticipated sequel to the now infamous best seller Grand Theft Auto 3. The developers at Rockstar promised a lot for this new installment, and they delivered--sort of.
The GTA series has been very similar in gameplay mechanics since its inception with Grand Theft Auto for PC and Playstation. It took the huge leap in graphical detail and presentation with GTA3 to grab everyone's attention. With Vice City, Rockstar has taken the basic engine of GTA3 and given it a makeover, with generally good results.
For the most part, Vice City will be familiar territory to anyone who's played GTA3. The graphic engine is basically the same, with a few minor enhancements, the controls are the same, with a few adjustments, and the gameplay is basically the same, with a few additions. The difference here is that all the action takes place in a new city, with new characters and a new story, all circa 1986. The new city is a parody of Miami, with palm trees, sunny weather and beaches. The presentation here is polished to near perfection, in order to convincingly provoke nostalgia for the decade of decadence. The new location also opened the door for some enhancements that the developers wanted to implement.
The biggest factors that differentiate Vice City from GTA3 are the inclusions of motorcycles and helicopters. They are both very fun additions to an already great vehicle assortment. Flying down the highway on a hog or crotchrocket or cruising the skies in a chopper can be quite amusing. Another big addition is the presence of licensed music in the game. There are many popular acts from the 1980s that have their music in the game. This goes a long way towards the presentation, but overall the music is pretty lame and only people devoid of taste or those who grew up with the garbage will actually enjoy most of it. I'm sure there will be some songs you like, but those are few and far between. The best station is the Latin one, because there are no cheesy lyrics to make your ears bleed. There are also some new weapons in the game, but their inclusion is marred by a new weapons management system. You can now buy certain properties in the game, which give way to more missions. Overall, the new aspects of gameplay are fun and rewarding, but do not change the core gameplay significantly.
Despite Vice City's fresh look and additions to gameplay, I do not think it is as good as it could be. All of the problems with GTA3 seem to have made the transition into Vice City, plus more have reared their ugly heads. There are still problems with the camera: when you get too close to a wall, the camera goes psycho on you. There are still problems with the A.I. of other people and cops, although sometimes it results in amusing accidents: Police will dive in front of your car, in order to "avoid" you, resulting in a 2-star wanted level. Cops still magically know where you are when you commit a crime, and they seem to be everywhere in this game. There are collison detection problems with your character and certain areas: you can get 'stuck' in the ground sometimes, and people can shoot you through walls. You still can't swim at all, just because the programmers were too lazy to put in some kind of swimming animation. The main missions get repetitive (especially if you've already played GTA3), and some are really cheap and frustrating: "go pick up/do ___, get 5-star cop rating." The new weapons system sucks: you get a bunch of new weapons to use, but you can only hold one of each 'type' at one time. Buying property is underwhelming: you get to buy cool buildings and businesses, but most you can't even go into and you have no control over how they look or how they run. There are likely more problems, but I can't really think of any right now.
In case you think I'm crazy or just too anal, I am nitpicking this game for two reasons:
1. Everyone seems to think that this game is ultimate and perfect, which it is definitely not.
2. I like this game series, and I want it to get even better, and not rest on its laurels.
Despite my complaints, Vice City is a very good game with very open-ended gameplay, and that is where it really shines. The developers have packed a lot of extras into the game, like side missions and hidden items. The main problem is that the side missions are more fun than the story-related ones. And it is also a lot more fun to drive around, explore, and cause some trouble in Vice City than it is to do most missions. But that is what makes this game as good as it is. The freedom to do a whole lot of things, or do a whole lot of nothing, if you want, is the best part of the game.
Vice City's developers wanted to create a city for players to run amok in and have a lot of fun, and they succeded--when they made GTA3. Vice City feels more like an expansion of GTA3 than it does its own game. For anyone who missed out on GTA3, Vice City will be an awesome experience. So, if you liked GTA3, and want more of the same with some bonuses, then get Vice City. If you are looking for a whole new experience, then you won't find it here.