| Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories | |
|---|---|
| Developer(s) | Rockstar Leeds, Rockstar North |
| Publisher(s) | Rockstar Games |
| Distributor(s) | Take-Two Interactive |
| Series | Grand Theft Auto |
| Platform(s) | PlayStation Portable, PlayStation 2 |
| Release date(s) | PlayStation Portable
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| Genre(s) | Action-adventure, Open world |
| Mode(s) | PlayStation Portable: Single-player, multiplayer PlayStation 2: Single-player |
| Rating(s) | |
| Media/distribution | UMD, Download, DVD |
| System requirements
PlayStation Portable: Memory Stick PRO Duo |
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Grand Theft Auto series |
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1961 – London, 1961 1999 – Grand Theft Auto 2 1984 – Vice City Stories 2008 – Grand Theft Auto IV 2009 – Chinatown Wars |
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories is a 2006 action-adventure open world video game developed by Rockstar Leeds in association with Rockstar North. It was published by Rockstar Games for the PlayStation Portable in late 2006 and later for the PlayStation 2 in March 2007. The game is the eighth installment in the Grand Theft Auto series and the sixth and last GTA III era game. It is a prequel to Grand Theft Auto: Vice City and successor to the previous PSP release, Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories. Vice City is a representation of Miami, Florida. Vice City Stories is the last GTA game for the PlayStation 2 console and the second game for the PlayStation Portable.
Contents |
Vice City Stories is structured similarly to other releases from the Grand Theft Auto series.
The core gameplay consists of elements of a third-person shooter and a driving game, affording the player a large, open environment in which to move around. On foot, the player's character is capable of walking, running, swimming (albeit for a limited amount of time) and jumping, as well as utilizing weapons and basic hand-to-hand combat. Players can drive a variety of vehicles, including automobiles, boats, planes, bicycles, helicopters, jetskis, and motorcycles.
The open, non-linear environment allows players to explore and choose how they wish to play the game. Although storyline missions are necessary to progress through the game and unlock certain areas and content, they are not required, as players can complete them at their own leisure. When not taking on a storyline mission, players can free-roam.
The player can also partake in a variety of optional side missions. The traditional side missions of the past games are included, but have been moderately upgraded and enhanced compared to previous titles. A new addition to the game is "Beach Patrol", in which Victor (the player's character) must deal with bikers on the beach by beach buggy (by ramming or shooting to knock them off their bikes) or throwing life preservers to drowning swimmers by boat or by taking a paramedic around to injured people on the beach.
One of the key gameplay elements in Vice City Stories is "empire building." New to the GTA series, it borrows a few ideas from Vice City's "properties" and San Andreas' "gang wars" systems. In order to make money, the player must open and operate various businesses on property taken over from enemy gangs – these can range from protection rackets to brothels or smuggling compounds; the type and scale of a business is entirely dependant on the player's wants.
For Vice City Stories, the combat system was overhauled to feature more depth than ever before. The targeting mechanism has been tweaked to "intelligently target"; enemies posing a threat or attacking the player will be targeted over pedestrians. The biggest changes concern the hand-to-hand combat system, as players can now perform grappling moves and throws, and stand on top of enemies lying on the ground.
Players are able to bribe policemen or hospital staff when "Wasted" (killed) or "Busted" (arrested) in order to lower their wanted level, and keep weapons that ordinarily would have been lost.
The standard hidden package system returns in the form of 99 red balloons scattered around the city.[1] This is a reference to Nena's 1984 hit "99 Luftballons", which was featured in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City.
Improvements to the graphics since the release of Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories include new animations, faster load times, a longer draw distance, reductions in clumping of pedestrians and vehicles, more complex explosions, and increases in the density of objects, vehicles, and NPCs.
Like the game's predecessor, the PSP version of Vice City Stories features a multiplayer mode, for up to 6 players through WiFi ad-hoc mode (local area). The game features 10 different modes of wireless multiplayer gaming, which incorporate the use of automobiles, aircraft, and water-based vehicles. Various pedestrian and character models from the single player mode are available as player avatars. Rockstar decided not to include these modes in the PS2 version.
The game is set in Vice City in 1984. Opportunity abounds in a city emerging from the swamps. Its growth fueled by the violent power struggle in a lucrative drugs trade. Construction is everywhere as a shining metropolis rises from foundations of crime and betrayal.
As a soldier, Victor Vance has always protected his dysfunctional family, his country, and himself. One bad decision later and that job is about to get much harder. Kicked out onto the streets of a city torn between glamour and gluttony, Vic is faced with a stark choice – build an empire or be crushed.
Like previous GTA games, Vice City Stories features notable voice actors. Gary Busey, Luis Guzmán, Philip Michael Thomas, and Danny Trejo reprise their roles as Phil Cassidy, Ricardo Diaz, Lance Vance, and Umberto Robina, respectively, which they previously played in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City. Phil Collins also makes a cameo as himself, making him the first famed musician to ever appear in a Grand Theft Auto as a virtual representation with a character model, with his song "In the Air Tonight" in the game's soundtrack. Phil Collins was played by Joseph Martignette during the in concert scene. Also, several cast and crew members of The Opie and Anthony Show were recorded and used as voices of several minor characters.
In addition to the gangs previously featured in Vice City, new gangs make a debut in this game: the Trailer Park Mafia, the Cholos, the Stallionz, and the Mendez Brothers. Also, it explores the Vance Crime family, that was introduced in the original game, in more detail.
Take-Two Interactive originally announced the title was to be released in North America on October 17, 2006 and in Europe on October 20, 2006, but an announcement in early September stated that the game's North American release had been delayed until October 31.[2] It was also announced that the game would be released on 10 November 2006 in Australia. Moreover, in Europe (Excluding the UK & Ireland) the game suffered another delay, from November 3, 2006, to November 10, 2006, the same as Australia.
On February 7, 2007 Rockstar Games announced plans[3] for a PlayStation 2 port, released on March 6. It was confirmed by Rockstar Games that the PlayStation 2 version of the game would be an almost straight port.[4] The port has improvements such as enhanced graphics (including the addition of bloom effects, enabled via a "trails" option), draw distance, and performance as expected, but also includes a few new side activities that were not in the PSP release such as five new odd jobs, six additional unique jumps, five more rampages, and a new easter egg.
While other Grand Theft Auto ports have had extra features added (such as replays or custom soundtracks), this is the first port of any Grand Theft Auto game to include extra in-game content.
Like all other video games from the Grand Theft Auto series, the Vice City Stories soundtrack plays an integral role in setting the game's atmosphere. It features 9 different radio stations that play 105 licensed songs from the 1980s. Three of the radio stations featured in GTA: Vice City were removed from Vice City Stories: Wildstyle, KCHAT and Fever 105. They were replaced by three new stations: Fresh 105, VCFL (Vice City for Lovers) and Paradise FM.
| Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories | |
|---|---|
| Aggregate scores | |
| Aggregator | Score |
| GameRankings | 85.10%[5] |
| Metacritic | 86/100[6] |
| Review scores | |
| Publication | Score |
| Eurogamer | 8.0/10[7] |
| G4 | 4/5 |
| Game Informer | 8.5/10 |
| GameSpot | 8.4/10[8] |
| IGN | 9.0/10 |
The game has received an 86% on Metacritic[9] and 85% on GameRankings.[10] It received a rating of 9.0/10 from IGN on the PSP, although IGN reviewers found a fairly blatant issue with the slow load time of environments, "You'll often enter one of these zones long before the game has had time to finish loading it..." the result is sometimes backgrounds and barriers popping out of nowhere. The PlayStation 2 port of the game was considered worse with a rating of 7.2/10 from GameSpot and a 7.5/10 from IGN. As of March 26, 2008, Vice City Stories has sold 4.5 million copies according to Take-Two Interactive.[11] Hyper's Eliot Fish commends the game for using "the slick veneer of the 1980s [and the] story is well integrated into missions".[12]
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