Miami Vice: The Game

Miami Vice

Cover art
Developer(s) Rebellion Developments
Publisher(s) Vivendi Games/Sierra Entertainment
Platform(s) PlayStation Portable
Release date(s)
  • JP August 31, 2006
  • NA July 18, 2006
  • EU July 18, 2006
Genre(s) Third-person shooter
Mode(s) Single-player/Cooperative
Distribution UMD
For the 1986 game, see Miami Vice (video game)

Miami Vice is a third-person shooter for the PlayStation Portable. It was released as a tie-in with the movie of the same name. Therefore, the likeness of the narcotics officers Crockett and Tubbs are based on that of Colin Farrell and Jamie Foxx, respectively.

Plot

Set before the events of the film, the focus of the game is to bring down a South American drug lord known as Sacrenegra, whom the authorities are unable to link to his operations. As the player advances through the levels as either Crockett or Tubbs, they get deeper and deeper into the drug operation, and closer to bringing down Sacrenegra.

Gameplay

While going through levels, the majority of the gameplay is combat, with enemies who must be killed to advance the level. Emphasis is put on taking cover, with health running out quite fast if player remains in the open during a shoot-out. All fire-arms have laser sightings, which acts as an aiming reticule.

The player may also deal drugs amongst other suppliers, both buying and selling. Drugs can be bought at one point and kept for several days, in which they may increase in value, thus making a profit for the player. Additionally, varying drugs can be obtained throughout each of the levels, and sold for a profit once the level is complete. Drugs can also be sold to informants for information.

Throughout each level, FlashRams can be recovered and later "hacked" at the police station. "Hacking" resembles that of an arcade game, in which a certain score must be obtained through destroying boxes, which often fire at the player icon. Each FlashRam contains three levels, which increase in difficulty. Completion of hacking a FlashRam unlocks stated extras, such as the ability to upgrade firearms, and locate drug dealers.

Money earned can be spent on buying and upgrading weapons, buying suits (thus building a reputation for the player) and buying armour (thus protecting the player).

The firearms in the game can be summed up into three basic categories:

  1. Pistols
  2. Shotguns
  3. Machine Guns

Each of these weapons can be upgraded, giving them larger magazines, better accuracy, and higher power, thus killing enemies more effectively.

Reception

Miami Vice: The Game was met with some positive reception. Review website Trusted Reviews rated it 7/10, praising its gameplay as being "a rare commodity: a PSP action game that can actually hold your attention for longer than the first half hour",[1] while fellow review site GameSpot rated the game 7.3/10.[2] IGN gave it a lower mark of 6.6/10.[3]

Not all reviews were positive, however. Website Gamespy rated it 2.5/5[4] and review TV show X-Play gave it just 1/5.[5] Both reviews cite poor gameplay and the shortness of the game as reasons for their low scores.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Andrews, Stuart (2006-07-26). "Miami Vice: The Game". Trusted Reviews. Retrieved 2007-12-22.
  2. ↑ Davis, Ryan (2006-07-26). "Miami Vice: The Game". Gamespot. Retrieved 2007-12-22.
  3. ↑ Dunham, Jeremy (2006-07-27). "Miami Vice: The Game". IGN. Retrieved 2007-12-22.
  4. ↑ McGarvey, Sterling (2006-07-27). "Miami Vice: The Game review". Gamespy. Retrieved 2007-12-22.
  5. ↑ "Miami Vice: The Game rating". X-Play Reviewed Games Database. Retrieved 2007-12-22.

External links