Grand Theft Auto Vice City

Review - The biggest game of the year is here - but can it deliver?

Let’s not beat around the proverbial bush, a lot of people have been wanting this game for quite some time now. Allegedly, the game has already sold something like a million copies without even arriving on store shelves, so it’s a pretty safe bet that the Take 2 hype machine has done its job admirably. But how have Rockstar faired in following in the footsteps of one of the PS2’s biggest hits to date? Well, they’ve certainly lost none of their edge and inspiration, Vice City adding to the already excellent formula honed in the original with some finesse, and creating what is sure to be a game of equal, or perhaps greater success: both commercially and critically.

The first thing I noted in playing Vice City is how polished the game is, the comparatively short development period and inevitable pressures upon the designers, seemingly having had little recognisable impact on the games excellent production values. GTA3 hasn’t succumbed to the controversy of the first in its second iteration either, Vice City more than earning it’s ‘18’ certificate, thanks to the sheer ruthless possibilities presented to the player, and the graphic nature of the violence depicted. Don’t worry, I’m not going all Mary Whitehouse on you, suffice to say that the Daily Mail are sure to have a field day when they eventually spot this game in a few months time.

So does GTA: Vice City fulfil the expectations ladled upon it by the gaming masses? In a word: yes. Not only does the game improve much of what has gone before, it adds a whole new layer of freedom and choices on what was already a daring experiment in autonomy.

The gameplay effortlessly manages to blend the free-form nature of this genre-straddling game, with a successful and highly immersive plot. You name it, and Rockstar have taken inspiration from it; you’ve got driving, role-playing, fighting, shooting, flying, and lovely cinematic sequences – all enveloped and combined within the rich ambience of ‘Vice City’, a fictional Miami of the mid-80s, humming with criminal activity.

As well as the usual array of lovely and not-so-lovely automobiles, buses, trucks and other such vehicles, a new line of bikes, from Scooters to Harley’s also joins the mix for the ‘borrowing’. You’ll be able to fly helicopters and the like too, as well as several other diverse modes of transport that will prove crucial to many a shady assignment. A few new weapons will also feature, and as with the original GTA3, you’ll be able to proffer new guns, vehicles and cash -as you progress through the games missions, earning lolly as you go.

New areas of the city, and new criminals to offend or seek employment with, also become available as you move through the game, and its pleasing on this front to note that Vice City offers some of the most fun and imaginative missions to date; a certain exploding remotely-controlled helicopter springing to mind as a good example.

The police of the fictional metropolis have also grown a little more agitated from the original, with a greater police presence in general leading to some frenetic movie-style car chases, which can, and often do, lead to amusing water-jumping antics, in true Blues Brothers style.