What's the Deal?

Grand Theft Auto began its cult following several years ago on the PC, shortly thereafter making its way to the living room on the Playstation. Pushing what at that time were the extreme bounds of what should be allowed in video games, the franchise really grew legs with its sequel, and later catapulted into stardom with Grand Theft Auto III. Each successive title has seen a growing audience, and Grand Theft Auto: Vice City was no exception. Originally released for the Playstation 2, Vice City has just made its trip to where it belongs: The PC arena.

No other recent game has found itself in the minds of so many non-gamers as the latest GTA installment has. Thanks mostly to a catchy television advertisement and press driven hype, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City has quickly become the new whippin' boy for Lieberman and the like. Rockstar Games is selling violence, and business is good! But hey, this is a game review and not yet another moral pondering deep into the human psyche, resulting in a definitive finger-point at the culprit of the declining human condition. With that said…

Meet Tommy Vercetti, Liberty City's finest. Sent by boss Sonny Forelli, Vercetti must make his way through Vice City, establishing his employers' presence as a new threat not to be taken lightly. But given the resistance of the current stakeholders of the city, Tommy will need to decide the worth of his troubles. The city? The city indeed.

Grand Theft Auto: Vice City gets its cue from a nostalgic, though skewed, perception of the 1980's. Hairspray, spandex, and campy music – everything anyone knew and loved defines the playground that is Vice City. Vercetti's travels will take him through the many neighborhoods and areas of Vice City, each with their own inherent character and catastrophe. The game is primarily mission based, whereas new areas and acquaintances will be unlocked as Tommy forms and breaks alliances with those with clout in Vice City.

Just as in Grand Theft Auto III, the player will have any vehicle he/she can steal (hence the title) at their disposal. Drive-by shootings, sidewalk beatings, and overall lewdness are the norm. Most any action is acceptable within the game, though not without its consequences. Run over too many people in the Cheetah you just strong-armed, and you can count on the fuzz promptly sniffing up your rear. While this can create the enjoyable change-of-pace at times, it best to avoid any needless mayhem, as getting busted not only wastes your time and money, any weapons you may have had are lost.

The game is broken up into two primary actions: Driving and footing it. Most of the action is done driving, whether a car, boat, plane, or helicopter. Even if the current mission requires a heavy exchange of lead, chances are, Tommy will require the aid of a vehicle to quickly reach the point of destination (some missions are timed). Missions range from taking out key players, spying, winning races, or just flat out waging war on competing gangs. The missions are dealt out by several characters Tommy will meet as he traverses the metropolis, and can typically be done at the player's leisure. There is no strict order in which missions must be done for the most part- some do not need to be done at all. After a few too many busts however, Tommy may feel his wad getting a bit thin, and the need for non-crucial money making missions may be in order.

As for fuzz avoidance, it can be quite difficult at times. An onscreen marker of five stars presents Tommy's current wanted status. One star can usually be ignored, as it usually entails a lone officer chasing the player on foot. Two stars are where things get a little more interesting, with several cop cars chasing Tommy, opening fire when they have a shot. Three stars and you'll hear the beat of an overhead chopper aiding the ground units in locating their suspect. Four or more stars and you can count on getting caught, as SWAT teams will rappel from said chopper, and even more police units will be on your tail. Committing continuous 'crimes' while in any wanted mode will cause the wanted level to rise, with the opposite lessening it – though rather slowly. Tommy can also pick up star icons which will lower the wanted level, pull into the nearest Pay 'N Spray for a new coat of paint and vehicle damage repair, or change his outfit at any reputable clothing dealer for the same effect.

If you don't remember the 80's, then you are probably too young to play this game due to its 'M' rating. If you do remember that great era, then are you in for a treat! Regardless of what genre of music you may have been into at the time, GTA:VC offers up several 'soundtracks' to drive by, one or more of which should hit a nerve with anyone over the age of 20. As with its predecessor, players are given the option to select a 'radio station' of their liking whenever they enter a vehicle, each station based around a particular genre of music. Metal, Pop, Hispanic, Talk, Easy Listening, etc. are a few of the many choices. Additionally, players can place any MP3 file they may have 'legally' acquired in the audio directory of the install, which in turn creates yet another radio station to tune-in to. Feel like running from the coppers to the beat of "Ride of the Valkyries"? Go right ahead!

Throughout the game, Tommy will acquire (and likely lose) several different weapons, ranging from mild-mannered pistols to kick-in-the-ass rocket launchers. Shotguns, fully-automatic rifles, hand grenades, and flamethrowers are the only friends Tommy requires…those and a tank. The higher powered weapons are not immediately available - just as one would suspect - and can only be found in later parts of the game.

The missions, aside from being the catalyst by which the story is driven, are one of the many ways Tommy can earn both money and acclaim. Money can also be made by beating it out of someone, providing taxi service (mini-missions), or executing insane stunts on vehicles. That money in turn can be used to buy bigger, better weapons, pay for hookers (something the female members of the GH staff simply couldn't get enough of oddly), buy new digs, purchase real estate, or repair your ride.

Graphics

Grand Theft Auto III was the first in the series to take a third-person perspective approach. The previous two titles were top-down, making GTA3 a breath of fresh air. Offering an immense playground that took several hours to explore as well as sharp visuals and interesting locales, Vice City had a lot to live up to. Rockstar seemed confident though; as they scrapped the original engine used for GTA3, and began work on Vice City with a clean palette.

Visually, Vice City is slightly more crisp and clean than GTA3. Weather and daylight transitioning effects are executed rather well, and provide the needed feel of change, especially after having traversed the more and more familiar streets of Vice City. Most buildings are one-of-a-kind, and retain enough 'design' to be interesting – rarely will you see a building exactly like another. The dozen or so sub-areas of the city are each different from one another, each with its own style and character, giving the city as a whole that much more depth and girth, both visually and atmospherically.

The character models, while hardly boasting the high-poly counts we've grown accustomed to, are effective and fitting. To be honest, outside of a few obvious enhancements over its predecessor, the game looks and feels much like GTA3 – which is fine, as the game left little to be desired. The vehicles, such as the myriad of cars available, offer more or less the same graphical presence as GTA3, which again, is fine.

Sound

This game contains so many different sound clips, the audio team must have been completely sick of their line of work by the time the game reached completion. Between weapon fire sound effects, explosions of all sorts, numerous street chatter clips, and story dialogue, there won't be a moment of silence for one to collect his/her thoughts. The city is alive with sound – distant sirens, smack-talking pimps, loudmouth gangsters, so on and so forth. One could literally sit idle in the game, close their eyes, and feel as if they were downtown.

And if that weren't enough, Rockstar was able to acquire the rights to many top-hits of the greatest decade of the last century. Chart toppers from Mötley Crüe, Michael Jackson, Ozzy Osbourne, Run DMC, Foreigner, Herbie Hancock, and even Nena (99 Luftballons) can be found on the dial of the ride you just stole. There are more than 120 songs on the GTA:VC soundtrack, plus an all-talk radio station. Certainly that has got to be a record for a videogame! It's obvious that Rockstar is serious about sound.

Gameplay

GTA:VC offers some of the most original gameplay, as has its predecessors. This is a difficult formula to copy and succeed with, and to my knowledge, no one else has done so as of yet. There isn't much difference between GTA:VC and GTA3 as far as gameplay goes. In fact, the control mechanics are identical, aside from the fact that the player can now shoot straight-ahead while driving a motorcycle or scooter. But again, this is yet another aspect of the game that is just fine. Aside from a few camera issues that are inherent with most any third-person game, the gameplay is perfect, except for…

Difficulty: Certain missions and mission types can be painfully difficult at times. Gamers will undoubtedly find themselves full of anger and momentary hate as they repeat the same mission for the umpteenth time due to the extreme difficulty. Most missions are still enjoyable regardless of the difficulty of others though, making it a hard game to put down even several hours past one's bedtime.

Aiming can also be a tedious chore, especially while trying to move at the same time. There is the option to use a controller, complete with auto-aim targeting, though I found this to be less worth than its trouble. I'm a mouse shooter through and through, and no amount of auto-aim will ever change that.

The game can get repetitious, but there is enough personality that it's easy to get back in the game after the silent treatment the game will regularly receive due to the difficulty of some missions.

Overall

Grand Theft Auto: Vice City is no doubt the follow up to last years hit that PC gamers have been waiting for. While it obviously doesn't offer much in the way of new or improved, and more or less falls under the category of more of the same, GTA:VC still somehow manages to be every bit as enjoyable as its forerunner. Rockstar managed to touch up the graphics just enough to be slightly better, and add an even more interesting storyline than GTA3 – which is perhaps where Vice City truly shines. Reveling in crime 80's style couldn't possibly be any better!