Grand Theft Auto: Vice City: The Kotaku Review
Grand Theft Auto GTA Vice City Review Warp Week 2002
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City isnt just the best game Ive played this year on Sonys powerful PlayStation 2 home console. It is also the coolest game Ive ever played. Tommy Vercetti isnt here to collect mushrooms or save some princess like some other video game heroes! Hes here to kill people, make money, sell drugs, and even hang out with a famous porn star. Dont let the kiddies play this one, folks.
Vice City is the sequel to last years incredible open-world hit Grand Theft Auto 3. That game changed the franchise in a big way! GTA is no longer a top-down 2D adventure. Instead, things are finally looking realistic and 3D. And with Vice City , the wizards at Rockstar Games have turned all the knobs to 11 on the PS2 and cranked out something incredible. This is the most realistic city Ive seen in a video game. When I visited the beach, I saw six computer characters walking around and getting a tan. All of them were moving about at the same time on one screen. Oh, and yes, a few of them were sexy babes. I really appreciated those extra polygons!
This time around, Rockstar Games transports players to the 1980s, complete with a killer soundtrack that beats any chiptune garbage you might find in other games. I was banging my head to songs like Ozzys Bark at the Moon, Lionel Richies Running with the Night, and not one, but two Michael Jackson songs. Heck, after the cinematic introduction that sets up the games whole story, the first song you hear is Billie Jean by MJ himself. It perfectly sets the tone for Rockstars latest blockbuster! Without these tunes, youd lose so much, so Im happy theyre included.
Also included are dozens of cars and boats to drive! And unlike in Grand Theft Auto 3 , here you can fly helicopters and drive motorcycles. Coasting above the massive, nearly 6-square-mile landscape of Vice City really shows how far games have come. I cant imagine Rockstar will be able to top this map in size or scope unless they get access to a supercomputer!
GTA: Vice City isnt perfect though, unlike many of the smokin ladies youll encounter during the games story mode. The games controls are very similar to those of GTA 3 , which means you lock on to targets and spam the fire button until they die. It works, but it lacks the precision of other console shooters Ive played recently, like Halo on the Xbox or Turok: Evolution on PS2. But, then, those games dont include awesome songs from the 80s or the ability to chainsaw police officers.
Also, Tommy cant swim! Dude, why did you travel to a city on the beach if you cant swim? Maybe water is just too hard for Rockstar Games to figure out? Perhaps the power of a future PlayStation will finally let us (and the stars of future GTA games) swim and splash around.
For fans of multiplayer, Im sorry to say GTA: Vice City on PS2 doesnt include any way to play with a buddy. Its a shame that a game this cool cant be played with friends. Theyll just have to watch as you cruise around Vice City or complete the games various missions, some of which might have you tossing your controller in anger. Tell your friends to bring a helmet!
There really isnt anything like Grand Theft Auto: Vice City out therewell, besides GTA 3 , but this new installment is so much better. It looks better, has cooler music, more hot chicks (including a porn star named Candy Suxx), and so many new vehicles that make exploring this incredible free-roam world so much fun! I cant wait to see what Rockstar has in store for us gamers when GTA: San Andreas arrives, I assume, next year on PS2! Imagine getting a new GTA game every year! Were going to be so spoiled.
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