While it would be easy to dismiss Vice City's improvements on its predecessor, Grand Theft Auto III (our choice for Video Game of the Year last year), as mission-pack material instead of something entirely new, that really sells the game incredibly short. It's true that the core concepts and gameplay of Grand Theft Auto III remain intact in Vice City, but this new game really fleshes out all the great ideas of its predecessor, creating a more versatile world of freestyle crime for players to experience. In fact, it's amazing just how much new content that Scotland-based Rockstar North produced for this game, given the fact that it was released merely a year after Grand Theft Auto III.

From an increased draw distance to the addition of motorcycles, everything in Vice City seems to come together in a way that almost feels impossible, like games simply shouldn't be this good. But the technical achievements in Vice City, merged with a carefully policed design aesthetic, bring Rockstar's exaggerated view of the mid-1980s to life, making for a game that is almost as fun to watch as it is to play.