Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Preview

Rockstar suspected that it had something special on its hands when it took its long-running freestyle crime series, Grand Theft Auto, into the third dimension. While the formula used throughout the GTA series didn't really change all that much, the graphical overhaul brought a level of realism to the series' tried-and-true action that the overhead 2D stylings of the previous games simply couldn't match. Consumers and critics alike flocked to the new game, quickly making it one of the best-selling games in the PlayStation 2's short history. Not content to sit back and watch the success of Grand Theft Auto III run its course, Rockstar is currently in the home stretch of the development cycle for the latest game in the series, GTA: Vice City. From what we've seen so far, Vice City takes an award-winning concept in a slightly new direction, adding a host of new items and things to do along the way.

AI improvements mean the police will be as tough as ever.

The new GTA game takes place in the sun-drenched beachfront town of Vice City, which is based on Miami in much the same way that GTAIII's Liberty City is based on New York City. The game takes place in the 1980s, an era when glamorous excess was the order of the day. Taking its cues from a wide range of inspirations, from the Reverend Jim Bakker to Miami Vice to Scarface, Vice City keeps the humorous tongue-in-cheek nature of the GTA series alive by referencing its inspirations without directly lifting them.

New motion-captured motorcycle animations make the bikes look and feel very realistic.

The game's story puts you in the role of Tommy Vercetti, a seasoned Liberty City gangster who's just been released from a 15-year stretch in prison. There's just a little too much going on Liberty City--and a few too many people keeping an eye on him--for Tommy to continue his criminal lifestyle, so the family sends him south to Vice City, hoping to expand the Forelli family's influence in the process. Tommy's first deal in Vice City puts him at an extreme disadvantage--a cocaine deal gone horribly wrong has left Tommy without the money the Forelli family set aside for the Vice City operation. Your first mission introduces you to a lawyer-type who is friendly to the Forelli family. He'll get you an invite to a boat party attended by most of Vice City's big-time criminal element, and your rise to the top starts from there.

Though it was previously reported elsewhere that all of Vice City's land would be available right from the start, Rockstar has recently changed this and moved back to the traditional GTA format, which keeps certain sections of the city locked until you accomplish specific tasks. These tasks will still be set up by cutscenes, and in all, Vice City's cutscenes will clock in at around 120 minutes. The game's missions should be a little more involved this time around, sticking closer to the couple of multipart missions found in GTAIII instead of sticking to the one-dimensional, courier-like tasks found in the last game. The final product will have hundreds of activities in it, though we were unable to pin Rockstar down to an exact mission count beyond that it will have "more than GTAIII." At least one new side activity has been included: the ability to steal a pizza delivery vehicle and deliver pizzas for extra money.