A picturesque setting, a plethora of sports cars and Ray Liotta make this the finest GTA game yet.
In Vice City you play as recently released mobster's right hand man Tommy Vercetti. Known as 'The Butcher', Tommy (voiced by Liotta on top form) was sent to assasinate a rival, but ended up taking several lives in a headline-grabbing bloodbath. Fresh out of the slammer and still working for the Forelli family he is sent down to Vice City to set up a takeover. However, as the first drug deal turns sour and more blood is spilled, Tommy must pick up the pieces and find out who he can trust, and who he must systematically kill to rise to the top of the food chain.
The area the game takes place in is of course a version of Miami, ripped right out of popular culture perceptions of that time. In Ocean Beach your starting point, women will stroll around in bikinis, there are Ferraris and Lambourghinis and plenty of references to the slick, dazzling veneer of the 1980s. This is bolstered by radio stations churning out all your favourite hits of the era and talk shows that poke fun at several stereotypes with what has become trademark Rockstar humour.
None of this would be of much consequence if the gameplay wasn't up to scratch and, with three games behind them and plenty of success, it's great to find Rockstar pushing themselves harder to make an even better product. The controls are fluid both on foot and in any of the many vehicles available to joyride, with Tommy hurling abuse at those he's just murdered or rattling off witty phrases like 'This is a carjacking, don't make it a homicide' when someone protests about him "borrowing" their car.
The combat of the game has been sharpened up too. There's a huge variety of weapons here and all behave and sound much like you'd expect without being too realistic which would be less enjoyable. It's one of the few games that makes getting headshots on a regular basis a satisfying challenge without being frustrating. I prefer the PC version for this sort of accuracy but the PS2 fares pretty well and has auto-aim to help. There's certainly nothing like speeding down the beaches in a Corvette gunning down bystanders to the tune of 'Angel Of Death' by Slayer to put a smile on your face, or stealing an Apache attack helicopter from Fort Baxter and going on a vigilante raid, leaving a trail of burnt out wrecks and dead cops in your wake.
The story is excellent. I would say it is my all time favourite plot for a videogame as it starts well and each set of missions adds something to the mix and changes the way characters react to you in the various different areas of the game. For example, at a few points you will be required to play gangs off against each other, and when the missions are over you will notice if Tommy goes back to the gangland territory, he will be shot at. As you go along with the twists and turns you really start to believe that everyone may turn against you and that you really are singlehandedly taking over this slice of paradise, buying all kinds of safehouses and making dodgy deals.
While I have enjoyed all the sandbox games released by Rockstar, I would still cite this as their finest hour. While I found GTA3 and San Andreas too gritty and dull the mix of lush, palette-spanning environments and outlandish sense of style really elevate Vice City above all the GTA games thus far, and all of the imitators riding the coattails. Although the graphics have dated - as is the fate of all video games - they still look fine, the soundtrack is still excellent and the game offers thrills both cheap and deep. A classic.
Gameplay: 10
Graphics: 7
Sound: 8
Value: 9
Tilt: 10