GTA Vice City Stories

GTA Vice City Stories is a game published by Rockstar Games for the PSP in 2006 and later for the PS2 in March 2007. It is a prequel to GTA Vice City and successor to the previous PSP release, GTA Liberty City Stories. 

One new aspect of the series that works somewhat well is the ability to not only take over businesses but being able to manage them. There are 30-some-odd businesses in Vice City that span six different front types, from brothels to "protection" rings to repossession businesses. Each of these can be upgraded, for a fee, and will give you a daily return on your investment. 

Not only can you pay to increase the quality, and hence profitability, of any of your establishments, but you can go on Empire missions in order to increase the standing of said business in the city. The more Empire missions you complete and the more you upgrade the building, the more profit you'll make. 

However, regardless of how bad the story is or how little innovation is in the game, it's still a Grand Theft Auto title through and through. Rockstar has consistently imbibed a sense of humor into an expansive and fun world, and it keeps you coming back for more. This is 100% true of Vice City Stories. Navigating the world, be it on foot, in vehicle or in the air is fun as hell. Even though the story sucks, the characters are unique and intriguing enough that you likely won't skip the cutscenes. And most of all, it's simply and purely fun.

On top of the basic play mechanics that make any GTA game fun, Vice City Stories also has one hell of a soundtrack, quite possibly the best to date. The variety of music is fantastic, and although it seems like there might not be quite as many tunes as I've seen in the console games , I was rocking out to each and every tune every time they came on the radio. 

 

And additionally, you have the game's multiplayer aspect. Many of the game modes are takes on classic multiplayer game types, like Taken for a Ride which is essentially a revision of Capture the Flag. Empire Take Down is great fun with each team infiltrating the other's base and attempting to plant explosives to take it out, and then protect said explosives while they count down to detonation. Most of these modes are great fun, though you'll need players who know what they're doing to keep the action up. Modes like Might of the Hunter, where you attempt to take out others with a chopper, can last forever when new players come to grips with the helicopter's controls. It's not as bad with the basic types, though the multiplayer certainly gets better once you know what you're doing and play with others who are experienced as well.

Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories is essentially more of the same, for better or for worse. It's a nice leap over what I saw in last year's release of Liberty City Stories, but it still feels "safe" by many standards. The story is certainly sub-par and there are problems with close combat while armed with a firearm or when attacked in groups, but it still has all of the elements that makes every GTA game great. It's funny, doesn't take itself seriously, the gameplay mechanics are mostly great fun and the world is a fantastic place to screw around in.

 

NAME: GTA VICE CITY STORYES

SYSTEM: Play Station Portable, Play Station 2