GTA Vice City: Complete Review
(What Is My Personal Experience With The Game?)
Some games stick with us forever. GTA Vice City falls into this category for me.
I decided to install it once again to test how good it was and find out whether it was as much fun as I recalled. In fact, I planned to spend no more than 15-20 minutes with the game, but ended up playing it for almost three hours, driving through the city, listening to radio stations and missions and enjoying all the chaos I was able to cause.
After revisiting the game from the beginning, I understood that Vice City wasn't just an old game remembered by people thanks to nostalgia alone. In reality, it had something special which modern open world games were unable to deliver yet.
Are you interested in whether GTA Vice City is still worth your attention? Here's what I think about it having played the game once again.
First Impressions
What did I notice first? The mood.
Bright beaches, colored houses, palm trees, and music that takes us back to the '80s make the city alive. Despite outdated graphics, the world turns out to be quite pleasant to explore.
In contrast to numerous contemporary games where you have to deal with tons of menus and guides, Vice City plunges you right into the action.
In just several minutes, you start exploring the city, meet crazy people, and participate in crime.
That's what made me continue playing the game.
An Intriguing Story
In this story, Tommy Vercetti is a criminal who is set free from jail after being there for several years.
On arrival at Vice City, Tommy gets into a failed drug deal.
Tommy loses both the money and the drugs, and he has to start rebuilding his reputation.
As the story unfolds, you get to create your criminal empire through doing missions, purchasing businesses, and fighting other gangs.
I found myself eager to know what happens next even after all these years that have passed.
The story is not too complicated but intriguing enough.
The Gameplay
It is here where Vice City excels.
Total freedom is what you get.
It allows you to:
Take up mission
Explore the world of the game
Drive almost all vehicles
Control helicopters
Get on motorcycles
Purchase property
Find hidden packages
Be involved in side missions
Drive around just listening to music
Some times I used to neglect mission and explored the city.
This freedom factor was one of the main reasons that GTA gained its popularity.
Driving is Better than Expected
I really expected driving mechanics to be outdated.
They seemed to be surprisingly fun, however.
Different cars have different handling.
Sports cars are fast.
Motorcycles demand more skills.
Large trucks go slower.
In a couple of minutes, I got used to the controls.
One silly thing that kept happening is that I was going too fast to the police cars.
This made my drive a citywide police chase very quickly.
Music Is Everything
One thing that stays in my mind after playing is the radio.
All channels play different kinds of music.
Rock.
Pop.
Disco.
Old songs.
Talk shows.
Instead of being boring, the drive becomes exciting since you are always changing the stations.
Sometimes I caught myself driving for no reason but to listen to the music.
It is hard to find such an atmosphere in other games.
Graphics
Be realistic.
Graphics of Vice City are outdated.
Character models are not sophisticated.
Low-detail textures decorate buildings.
Lighting is unrealistic.
However, after some time of playing, I started ignoring the drawbacks.
The art style of the game aged well beyond my expectations.
In case you prefer gameplay over graphics, you will get used to it in an hour or so.
Variety of Missions
Missions do not get boring easily.
You will be doing such things as:
Pursuing criminals
Evading police officers
Delivering goods
Taking part in racing
Protecting certain characters
Stealing cars
Fighting helicopters
Performing missions against time
Some missions are not challenging at all.
Others may take a few attempts to succeed.
One helicopter mission was the most frustrating part for me.
I had to fail several times to complete it.
Now, looking back at that, I consider it one of the most memorable events in the game.
Weapons and Fighting
The range of weapons provided in Vice City is quite wide.
Among these you may find:
Pistols
Shotguns
SMGs
Assault rifles
Sniper rifles
Rocket launchers
Grenades
Melee weapons
Fighting is easy in comparison with other modern GTA games.
It lacks any complicated cover system.
It depends mainly on your movement and accuracy.
Even with such an easy system, fighting is still fun.
Freedom of the Open World
One of the aspects I like about Vice City is that it does not try to push you into a certain type of gameplay.
You can concentrate on missions.
Or you can search for all the hidden things.
You can even decide just to roam around the whole city and nobody will stop you.
Game Performance on Modern PC
I decided to play this game on a modern Windows PC.
Installation was quick.
There were no significant problems launching the game.
Frame rate was good.
Loading time was nearly instant.
Depending on your computer operating system, you may need to make minor compatibility tweaks, but the gameplay was much better than I expected.
Playing on Mobile
I have also played the mobile version of this game.
Graphcs seem to be somewhat better.
Touch controls are okay, but not great.
It is easier to drive than shoot.
Using a Bluetooth controller would be preferable.
In terms of playing on the go, the mobile version will work just fine.
Things That I Actually Really Liked
There were several things that amazed me even after such a long period of time.
The atmosphere
Vice City is full of life.
The soundtrack
The best soundtrack ever made for a game.
Freedom
You decide how you want to play the game.
Characterization
All of the characters from the storyline have their own unique traits.
Fast progression
The game constantly introduces new missions and new locations.
Outdated Things
No game is flawless.
Check out these flaws:
Older graphics
This is expected for an older game.
Camera controls
At times, the camera feels weird inside the house.
No up-to-date checkpoints
Fail at some missions and start from scratch.
Swimming ability
Jumping into deep water will most likely not end well for Tommy.
This may surprise you if you're a fan of recent Grand Theft Auto games.
Advice for Novice Players
When you play Vice City for the first time, try these tips that helped me.
Always save your progress.
Buy armor before missions.
Don't use all your money right away.
Learn shortcuts around the city.
Use motorcycles for transportation.
Follow mission instructions carefully.
Take advantage of side activities since they bring additional income.
Mistakes Commonly Committed by the Players
There were some mistakes which I committed during my initial few hours in the game.
Not using save points.
Aggressive driving in crucial missions.
Beginning difficult missions with insufficient health.
Getting police stars needlessly.
Skipping through the dialogue which tells the mission objective.
GTA Vice City Is It Still Worth Playing?
To answer this question, let me say – yes, it definitely is.
Don’t expect stunning visuals though – you won’t get them.
However, if you want an entertaining open-world game with interesting characters, interesting missions, cool music, and all the freedom you need – you’ll get them.
The game is not perfect.
There are some elements of the game which definitely point at its aging.
Still, playing it from beginning till end will be an entertaining process for you.
Whether you are going to return to it after many years or to play for the first time – this is one of those rare games which offer players a very entertaining world without making their heads spin.
After completing my current playthrough, I had exactly the same feeling I had when I played it many years ago – "just one more mission".
Just this one thing proves how good this game really was.
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