Vice City is a city filled with hidden areas, bonus items, and secret jumps,
and a big part of the game is finding them all. Finding and hitting the
jumps is particularly fun, and the game will track of all of your jump's stats -
height, distance, etc. - and financially reward you accordingly. There are
also plenty of optional bonus missions not tied to the game's storyline that you
can find and take on for additional cash or other bonuses. Particularly
violent but wickedly enjoyable are the rampages which challenge you to kill a
minimum number of rival gang members in a set time limit. Some missions
are also unlocked by buying property, a feature new to Vice City. Complete
the missions for a property you've purchased and it will start generating an
income stream for you. Other properties give you places to store cars
between missions or play sessions, save locations, or access to new vehicles
such as helicopters and speed boats.
Vice City was first released as a console game, but in a switch from the
usual state of affairs control in the PC version is actually better than that of
the PS2. Driving in both versions is easy to do, with nice responsive
control. The cars in the game all handle differently though, so don't
expect to weave through traffic in a delivery van the way you can with the
game's equivalent of a Ferrari. Where the PC version beats the PS2 version
is the control when you are on foot. The free-look capability of the PC
version gives you a lot better control in gunfights than you get with the PS2's
target-lock system. In addition to the control, the graphics have been
improved as well. Vice City has a new graphics engine on the PC that takes
advantage of your computer's ability to deliver higher resolutions and more
detailed textures than is possible on the PS2.
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| Vice City's missions take place on land, in the air, and on water. |
If you enjoyed GTA3, then you'll definitely love Vice City. GTA3 is a
great game, but Vice City is even better. Not only do you get the new
features already mentioned, plus others like the ability to steal and ride
motorcycles, you get an even better storyline and a city with a lot more
character. The radio stations are still in the game, and along with the
hilarious commercials, DJs, and listener phone calls you get a great variety of
80s music. Whether you prefer new wave, rap, metal, pop, or even Latin
music for your nostalgia fix, Vice City has got you covered.
Vice City can be occasionally frustrating as some of the missions are pretty
difficult. One that especially comes to mind involves piloting a remote
controlled toy helicopter while having to manage its rotor speed, pitch, and
rotation with a non-intuitive key layout that can't be re-mapped. However,
none of the missions are impossible and with a little work you'll be able to
complete the more difficult ones, move on, and instantly forget any frustration
that you felt. The gameplay is so open-ended and enjoyable, you'll find
yourself playing the game for hours and coming back to it again and again.
One word of warning though, if you haven't guessed it yet the game is quite
violent. You'll do plenty of killing in the game, using a variety of
weapons including guns, cars, golf clubs, katanas, and chainsaws. The
violence is constrained to splashes of cartoon-like red blood, with the
exception being head shots which cause the victim's head to disappear and blood
to spurt from the neck. It's definitely not for kids, but you'll see far
more graphic and stomach-turning violence in many mainstream movies these days
than you will here.
In The End, This Game Hath Been Rated:
96%. If you thought Grand Theft Auto 3 was good, just wait until you
hit the streets of Vice City.
System Requirements: Pentium III 800; 128 MB RAM; 32 MB
Video RAM; 8x CD-ROM; 915 MB Hard Drive
Space; Mouse.
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