Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories

"This GTA Fanboy is Disappointed"

Grand Theft Auto is pretty much my favorite game series. I love the exploration, and satrire. I love the characters. The criminal aspect was always secondary for me. Although as a 30-something gamer, that never bothered me either.

I was really happy to hear that VCS was going to be ported to the PS2, because I am a huge fan of the series. I started out enjoying the game, but there were certain aspects of this iteration of GTA that eventually got me down right frustrated and annoyed.

Gameplay:
This is pretty much the same gameplay as previous 3D GTA games, except with a little less polish. There are a frightening amount of bugs and glitches in VCS, and I can't help but think that this is a bit of a sloppy port.

The missions in VCS are easily the worst in any 3D GTA game. They range from "so easy it's boring" to "so difficult it isn't fun". And the ways that they ramp up the difficulty are often really cheap and cheesy...like having Lance Vance constantly drive in front of you when you're trying to shoot some thugs. It gets really stupid. Part of this ties in with how weak the general storyline in this game is. More on that in a but.

In general they've designed Vice City on the old map with a bunch of interesting changes. fans of the original game will get a kick out of finding all the changes. Finding the hidden balloons and stunt jumps is a lot of fun, as usual. Rampages are back, and that's a plus.

On the negative side, a version of the gangland warfare and territories from San Andreas makes a return. Only this time instead of turn, it's businesses. You attack them, then have to defend them. Until you can obtain all of the businesses in the city from rival gangs, you will find yourself constantly having to race across the city to defend them. Annoying. Plus, the businesses bring in a lot of money. So much so that much of the challenge is gone early on.

Gameplay Score: 35/50

Graphics:
What can I say? The graphics are dated. Massively dated. There are more graphical glitches here than can be counted. Still, Vice City doesn't look ugly. But the engine this agme was built on is now ancient, and it shows.

Graphics Score: 10/20

Sound:
This is where the game really shines. The soundtrack really is something special. It easily rivals the original Vice City. The talk stations are especially funny. All the good ness is there. The general game sound and environment sound is also right up there with other GTA games. It's quality, for sure.

Sound Score: 20/20

Story:
Vice City Stories has the weakest story of ANY Grand theft Auto game. By far. To say that it's convoluted is to be kind. You play as Vic Vance, a well meaning nice guy who is in the army. Basically you are in the army to earn money for your sick brother. You get kicked out of the army because some crooked Sgt. screws you over and you then go on to do the usual GTA missions to make a living. Mind you, Vic Vance likes to complain about all the bad things he does...alot. Generally the characters in this game are weak and annoying. Lance Vance appears alot, and he's the most annoying of all. He's not the pseudo suave character from the original game. he's an annoying wannabe. Really annoying. Anyway, the story moves forward through the missions, but none of it makes much sense. the ending is pretty lame, as well.

Story Score: 5/10

Overall Score: 70/100

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 05/07/07