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not as fun or amazing as i thought it might be

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 4 / 14
Date: February 18, 2005
Author: Amazon User

Grand theft auto vice city is, as you may know, one of the most lauded computer games of all time and you will find no shortage of enthusiasts singing its praises on amazon. While there has also been a great deal of negativity about this game, and moral condemnation, it has usually been from people who don't much actually play computer games and from many who did not take much time to see what this game is about or understand its context. That doesn't mean these people are entirely wrong, but it does mean they are mostly wrong, and, actually, one of the very clever things gta vice city does is actually lampoon the hypocrisy of its critics. This, along with some excellent music, is done on the game's brilliant radio stations that play randomly in any of the cars you steal. I was a little surprised that the in game radio was perhaps my favorite thing from the game.

Anyway, that's a pretty wordy preamble. You maybe just want to know what I thought of the game, so I wont go into an essay on morality in computer games. I'll tell you what I thought. I thought the game was all kind of a joke, which is fine, just, it was a mean joke. Its meant to be played as a mean joke. I didn't like that so much. From here I'll just rank it according to some categories I devised reflecting issues important to me.

Story: C- never very great in computer games, but, taking that into account it was pretty nicely done, ridiculous at times, the free roaming thing integrated well with it, you sort of intersect with different lines of the story as you like, still linear- don't know how you could have a story without that- but, like I said, it's all a bit of a mean joke and I got tired of it. I cant say how well it developed as I only managed to play about a quarter way through this game.

Characters: C- clever, very well voice acted, colorful types but completely lacking in any emotional connection whatsoever.

Gameplay: C here is where I really expected this game to be so great but was surprised it wasn't. The variety of things to do was good, driving, shooting, very different kinds of missions, etc, but mainly I never much liked the shooting stuff. I thought it had a stiff jerkiness to it, found it unnatural and not as good as an average shooter. The city was neat but I never felt like it was very satisfying, like, you could really only be a thug and that's it. I guess that's the point, you could do a lot within that, just, there wasn't any feeling of richness or depth, just breadth.

Graphics: C- again disappointing. I was expecting something terrific, but was surprised to find that, though the city was beautiful in its way, the character modeling was pretty unimpressive and seemed sort of out of date (even more so now). The stylish, cartoony characters of the box are not a fair representation of the more graceless figures in the game.

Dreariness factor: D+ personally mugging people and shooting and vandalizing and stealing my way to power kind of brought me down. It was nice to do it by the ocean though.

Technical issues: did not have problems. That's just me.

Learning factor: C+ the game helps you along pretty well with a while-you-play sort of tutorial. But quite a few things you're left on your own to figure out and controls for keyboard on certain missions (like an awful remote control helicopter) were very difficult to learn and handle.

Product materials: D+ a good example of stylish but sort of useless. Just tell me in detail about how things work and about controls and stuff. All too often in pc games I get either almost no info or, like this, a bunch of setting the stage. Cute, but useless.

Chore factor: F see below

Difficulty: F yes, I am all alone in this maybe, but most games are too hard! Difficulty levels are god's gift to a diverse population! Especially useful difficulty levels. This had none whatsoever. Some things you do are easier, some are hard and, SINCE THERE ARE NO IN GAME SAVES, you (I) have to do them over and over, from the start.

Game saves: F no. there are these save places you can go to or you can sort of lose a lot of stuff and just come out of the police station or hospital, but either way creates quite a bit of tediousness, often involving a bit of a drive just to get there.

Other: if the concept of this game sort of leaves you cold but you're curious because its such a well reviewed game I really say, don't bother. If it sounds hilarious to be a rising young tough driving around `miami' in cars you stole I do sincerely recommend it. It totally got the whole weird pulp fiction gangster movie amoral thing pretty well.

Fun but inapropprite

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 4 / 15
Date: November 27, 2005
Author: Amazon User

My older cousin has this game it is so fun! It was very fun but inapropprite

best game ever

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 10
Date: October 20, 2004
Author: Amazon User

This game is the best game ever. It has great music, great graphics, and great physics.

The things i didn't like were the AI, the cops are way to stupid to seem real, i watch cops all the time and they are more smart in the game.

Some might say this game (or GTA3) makes kids do stupid things like drive cars when they are under the legal driving age. I'm under 17, and this game did not do that at all. In fact, because of this game and watching cops, I would not want to drive or even get my lisense because i don't trust myself, and it's to easy to crash.

If i ever get angry at school or homework or something, instead of doing something stupid, i just play this game and i'm usually happy after 20-30 minutes. It's like a stress-reliver.

This game is good for people 13 or 14 and up. It's rated M, not NC-R. The bestbuy i got it from had a sticker that read "Do not sell to anyone under 18." I was like WTF? M means recommended 17 and up, like the R rating for movies.

I can't wait until GTA:SA comes out in about a week. It will be the new best game ever.

Sadly not great

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 2 / 5
Date: April 16, 2004
Author: Amazon User

Well I've just got GTA Vice city after it being so highly recommended....and I'm not blown away.
There are some good aspects to this game. The '80s setting is great allowing for the use of some great tunes to choose from while driving : ) Also, as a "child of the '80s" I think Rockstar did a great job of capturing the mood and feel of the era. It really does feel like an episode of "Miami Vice" or classic movies such as "Scarface".

Another bonus is the addition of good voice talent from some very respected actors. This adds a nice toutch to the essence of the game I feel.
Additionally, having not played GTA III, I was very impressed with the new perspective and usse of camera angles in GTA:VC definately a HUGE improvement over the first 2 installments in every respect.

However, where I feel the game ultimately falls down is in it's gameplay. While I found the game reasonably easy to "pick up and play" I soon found the gameplay to be a bit on the tough side, frequently having to restart whole missions because of a minor mistake,a difficulty setting would have made all the difference here. Also it seems,unlike GTA 1 and 2, you can't take on new jobs to get money etc if you find a particular mission tough going - BIG MISTAKE in my book.

I also found the graphics to be rather poor considering the recent release of the game on the PC with only the lighting and the framerate being anywhere near impressive, Another missed opportunity I feel.

It does seem a shame that a game that is generally so highly recommended has been such a let down and while I may pick it up now and again in future I doubt I'll be playing it for long

You'll love this game more than your own children!!!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 5
Date: January 08, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Man, I am sick of people mentioning the violence and cursing and sex that's in this game. DUH!!! This is as redundant as saying the sun is bright and hot. I don't even see what the big deal is. The gore in it isn't exactly realistic (the blood splattering and gushing isn't that great-looking) and I've seen much more "disturbing" games. The violence is almost like cartoon violence in some ways. It isn't really that big a deal. There is some very moderate cursing and there's some sex. Yes, you can pick up hookers. No, you don't see any action. Yes, there's a strip club and sluttily dressed women but these aren't exactly real-looking people. Just lighten up. If you don't want your 8-year-old exposed to it then don't buy it for him but I better not see your hipocritical a** buying him an R or even PG-13 movie! This really is no different than watching some PG-13 movies and any R movie. In fact, they may be worse. I think you should relax if the kid is 12 and that's being generous.

Now enough with that bulls**t! On to the game! It's great. What else do you expect? You could play this game for hours and never get bored. You can do whatever you want: steal a car, speed around town, run over people, do drive-bys, rob a store, kill a person for no reason with a variety of weapons, see how long you can evade the law, do a mission, do a sub-mission (such as the paramedic), pick up a hooker and get some health, etc. etc. etc. There's plenty of side missions to do and those are what'll take up the most time, not any of the storyline or asset missions. The hardest ones are the paramedic, vigilante, firefighter, Brown Thunder and Pizza Boy missions as far as I am concerned because there you have a time limit and if you're vehicle blows up you're f**ked and have to start all over again. You'll take a long time getting all the Hidden Packages, Rampages and all that stuff but that's not so hard because it's not something that's really "hard". Just tedious. There's also some race missions that are tough but they can be done with some persistence.

The controls are great. The driving's excellent and so is the on-foot ones. The auto-aim works easily enough though you sometimes target the ones you don't want to, but you can get around this without too much difficulty. The boats are harder to control though and the helicopters can be tricky. But the boats are the worst since they have a habit of over-accelerating and over-steering. But the controls in general are good enough so that you can pretty quickly get used to them, and before you know it, you'll be cruising around town like a pro.

The graphics are quite nice. The cars are very realistic-looking. In fact, after playing this if you go outside and look at real cars they'll remind you of the ones in the game. You'll even feel like driving them like you did in the game! But obviously you won't because you're not as stupid and f**ked up like that guy who killed those cops and then like a p**sy blamed the game for making him do it. Don't listen to those a**holes. It's all a bunch of crap. The only complaints I have would be on the people. They could look better and the blood could be a little better too, especially when it gushes from someone you shoot. I would like to see more blood too.

The camera angles are the main flaw of the game. Sometimes you'll want it to point in a different direction so you can see what you're shooting at. Another problem is when you're in the helicopter. That can get screwed up with you turn around and the angle has to catch up with you. On foot if you're not auto-targeting you you have a button to adjust the camera angle to where you're facing but when you're in the vehicles not so. The only time this really is a problem though is in the chopper.

The sound is excellent. Even the sounds themselves are nice. You have great voice acting by some well-knowns and even nonwell-knowns, but it's all fantastic. The dialogue is fantastic too. You'll hear people on the street talking amongst themselves and they'll do stuff such as tell you to move, sometimes not so nicely, when you park a car in the middle of the flow of traffic. They'll scream and plead for their lives or even taunt you when you point a gun at them or attack them. Your character will even say things to people, like when he steals their car or kills them, such as, "My need is greater than yours," or, "It's only money." It's great!

The humor value on this game is top-notch and that has a lot to do with the sounds I mentioned above, as well as how fun it is to kill people for whatever reason, if there's a reason, but also with the RADIO! I can't believe more people aren't commenting on this. This is one of the highpoints in this game just like on GTA3, only this time they don't make up all their own songs, which is bad or good depending on how you look at it. I love cruising around town listening to KChat, VRock or VCPR, that latter of which is the funniest of all. I usually listen to these because they are the funniest (talk radio is obviously funnier than music stations even though there is talk from the DJ's and call-in listeners and the commercials) and because I like rock music and they play actually good bands like Iron Maiden and Anthrax. They do make up some of their own music. I know they make up an in-game band, which you actually can do missions with, called Love Fist, a group of drunken Scotts. But the radio is hilarious, not just the talk radio but the commercials especially as well ("'Knife After Dark'--Rated R for 'Retarded'.")

The game has some flaws but overall it's d**m near perfect. The makers of the game basically took all they did in GTA3 and added to it but failed to really fix these few flawss I mentioned. But they're nothing in comparison to the overall fun this game provides. There is at least over 100 hours, even if you're familiar with the over-all gameplay from GTA3, if you try to do 100% or at least something close to that (I have no idea how I'm gonna complete all those submissions). Look, this is one of the easiest decisions you'll ever make in your life. Just buy the d**m game.

And if that's not enough to convince you, as one of the radio characters in the game, Jeremy Robar, says, "Just listen to these endorsements. And remember, these people volunteered. They aren't being paid much."

Doesn't get any better then this

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: June 01, 2003
Author: Amazon User

What can I say? This game is just plain unbelievable. It fills in practically everything the original Grand Theft Auto 3 lacked. Motorcycles, more buildings to go into, new weapons, new cars, AWESOME music, and you can even buy your own hide-outs and assets (assets are businesses). The amazing part about this game is that it doesn't get boring. Okay, well if you play it for 5 hours straight, it will become boring, but if you take a 30 minute break, you'll already feel the urge to want to play again. The only conclusion I can make is that the publisher put an addictive chemicle into the game ;-)

Motorcycles are extremely fun to drive. There are 4 different types of motorcycles; First is a mopez (those motorcycles that have a seat and a lot of legspace, basically a newbie bike), second is a dirtbike, third is a harley davidson style bike, and finally, the best of all the bikes is the Kawasaki style sports bike.

As for the missions, they are very fun. There are ALL types of missions. There's the regular 'kill this guy' mission, and then there's those fun street races, and don't forget the RC missions (driving a mini helicopter and blowing stuff up with it).

Helicopters are actually drivable in this game! There are a whole bunch of them. There's the normal one called a maverick (no guns), there's a police maverick (has guns), there's that tiny news chopper (no guns of course), there's a chopper thats landable on water, and finally, if you can manage to get ALL 100 Hidden packages, there's the Hunter, which is an Apache. It has 2 missle launchers and a magine gun. How cool is that?

There are a lot more boats in vice city as well. They range from big yachts to those inflatable ones that the navy seals use. Pretty cool, very fun.

I hope you guys find this review useful. Take2 Interactive Software did a great job on Vice City. This game is certainly the game of the year, because it combines all different game genre's. GET THIS GAME! GO! STOP READING THIS! HURRY UP, BEFORE ITS TOO LATE! =)

Rapt in Awe!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: July 01, 2003
Author: Amazon User

The folks at Rockstar deserve serious applause for this gem. Think of it as the Hope Diamond. It's big; it's beautiful...it's second to none. The only game that comes close to this is GTA3. I'm sure they're filthy rich at Rockstar, and they deserve it. There's so much to do and see, and the folks at Rockstar are witty and wise! They have their finger right on the pulse of the gaming globe. They know what we want and they continue to deliver. Brava!

This game is so good, it could turn a non-gamer into an addict.

It's also really impossible to describe because it is so immersing. If you're considering buying this game, do so. You will not be disappointed, but BE WARNED: this game will pull you in for the foreseeable future even if you take your time...and that's the best way to play this game: take your time-live it. It's a cultural experience and not just in the USA.

Also, this game is NOT for children.

Well worth the money

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: July 27, 2003
Author: Amazon User

PC version...
High marks:
Excellent graphics (use the highest resolution possible on your system)
Mostly non-linear mission/job selection
Learning new skills is "encouraged" for the timed missions

Low marks:
Some of the jobs are TOUGH ("The Driver" was nearly impossible until I "modified" Hilary's car...)
Some mission cutscenes could not be skipped.
Pop-up "Welcome to..." screen when traveling to the opposite side of Vice City is disorienting
Unable to track down and kill offending drivers if you lose sight of them (they disappear)
Sometimes only one way to complete a mission (timed missions, yuck)

A true masterpiece

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: August 23, 2006
Author: Amazon User

The Grand theft Auto series is without a doubt the greatest video game series of all time. If you love the 80's you'll love this game. If you like any of the GTA games you'll love this. I highly recommend it. I know what i'm talking about.

poor gaming for pc

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: November 17, 2007
Author: Amazon User

has graphic glitch right out of the box. there is a downloadable fix at gamespot but the character is still difficult to control. I use a six axiz ps2 style controller. tommy wlks and runs but the cars will not go forward or reverse using controller, you have to use keyboard controls for the cars and game controller for all else. there is no way to set the controls for the car. If you want to play this game i strongly recomend playing the ps2 version.

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