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Some major improvements over GTA3

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 622 / 667
Date: September 12, 2002
Author: Amazon User

There are many enhancements over GTA3. Here is what is confirmed so far:

9 hours of music (GTA3 was 3.5 hours) - The music is licensed,
90 songs. 10 radio stations, including authentic period slang for the DJ's and Callers

very small examples of confirmed tracks include:

"You've got another thing coming" by Judas Priest
"The Message" by Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five
"Self Control" by Laura Branigan
"Summer Madness" by Kool and the Gang
"I Ran" by Flock of Seagulls
"Out of Touch" by Hall and Oates
"I just died in your arms" by Cutting Crew

Main character speaks,
by voice of Ray Liotta (from the legendary movie goodfellas)
Over 8000 voice overs (2000 for GTA3)

Double the size (city size wise) then GTA3's city
Also, there will be Interior action Multi Tiered enviorments (Casino, Discos, Hotels)

-AI is dramaticlly improved
-a new routing system for pedestrians including a ton of more variety and actions.

-Gangs are now inteligent, and now steal cars and get into chases with police among other new actions.

-New Renderware Engine with modifactions, Texture Streaming, Framerate IMPROVED. Special lighting work

-New auto-targeting system
40 weapons, (GTA3 had 15)

Use of cover from objects in rooms and on street.. also pedestrians

Camera is locked behind the user when in targeting mode. New targeting system to make finding and shooting enemies even easier. It will highlight targets based on "priority and not on proximity". The new system also includes a new crosshair system that shows you both the exact target and the bullet spray radius. The crosshair will also change color to indicate the enemies threat level

New maneuvers like crouching will help you make use of cover.
Work has been made to avoid motion sickness from the rabid camera.

Missions are greatly varied
Many extra side missions, including Pizza Delivery
120 Cars (50 in GTA3)
Motorcycles confirmed
Jetskis, boats

More reflective surfaces on vehicles. Real time shadowing from passing scenery. Tires can blow or be shot out, effects physics

Over 100 missions and will include more complex missions that include a greater variety of objectives. These new missions will ask more of you by melding vehicle, outdoor and indoor combat all into one mission.

Can fly helicpters, land on buildings

Many new side missions like Pizza delivery man, etc...

This game will make you want to stop playing GTA3!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 124 / 157
Date: October 13, 2002
Author: Amazon User

2001's GTA3 took the world by storm, Vice City will be no different. This game takes place in 1980's Vice City, a Miami- type city crawling with power, corruption, and lots of shoot-outs!

This time around, players will be able to enter buildings! One such interior environment is a mall. But wait, the mall has additional interiors! Yes, now you can finally duck into a mall, shoot your enemies as you ride up an escalator, run into a hardware store, and come out wielding a gas-powered chain saw!

But no, it's not that easy. Enemy AI has been improved, so now getting away from cops is not as simple as driving away. Now SWAT Teams can fast-rope from choppers, police can deploy stop sticks, and some police actually wear kevlar vests! But tides haven't turned yet. Now YOU can comandeer helocopters! Not only that, but you can also ride motocycles!

GTA: Vice City is sure to have plenty of violence, drugs, hookers, cars, police, innocent pedestrians (try running over some LOL), and, oh yeah, HELICOPTERS! Please people, buy this game as soon as it is released. Let's make GTA: Vice City a PS2 Greatest Hits title as soon as possible!

Its Going Rock ....Again!!!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 66 / 76
Date: August 27, 2002
Author: Amazon User

GTA3 had to be one of my all time favorite games ever the open ended style of play and hours of fun unlike anything ever played.
So how does Rockstar top itself?? well..
how about 9 hours of music from the 80s and talk radio like last time which had about 3.5 hours of music
40 weapons up from 15 with a new targeting system
50 interior locations that you can now enter(discos,bars,hotels etc.)
And gta3 had a nice selection of 40 vehicles
Vice City will feature over 100 including motorcycles and helicopters ( and if you want to land one on a skyscraper and snipe from the top of the building you can )
Cutscenes and dialog will also be more featured including the main character actually having lines this time by Ray Liota
with over 100 missions to complete
All that with slighty better graphics and a better miami-style setting rather then the slums of liberty city backdrop should be better eye-candy

With all these improvements this game cant miss and while its not called GTA4 its hard to imagine any more improvements to make it a true sequel either way its going to be the must have PS2 game this year!

An Improved, New Game - The Best in Years

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 52 / 59
Date: November 19, 2002
Author: Amazon User

Right before writing this review, I read a news story about a teenager who attempted to steal more than 100 cars and said he got the idea from "Grand Theft Auto: Vice City." And I couldn't help but think, "Here we go again."

Last year, Rockstar released their groundbreaking "Grand Theft Auto 3," a far more realistic sequel to their cartoony, cult GTA series. Defying convention (and the ratings system), GTA3 became one of the best-selling video games ever, introducing gamers to levels of atrocity and violence usually reserved for war crimes tribunals. Vice City is the update to that game, and while GTA3 was a genre-buster, Vice City perfects the formula, retaining all the good aspects of the old game while tweaking most of the problems and adding enough new things to keep gamers coming back for more.

Set in a Miami-like tropical town in the 1980s, Vice City captures the feel of Hawaiian shirts, fast cars, and faster women. The player is Tommy Vercetti, a gangster down from Liberty City who just got out of jail and came to Vice City to set up operations for his organized crime syndicate. His first deal goes bad, and he's left with the clothes on his back and the ambition to get the people who wronged him - and whatever guns, cars, swords, explosives, and people he can use along the way.

This game has much more of a "plot" than GTA3, but still manages to retain the open-ended feel of the first two in the series, as there are always two or three missions for the player to choose from. Rockstar also fixed some of the physics problems with cars, meaning the player can take corners faster and not have to worry about rolling over ten times. The music, always a great part, has been expanded twentyfold - there are literally a hundred songs, many of them semi-obscure but fun 80s tunes (a few are original), across the radio stations. The player can still be a vigilante or a firefighter, but pizza boy has been added as well, and a dozen or so properties are available for purchase, many of them with their own missions. There are 35 weapons to choose from, including a katana, a chainsaw, a .357, and a improved sniper rifle. The airport has airplanes to fly, and there are helicopters for speed and precision. Also, the military base has a nice secret if you find 100 hidden packages - the Hunter, a gunship with unlimited chaingun and missile ammo. Nice! In fact, there is almost no reason NOT to buy this game - the only problem I've ever found with it is that sometimes, when you die on a mission, if you allow your character to be reincarnated at the hospital, then the game will (sometimes) crash. But that's small potatoes.

I need to stress, yet again, that this is not a game for children. I'm not living in some fantasy-world where kids will never play games like this, but parents, if you're going to get this to stick in a stocking, PLEASE understand what your kids will be playing. Sit down and watch them play it. Talk to them about the difference between fantasy and reality. Please. It's only a matter of time before enough dumb teenagers steal enough cars and blame enough video games before us adults won't be able to make up our own minds about playing them - because some well-meaning government official will make it illegal.

Enjoy, but be warned.

Final Grade: A+

BUY IT OR REGRET IT

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 59 / 80
Date: September 07, 2002
Author: Amazon User

Grand theft auto 3 was without a doubt one of the greatest games ever made. But gta3 might jus wind up being forgotten and left 2 collect dust next 2 your favorite child hood toy some where, once vice city hits the shelves. take gta3 and give it graphics that are almost 100% better than gta3, more than triple the amount of cars 2 be stollen(gta3-40 cars/vice city-120+ cars)ranging from golf carts to the ... cars and the ...cars and then the motorcycles crotch rockets 2 harley davidson style and even mopeds and i'm not done yet there are even more boats sail boats,giant yachts,speed boats,cop boats,and more(u can swim now so no more dying once u crash ur banshe into the river cops have the coast gaurd so no more stealing boats 2 get away from cops cause they will still come after u, and airplanes and helicopters that are eaisier to fly(f**king dodo).and there are 40 weapons a ... load more compared 2 gta3's variety. u can have all the same guns and a katana,chain saw,screw driver,knives,o and the list goes on and on.vice city is 2 and a half times bigger than liberty city and no more completing missions 2 unlock the other islands u can experience all of vice city is open 2 u once u start playing.the nieghborhoods go from the city to swamp land and lots inbetween.the cops r smarter than b4.there is 8 hours worth of radio(5 hours more than gta3)8000 things that pedestians can say. there are children and dogs that u can shoot now. gangs will tend 2 travel in groups now.and there is so much more stuff that i cant remember about vice city.my ga3 was in m ps2 for months without being removed 2 play something else and if u dont order this game u wont get it in stores till after x-mas. gta3 is about 2 take the record for best selling game and will but wen vice city comes out u will buy it and u may end up buying a second ps2 and another vice city so u can shut u friend up wen its his turn 2 play.i forgot 2 add that there are 50+ buildings that u can go into and u can buy new clothes from this place so u wont b wearing the same clothes all the time.if u got any questions or jus wanna talk about vice city ,my aol sn is chennigeo1.

A Worthy Heir

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 25 / 27
Date: November 18, 2002
Author: Amazon User

Rockstar had a monster of a sequel on their hands here, as well as a monster of a legacy to live up to. In the wake of Grand Theft Auto III, thought of by many to be one of the most revolutionary games in console history, expectations for said sequel were undoubtedly be off the charts. Players had enjoyed a taste of the virtual crime syndicate of Liberty City, and now they wanted the whole meal. To say developers had their work cut out for them would probably pass as one of the great understatements of the young century. But, god help them, they actually stepped up to the plate and swung for the fences.

Vice City is, in many ways, an "expansion pack" for GTA3. It's the basically same game, they've merely wrapped different skins around everyone and given players a whole new stack of missions to complete. Not to downplay the team's effort, this remains a very... VERY good game. Just don't jump in expecting an entirely new, completely immersive experience. This is everything it promised to be, episode three with new faces set entirely in the mid 80s. It's not Grand Theft Auto IV, more of a GTA3.5.

Thankfully, the game controls exactly the same as its daddy. You've got basic controls; walking, running, aiming, shooting, jumping, punching and stealing. Tommy moves a little differently than our anti-hero from the third installment, he's a touch slower, heavier. He throws punches at a slower pace than the previous character, but when he connects they've got more muscle behind them. A minor annoyance is the inadvertent damage he takes when running off a ledge or set of steps, rather than leaping. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a little frustrated to watch my hero fall to his doom off a ledge no higher than six feet, but if nothing else that teaches you to be a little more careful.

Each vehicle you drive handles differently, whether you're behind the wheel of a race car, a compact, an SUV, a boat, a helicopter or a Vespa. Certainly there's more of an arcade feel to controlling the makes and models of Vice City than there is a simulation aspect, but I wouldn't have it any other way. If I want complete and utter realism, I'll play Gran Turismo III. If I'm looking to run some folks over, fly into a bridge or scoot my way through traffic... complete and utter realism is not an extremely important factor in my book. In all honesty, were this game any more realistic it would take away from the fun factor by tenfold.

Graphically, this game is beautiful. Once you hop into the options menu and turn off the incredibly distracting and worthless "tracers" feature (and can suddenly SEE), you begin to recognize and enjoy the attention to detail that went into this game. Absolutely EVERYTHING is accounted for, from the names on every single building on the main strip right down to the wrinkles in the crotch of Tommy Vercetti's jeans. Not that I was looking at his crotch or anything...

The voice acting and musical choices have somehow improved from last year's nearly-flawless model, to the point where you find yourself completely immersed in the game's culture. I completed my run through all the missions at roughly twenty five hours, and was only just then beginning to see a few overlaps in the conversational dialogue of non-central characters. My absolute favorite character in the game was an underling named Mario, who keeps hanging around outside establishments under your control. Alongside his fellow also-rans, Mario loudly and proudly barks orders with some sort of false sense of authority. "WHAT HARDWARE WE GOT!?" he'll shout, without provocation. "WHAT SHOULD I DO ABOUT HER!?" I laughed until I cried, and then I immediately absorbed a few of Mario's characteristic phrases into my everyday language. When I start quoting lines from a movie, you know I enjoyed the movie. To even imagine quoting something from a game, let alone a minor character in that game, is a totally foreign concept.

The missions range from easy to extremely difficult to "how the holy hell do they expect me to do this??", but are all manageable, with practice. Right up to the game's final battle, everybody's got the same weakness. No matter how important they are in the hierarchy of crime, they'll still bleed when shot. And they'll die when you steal their car and park it on top of their heads. Or when you catch them in the rotor blades of a helicopter, as the situation may call for. Unfortunately, the final sub-boss and the boss himself each took half a dozen direct shots from the rocket launcher before succumbing to their wounds, which sort of blows that whole idea to hell, but the vast majority of the game obeys the same damage system. Again, a minor flaw but a flaw nonetheless.

After the missions of GTA III, I didn't think there was any way things could get more inventive, more creative, more unexpected... but somehow they managed. Rockstar controls your emotions from the first moments of the game, right up to the end. The missions flow almost seamlessly into the storyline. You can take an extended break, running around the city, slaughtering families and retrieving hidden packages, and then jump right back into the storyline without disrupting the flow of the story. It's truly something you can take at your own pace.

Overall, everything I expected from a sequel of this magnitude. If it's as they say, a great movie leaves you thirsty for more; then the same rule must apply to a great video game. Despite some flaws, Vice City continues the trend begun by GTA3. It's a worthy heir to the legacy, nothing nearly as groundbreaking as the jump from GTA2 to 3, but then again this isn't part 4. Can't wait to see where they can take it from here.

Vice is the operative word...

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 30 / 36
Date: June 05, 2003
Author: Amazon User

Months and months after buying this and finishing it, it's still insane fun.

Do you really need to read a review of this game to go out and buy it now? Believe the hype: this is a fantastic game in its own league. The only other game that approaches in scope is GTAIII. While The Getaway has elements of it, it doesn't have anywhere near the detail, fun and unmatchable replay value built into Vice City.

The pros are too many to list. Suffice to say if you loved III, you'll love this. Much of the look and feel and control remains the same but with some improvements. The graphics are sharper and more detailed. You can actually walk into some of the interiors for missions, hideouts, etc., and you can go anywhere with tons of rooftop access, underground garages, countless twisting alleys for escape. The colors are a gorgeous wash of
pastels and bright sun and that literally bleed on the screen sometimes. You can also turn off the graphic "trails" in the Options menu to give the game a sharper, grittier look.

It's a prequel to III, with your main man, Tommy Vercetti, getting sent down to Vice City (a good Miami stand-in) to do what he does best.

Some of the new stuff:

Motorcycles - Five different types. Takes time to get used to but Insane jumps are incredible. Quite possibly worth the price of admission alone.

More Weapons: Now you can use a Katana blade, M-60, a chain saw, etc.

Character changes: Your character now has a name, a personality, a voice (supplied by Ray Liotta), and can change outfits (love the track suits).

The City: Is big, quite a different layout than the original, and includes islands, a golf course (complete with golf cart and plaid wearing 9 iron victims), businesses you can buy and earn with, the Cheesy Crust Pizza Co, etc.

Other stuff: Not to mention helicopters (a perfect match for the series), more lazy, bumbling cops, more radio (the soundtrack alone is a big achievement, including dozens of licensed 80s classics).

Complaints? I have to nitpick, but there are a couple. The city seems to empty of people and cars at certain times, but then again it's supposed to be South Florida, so the rain and storms scatter the people about. Also, there are way fewer gangs than the original, and they're nowhere near as dangerous as the ones in III were. The gangs (mostly Haitians and Cubans) do, however, love to hang out in groups, making them much easier
and more fun to run over.

Naturally, I wouldn't let small kids near this thing. No way. These games are in a class by themselves. You get to interact with people and surroundings like never before. The people on the streets have literally thousands of different sayings, and you can play for months before hearing or seeing new things.

I think Vice City is a little bit easier than III, but it's still a challenge. Overall, this is a major achievement and
does not disappointment.

Oh, and this time around, expect guest voices by the likes of Tom Sizemore, Burt Reynolds, Jenna Jameson, LT, Dennis Hopper, etc. etc.

A review of Grand Theft Auto Vice City.

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 21 / 22
Date: March 27, 2003
Author: Amazon User

Grand Theft Auto Vice City is a terrific and brilliantly designed video game. It is very similar to Grand Theft Auto 3, only bigger, better, and longer. It takes some of the flaws that were found in GTA3 and vastly improves on them. There are many more new things that are in the game, as well as many of the old features. Now, I will describe the game and game-play to you.
First of all, there are many new features that weren't found in the game's predecessor. Here is a list of some of the new additions. (If you haven't purchased the game yet and want to be suprised with it, I don't reccomend reading this part.)
1.The city is larger and more detailed.
2.You now have the ability to have access to interior locations, including a mall, strip club, dance club, and more.
3.There are over 100 vehicles. This includes motorcycles, helicopters, and boats.
4.Now, there is about 35 weapons total.
5.Audio wise, there is over 9 hours of music from such artists as Michael Jackson, Ozzy Ozbourne, Grandmaster Flash, A Flock of Seagulls, and much more, including the famous Crockett's Theme from the television show Miami Vice.
6.There is much more character dialogue and pedestrian sayings. This time around, your character actually talks.
7.A more diverse cast of charaters. This includes voices done by Ray Liota, Tom Sizemore, Burt Reynolds, Jenna Jameson, Danny Trejo, and more.
8.You can now shoot out vehicle tires and people driving the vehicle.
9.You have the option to bail out of a moving automobile, even the choppers.
10.You can inflict damage on a vehicle by using a melee weapon.(Ex. baseball bat.)
11.You can now purchase property that eventully earns money for you.
12.The graphics and textures are more nice from GTA3's.
There is much more minor improvements and new things involved in the game, as well. But, I don't want to ruin your gaming experience the first time you play it. You will be amazed.
Overall, the game is great. It is well worth it to buy. It has something in it for everyone. However with a mature title, it is strongly not recommended for children. I'd say 10 or below.
Anyway, if you don't have this game yet, you are missing out on a magnificent experience. It will simply stun you. Grand Theft Auto Vice City is undoutebly one of the, if not the best, video game created to date. Thank you for taking the time and generosity to read my review.

For the parents

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 24 / 28
Date: January 05, 2003
Author: Amazon User

First of all, let me say that this game is FANTASTIC. The only thing I would do differently is make it not so much a "retread" of GTA3. However, still worth the wait and the money.

I did want to say something about the various 1-star parental reviews I continually read on this game. IMHO, it is not fair to give it a low-rating for violence. Yes, it is very violent, sexist, etc., but that does NOT make it a bad game. It has an M rating for a reason, and it is up to all parents to make the choice (or better yet, discuss the game with their children) for each individual child. It is still one of the top games for the PS2 system, regardless of the fact that it is also one of the most violent. Maybe I'm just a 27-year-old, childless, moron, but I think if parents discussed the game with their kids, rather than throwing it at them and hoping it substitutes for a babysitter, they wouldn't throw out a blanket statement like "this is a terrible game" just because of the content.

Just a thought...

GTA perfection

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 22 / 26
Date: September 20, 2002
Author: Amazon User

It'll be pretty stupid to jump to conclusions just yet, since the game is not yet released. But as we've seen the previews, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City will fill up the gaps that GTA3 didn't. There were many things that I hoped for in GTA3, but even though it's one of the best games on the market, there were some glitches. Now, Vice City would live up to it!!
You can now enter over 40 buildings, the cop/pedestrian/gang A.I will be improved greatly (so now, it's not only YOU the cops are after, but other A.I's as well) and now there will be cop patrols in the water as well (so don't think you're in safe haven once you're in the water, like in GTA3), now there'll be 8000 voice overs (GTA3 had 2000), now 9 hours of music/radio, and the city now (which is as you've might have guessed in Miami and 2.5 to 3 times bigger than Liberty City from GTA3) could be explored the moment you're in the game (so you don't have to complete missions to go on to new territories), now over 40 weapons with a new targeting system (to target the more prioritized target) and over 120 cars including motorcycles and finally, you CAN fly the helicopters now! It's all that GTA3 should have had!!

So you could imagine how great GTA: Vice City will be. It's all that I had hoped for in GTA3, and now it's coming true! Everything from entering buildings to flying the helipcopter will probably make Vice City the king of PS2 games, rightfully re-placing GTA3 on the throne. This is going to be a great gaming experience, and finally, finally I can die happy!!

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