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''Grand Theft Auto: Vice City'' is a 2002
action-adventure game The action-adventure genre is a video game hybrid genre that combines core elements from both the action game and adventure game genres. Typically, pure adventure games have situational problems for the player to solve to complete a story ...
developed by Rockstar North and published by Rockstar Games. It is the fourth main entry in the ''Grand Theft Auto'' series, following 2001's ''
Grand Theft Auto III ''Grand Theft Auto III'' is a 2001 action-adventure game developed by DMA Design and published by Rockstar Games. It is the third main entry in the ''Grand Theft Auto'' series, following 1999's ''Grand Theft Auto 2'', and the fifth instalment o ...
'', and the sixth instalment overall. Set in 1986 within the fictional Vice City (based on
Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...
and
Miami Beach Miami Beach is a coastal resort city in Miami-Dade County, Florida. It was incorporated on March 26, 1915. The municipality is located on natural and man-made barrier islands between the Atlantic Ocean and Biscayne Bay, the latter of which sep ...
), the single-player story follows mobster
Tommy Vercetti Thomas "Tommy" Vercetti is a fictional character and the playable protagonist of the 2002 video game '' Grand Theft Auto: Vice City'', the fourth main installment in Rockstar Games' ''Grand Theft Auto'' series. The first protagonist in the ser ...
's rise to power after being released from prison and becoming caught up in an ambushed
drug deal The illegal drug trade or drug trafficking is a global black market dedicated to the cultivation, manufacture, distribution and sale of prohibited drugs. Most jurisdictions prohibit trade, except under license, of many types of drugs through ...
. While seeking out those responsible, he slowly builds a criminal empire by seizing power from other criminal organisations in the city. The game is played from a third-person perspective and its world is navigated on foot or by vehicle. The open world design lets the player freely roam Vice City, consisting of two main islands. The game's plot is based on multiple real-world people and events in Miami such as Cubans,
Haitians Haitians ( French: , ht, Ayisyen) are the citizens of Haiti and the descendants in the diaspora through direct parentage. An ethnonational group, Haitians generally comprise the modern descendants of self-liberated Africans in the Caribbean te ...
, and
biker gangs An outlaw motorcycle club is a motorcycle subculture generally centered on the use of cruiser motorcycles, particularly Harley-Davidsons and choppers, and a set of ideals that purport to celebrate freedom, nonconformity to mainstream culture, a ...
, the 1980s crack epidemic, the Mafioso
drug lord A drug lord, drug baron, kingpin or narcotrafficker is a high-ranking crime boss who controls a sizable network of people involved in the illegal drug trade. Such figures are often difficult to bring to justice, as they are normally not directly ...
s of Miami, and the dominance of glam metal. The game was also influenced by the films and television of the era, most notably '' Scarface'' and '' Miami Vice''. Much of the development work constituted creating the game world to fit the inspiration and time period; the development team conducted extensive field research in Miami while creating the world. The game was released in October 2002 for the
PlayStation 2 The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October 2000, in Europe on 24 November 2000, and in Australia on 3 ...
, in May 2003 for Windows, and in October 2003 for the Xbox. Upon its release, ''Vice City'' received critical acclaim, with praise particularly directed at its music, gameplay, story, and open world design. However, the game also generated controversy over its depiction of violence and racial groups, sparking lawsuits and protests. ''Vice City'' became the best-selling video game of 2002 and has sold over 17.5 million copies. Considered one of the most significant titles of the sixth generation of video games and one of the greatest video games ever made, it won numerous year-end accolades including Game of the Year awards from several gaming publications. Since its release, the game has received numerous ports to many gaming platforms. An enhanced version was released for mobile platforms in 2012 for the game's tenth anniversary, and a further enhanced version was released in 2021. Its successor, '' Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas'', was released in October 2004, and a
prequel A prequel is a literary, dramatic or cinematic work whose story precedes that of a previous work, by focusing on events that occur before the original narrative. A prequel is a work that forms part of a backstory to the preceding work. The term " ...
, '' Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories'', was released in October 2006.


Gameplay

''Grand Theft Auto: Vice City'' is an
action-adventure game The action-adventure genre is a video game hybrid genre that combines core elements from both the action game and adventure game genres. Typically, pure adventure games have situational problems for the player to solve to complete a story ...
played from a third-person perspective. The player controls criminal
Tommy Vercetti Thomas "Tommy" Vercetti is a fictional character and the playable protagonist of the 2002 video game '' Grand Theft Auto: Vice City'', the fourth main installment in Rockstar Games' ''Grand Theft Auto'' series. The first protagonist in the ser ...
and completes missions—linear scenarios with set objectives—to progress through the story. It is possible to have several missions available at a time, as some missions require the player to wait for further instructions or events. Outside of missions, the player can freely roam the game's open world and has the ability to complete optional side missions. Composed of two main islands and several smaller areas, the world is much larger in area than earlier entries in the series. The islands are unlocked for the player as the story progresses. The player may run, jump, or drive vehicles to navigate the game's world. The player uses melee attacks, firearms and explosives to fight enemies. The firearms include weapons such as the Colt Python, an
M60 machine gun The M60, officially the Machine Gun, Caliber 7.62 mm, M60, is a family of American general-purpose machine guns firing 7.62×51mm NATO cartridges from a disintegrating belt of M13 links. There are several types of ammunition approved for ...
and a Minigun. The game's three-dimension environment allows a first-person view while aiming with the
sniper rifle A sniper rifle is a high-precision, long-range rifle. Requirements include accuracy, reliability, mobility, concealment and optics for anti-personnel, anti-materiel and surveillance uses of the military sniper. The modern sniper rifle is a por ...
and
rocket launcher A rocket launcher is a weapon that launches an unguided, rocket-propelled projectile. History The earliest rocket launchers documented in imperial China consisted of arrows modified by the attachment of a rocket motor to the shaft a few in ...
. In addition, the game's combat allows the player to commit drive-by shootings by facing sideways in a vehicle. The game provides the player a wide variety of weapon options—they can be purchased from local
firearms dealer A Federal Firearms License (FFL) is a license in the United States that enables an individual or a company to engage in a business pertaining to the manufacture or importation of firearms and ammunition, or the interstate and intrastate sale of ...
s, found on the ground, retrieved from dead enemies, or found around the city. In combat, auto-aim can be used as assistance against enemies. Should the player take damage, their health meter can be fully regenerated through the use of health pick-ups. Body armour can be used to absorb gunshots and explosive damage, but is used up in the process. When health is entirely depleted, gameplay stops and the player
respawns In video games, spawning is the live creation of a character, item or NPC. Respawning is the recreation of an entity after its death or destruction, perhaps after losing one of its lives. Despawning is the deletion of an entity from the game w ...
at the nearest hospital while losing all weapons and armour and some of their money. If the player commits crimes while playing, the game's law enforcement agencies may respond as indicated by a " wanted" meter in the head-up display (HUD), which increases as the player commits more crimes. On the meter, the displayed stars indicate the current wanted level, and the higher the level, the greater the response for law enforcement (for example, at the maximum six-star level, police helicopters and military swarm to lethally dispatch players). During the story, Tommy meets characters from various gangs. As the player completes missions for different gangs, fellow gang members will often defend the player, while rival gang members will recognise the player and subsequently shoot on sight. While free roaming the game world, the player may engage in activities such as a vigilante minigame, a fire fighting activity, a paramedic service and a taxi cab service. Completion of these activities grants the player with context-specific rewards. As Tommy builds his criminal empire, the player may purchase a number of properties distributed across the city, some of which act as additional hideouts where weapons can be collected and vehicles can be stored. There are also a variety of businesses which can be purchased, including a pornographic
film studio A film studio (also known as movie studio or simply studio) is a major entertainment company or motion picture company that has its own privately owned studio facility or facilities that are used to make films, which is handled by the production ...
, a taxi company, and several entertainment clubs. Each commercial property has a number of missions attached to it, such as eliminating competition or stealing equipment; once all missions are complete, the property begins to generate an ongoing income available for the player.


Plot

In 1986, mobster
Tommy Vercetti Thomas "Tommy" Vercetti is a fictional character and the playable protagonist of the 2002 video game '' Grand Theft Auto: Vice City'', the fourth main installment in Rockstar Games' ''Grand Theft Auto'' series. The first protagonist in the ser ...
(voiced by Ray Liotta) is released from prison after serving a fifteen-year sentence for murder. His boss Sonny Forelli (
Tom Sizemore Thomas Edward Sizemore Jr. (; born November 29, 1961) is an American actor and producer. He is known for his supporting roles in films such as ''Born on the Fourth of July'' (1989), ''Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man'' (1991), ''Passenger 5 ...
), seeking to establish drug operations in the south, sends Tommy to Vice City to oversee an important drug deal alongside crooked lawyer Ken Rosenberg ( William Fichtner). However, the deal is ambushed by unknown assailants, with Tommy and Ken barely escaping. Angered upon hearing the news, Sonny orders Tommy to recover the drugs, alongside the money he gave to him, under threat of consequences. Seeking information, Ken points Tommy towards retired army colonel Juan Garcia Cortez ( Robert Davi), who helped set up the exchange. Expressing regret for the ambush, Cortez promises to find out who masterminded it. While investigating, Tommy meets with several people who offer him help: music director Kent Paul ( Danny Dyer), who maintains connections with the city's criminal underworld; Lance Vance ( Philip Michael Thomas), who aided in the deal and lost his brother in the ambush; Texan business tycoon Avery Carrington (
Burt Reynolds Burton Leon Reynolds Jr. (February 11, 1936 – September 6, 2018) was an American actor, considered a sex symbol and icon of 1970s American popular culture. Reynolds first rose to prominence when he starred in television series such as ' ...
), who in return enlists Tommy's help with several deals; and drug kingpin Ricardo Diaz ( Luis Guzmán), who employs both Tommy and Lance. Eventually, Cortez begins voicing his suspicions that Diaz organised the ambush. Upon further investigation, Lance discovers this to be the truth and, against Tommy's advice, tries to kill Diaz, only to get himself captured. After Tommy saves Lance, the pair find themselves forced to kill Diaz before he can retaliate. With Diaz dead, Tommy takes over his assets and, at Avery's suggestion, works to expand his new criminal empire by forcing businesses to pay him protection money and buying out nearly bankrupt companies to use as fronts for illicit operations. At the same time, Tommy provides assistance to several prominent gang leaders in the hopes they will support his expansion, and helps Cortez flee the city with stolen military equipment. Eventually, Sonny discovers that Tommy has gained complete control over Vice City's drug trade without cutting the Forellis in. Enraged at his independence, Sonny sends mobsters to forcefully collect money from Tommy's businesses. In response, Tommy kills Sonny's men and severs his ties with him. Later, learning Sonny is personally coming to Vice City to collect what he believes he is owed, Tommy prepares to pay him tribute with counterfeit money. However, Sonny reveals that he was responsible for Tommy's arrest fifteen years prior, and that Lance has betrayed him and allied himself with the Forellis, having felt inadequate in Tommy's presence since his rise to power. A shootout ensues in Tommy's mansion, during which he prevents the Forellis from stealing his money and murders Lance for his betrayal, before finally killing Sonny in a tense standoff. When Ken arrives to a scene of carnage, Tommy quickly reassures him that everything is now fine, as he has finally established himself as the undisputed crime kingpin of Vice City.


Development

Rockstar North's core 50-person team led the eighteen-month development of ''Grand Theft Auto: Vice City''. Full production began in late 2001, as ''
Grand Theft Auto III ''Grand Theft Auto III'' is a 2001 action-adventure game developed by DMA Design and published by Rockstar Games. It is the third main entry in the ''Grand Theft Auto'' series, following 1999's ''Grand Theft Auto 2'', and the fifth instalment o ...
'' was nearing completion; while early development only involved creating
3D model In 3D computer graphics, 3D modeling is the process of developing a mathematical coordinate-based representation of any surface of an object (inanimate or living) in three dimensions via specialized software by manipulating edges, vertices, an ...
s, executive producer Sam Houser said "it really kicked off at the beginning of 2002" and lasted about nine months. After the release of the Windows version of ''Grand Theft Auto III'', the development team discussed creating a mission pack for the game that would add new weapons, vehicles, and missions. Upon further discussion, the team decided to make this concept a stand-alone game, which became ''Vice City''. The game was announced on 22 May 2002, during the
Electronic Entertainment Expo E3 (short for Electronic Entertainment Expo or Electronic Entertainment Experience in 2021) is a trade event for the video game industry. The Entertainment Software Association (ESA) organizes and presents E3, which many developers, publisher ...
. It was Rockstar North's most expensive game at the time, with a budget of US$5 million. On 5 September 2002, the company announced that the release date of 22 October had been postponed until 29 October to meet product demand. By 15 October 2002, development of ''Vice City'' stopped as the game was submitted for manufacturing. It was released for the
PlayStation 2 The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October 2000, in Europe on 24 November 2000, and in Australia on 3 ...
on 29 October 2002 in North America, and on 8 November in Europe.
Capcom is a Japanese video game developer and video game publisher, publisher. It has created a number of List of best-selling video game franchises, multi-million-selling game franchises, with its most commercially successful being ''Resident Evil' ...
published the game in Japan on 20 May 2004 for PlayStation 2 and Windows. The game was added to the Rockstar Games Launcher in September 2019.


Setting

The game is set in 1986 in fictional Vice City, which is based heavily on the city of
Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...
. Vice City previously appeared in the original '' Grand Theft Auto'' (1997); the development team decided to reuse the location and incorporate ideas from within the studio and the fanbase. They wanted to satirise a location that was not contemporary, unlike ''Grand Theft Auto III''s Liberty City. The team wanted to choose a location that had various similarities and differences to New York City—the inspiration of Liberty City—eventually leading them to Miami, which producer
Leslie Benzies Leslie Peter Benzies (born 17 January 1971) is a Scottish video game producer and the former president of Rockstar North, a subsidiary of Rockstar Games. He was the lead developer on the ''Grand Theft Auto'' series, taking responsibility from ...
describes as "a party town, all sun and sea and sex, but with that same dark edge underneath". Sam Houser called it "the grooviest era of crime because it didn't even feel like it was crime ... it was a totally topsy-turvy back-to-front period of time". The team intended to make Vice City a "living, breathing city", for the player to feel like "life still goes on" while the character is inside a building. The game's look, particularly the clothing and vehicles, reflect its 1980s setting. Many themes are borrowed from the major films '' Scarface'' (1983) and '' Carlito's Way'' (1993), the latter for its characterisation and portrayal of nuanced criminals. The television series '' Miami Vice'' (1984–89) was also a major influence and was regularly watched by the team throughout development. Art director Aaron Garbut used the series as a reference point in creating neon lighting. In recreating a 1980s setting, the team found it "relatively painless" due to the distinct culture of the time period and the team's familiarity of the era. The art team was provided with large volumes of research, as well as reference photographs from other members of the development team. The team organised field research trips to Miami shortly after the development of ''Grand Theft Auto III'', splitting into small teams and observing the streets.


Story and characters

The team spent time "solving heriddle" of a speaking protagonist, a notable departure from ''Grand Theft Auto III''s
silent protagonist In video games, a silent protagonist is a player character who lacks any dialogue for the entire duration of a game, with the possible exception of occasional interjections or short phrases. In some games, especially visual novels, this may extend ...
Claude. Ray Liotta portrayed protagonist Tommy Vercetti. Liotta described the role as challenging: "You're creating a character that's not there before ... It's so intensive". When recording the role, the team used blue screen in order to allow Liotta to visualise "how it's gonna move". The team ensured that the player felt "real affinity" for Tommy, making the narrative a key development interest. Dan Houser described Tommy as "strong and dangerous and prepared to wait for the right opportunity to arrive". Director Navid Khonsari recalled Liotta frequently complaining on set and found him difficult to work with as a result. "In some sessions he was ... into it, but then sometimes ... he was very dark and couldn't work", said Sam Houser. Following the game's success, Liotta reportedly complained that he was underpaid for the role. The majority of the game's animations were original, with only a few borrowed from ''Grand Theft Auto III''. For the characters, the team used
motion capture Motion capture (sometimes referred as mo-cap or mocap, for short) is the process of recording the movement of objects or people. It is used in military, entertainment, sports, medical applications, and for validation of computer vision and robo ...
and stop motion animation techniques; cutscenes use the former, while gameplay movements use a combination of both techniques. The team encountered difficulty in animating motorcycle animations, due in part to the variety of models. Pedestrian character models use skins in ''Vice City'', allowing the artists to produce more realistic characters. There are 110 unique pedestrian models throughout the game world alongside roughly 50 story characters; each character is rendered using twice the amount of
polygons In geometry, a polygon () is a plane figure that is described by a finite number of straight line segments connected to form a closed ''polygonal chain'' (or ''polygonal circuit''). The bounded plane region, the bounding circuit, or the two toge ...
and textures found in ''Grand Theft Auto III''. This also impacted the character physics, improving gameplay aspects such as weapon-hit accuracy. Some character models and scenarios were inspired by films such as '' The Godfather'' (1972), and the game's presentation was inspired by action television shows of the 1980s. The interplay between Tommy Vercetti and Lance Vance was crafted to be similar to the relationship of ''Miami Vice''s
Sonny Crockett Sonny is a common nickname and occasional given name. Often it can be a derivative of the English word "Son", a name derived from the Ancient Germanic element *sunn meaning "sun", a nickname derived from the Italian name Salvatore (especially in N ...
and Ricardo Tubbs.


Sound design and music production

The game features 8,000 lines of recorded dialogue, four times the amount in ''Grand Theft Auto III''. It contains over 90 minutes of cutscenes and nine hours of music, with more than 113 songs and commercials. The team was interested in the challenge of creating the game's soundtrack, particularly in contrast to ''Grand Theft Auto III''s music, which Sam Houser described as "clearly satirical and its own thing". In developing the radio stations, the team wanted to reinforce the game's setting by collating a variety of songs from the 1980s and therefore performed extensive research. The radio stations were published by
Epic Records Epic Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America Sony Corporation of America (SONAM, also known as SCA), is the American arm of the Japanese conglomerate Sony Group ...
in seven albums—known collectively as ''Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Official Soundtrack Box Set''—alongside the game in October 2002. ''Vice City'' contains about "three times as much" talk radio as ''Grand Theft Auto III''. Producer and talk show host
Lazlow Jones Jeffrey Crawford "Lazlow" Jones (born September 4, 1973) is an American writer, producer, director, voice actor, and radio personality. He is best known for his work with Rockstar Games, for which he worked on the ''Grand Theft Auto'', '' Max ...
stated that the small percentage of station listeners that actually call in are "insane"; in ''Vice City'', the team "bumped it up a notch", emphasising the extremity. Dan Houser felt that the talk stations give depth to the game world.


Critical reception


Initial release

''Grand Theft Auto: Vice City'' was released to critical acclaim. Metacritic calculated an average score of 95 out of 100, indicating "universal acclaim", based on 62 reviews. It is Metacritic's highest-rated PlayStation 2 game of 2002, and the fifth-highest rated PlayStation 2 game overall, tied with a number of others. Reviewers liked the game's sound and music, open-ended gameplay, and open world design, though some criticism was directed at the controls and technical issues. ''
IGN ''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...
''s Douglass Perry declared it "one of the most impressive games of 2002", and ''
GameSpy GameSpy was an American provider of online multiplayer and matchmaking middleware for video games founded in 1996 by Mark Surfas. After the release of a multiplayer server browser for the game, QSpy, Surfas licensed the software under the GameS ...
''s Raymond Padilla named the experience "deep, devilishly enjoyable, and unique". Reviewers generally considered the missions an improvement over ''Grand Theft Auto III'', although some noted occasional awkwardness and frustration. ''IGN''s Perry wrote that the game's missions give the player "a stronger feeling of being inside a story within a world that truly exists". '' Game Informer''s Matt Helgeson found the missions to be more complex, and '' AllGame''s Scott Alan Marriott felt that the storyline was improved as a result. Marriott also found the lead character of Tommy to be more engaging than ''Grand Theft Auto III''s
Claude Claude may refer to: __NOTOC__ People and fictional characters * Claude (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Claude (surname), a list of people * Claude Lorrain (c. 1600–1682), French landscape painter, draughtsman and etcher ...
; ''IGN''s Perry felt that Rockstar "found the right person and the right choice", and '' Edge'' wrote that Tommy "sweats charisma", commending Ray Liotta's performance. The game's open world design was praised by reviewers, many of whom felt that it contained more detail and felt more alive than its predecessors. ''GameSpy''s Padilla made favourable comparisons between Vice City and ''Grand Theft Auto III''s Liberty City, noting the former's level of detail. ''
Game Revolution ''GameRevolution'' (formerly ''Game-Revolution'') is a gaming website created in 1996. Based in Berkeley, California, the site includes reviews, previews, a gaming download area, cheats, and a merchandise store, as well as webcomics, screenshots ...
''s Ben Silverman wrote that the game's depth is "unparalleled", praising the world's realism and detail, while ''AllGame''s Marriott commended the "ambitious scope in design". Marriott of ''AllGame'' named ''Vice City'' an "unforgettable listening experience", and Perry of ''IGN'' declared the music as "the most impressive list of songs in a game". Many reviewers commended the game's radio stations and talk radio, and felt that the game's collection of licensed 1980s music fit the tone and time period of the world. The voice acting also received praise; '' GameSpot''s Jeff Gerstmann named the cast of characters "colorful and memorable", and ''IGN''s Perry found the voice acting "among one of the best of its kind". ''Game Revolution''s Silverman felt that the acting "gives the story credence". Many reviewers found that the game offers a better variety of vehicles than ''Grand Theft Auto III'', and found them easier to control; ''GameSpot''s Gerstmann named the driving "more exciting and dangerous", and ''IGN''s Perry found the motorcycle's controls pleasing. In addition to the vehicle handling, reviewers noted improvements in the targeting and shooting mechanics, although still recognised issues. Helgeson of ''Game Informer'' wrote that "targeting is improved to the point where combat can actually be fun". Some reviewers recognised an improved draw distance over ''Grand Theft Auto III'', although many identified
frame rate Frame rate (expressed in or FPS) is the frequency (rate) at which consecutive images (frames) are captured or displayed. The term applies equally to film and video cameras, computer graphics, and motion capture systems. Frame rate may also be ca ...
drops during hardware-intense sequences. The changes in character models polarised reviews; while ''GameSpy''s Padilla and ''IGN''s Perry noted the improvement in character models, '' Eurogamer''s Tom Bramwell considered it "maddening to see that character ... models haven't been smartened up at all". The game's artificial intelligence and long
load Load or LOAD may refer to: Aeronautics and transportation *Load factor (aeronautics), the ratio of the lift of an aircraft to its weight *Passenger load factor, the ratio of revenue passenger miles to available seat miles of a particular transpo ...
times were frequently criticised in reviews, and many reviewers noted the awkward camera angles and environment during gameplay.


Windows version

When ''Vice City'' was released to Windows in May 2003, it received similar critical acclaim. Metacritic calculated an average score of 94 out of 100, indicating "universal acclaim", based on 30 reviews. It was the highest-rated Windows game on Metacritic in 2003. Reviewers liked the visual enhancements, and were generally positive towards the control improvements. The port's visuals received a positive response from reviewers. ''AllGame''s Mark Hoogland praised the improved car details, environment textures, and weather effects; ''GameSpot''s Greg Kasavin echoed similar remarks, noting occasional frame rate drops. ''GameSpy''s Sal Accardo commended the draw distance improvements, identifying very few texture issues. ''IGN''s Steve Butts found the port's system requirements to be reasonable, unlike ''Grand Theft Auto III'', and praised the faster load times. ''Eurogamer''s Martin Taylor was critical of the visuals, stating that the higher resolutions "aren't kind to the overall visual quality", and criticising the hardware requirements. The control changes of the port were generally well received. Most reviewers found the targeting and shooting mechanics to be improved with mouse and keyboard controls; ''Eurogamer''s Taylor called them "far more fluid", and ''GameSpy''s Accardo wrote "there's simply no substitute for aiming with a mouse". However, the driving control changes were widely criticised; ''IGN''s Butts called it "crap". ''AllGame''s Hoogland found the controls to be "more forgiving" over time.


Mobile version

When ''Vice City'' was released on mobile devices in December 2012, it received "generally favorable" reviews. Metacritic calculated an average score of 80 out of 100, based on 19 reviews. Reviewers liked the enhanced visuals, but criticism was directed at the touchscreen controls. The port's visuals were well received. '' Destructoid''s Chris Carter felt that they " uitthe neon and bright pastel veneer", and wrote that the "new lighting effects and smoothed-out engine really allow the game to pop like it never has before". ''IGN''s Justin Davis praised the updated character models, lighting, and textures, and ''Touch Arcade''s Eric Ford noted that the "visuals are improved but not in a drastic manner". '' NowGamer'' found that the mobile display improves the visual enjoyment of the game, despite the issues with the original game. Tom Hoggins of '' The Telegraph'' identified some issues with character models, but stated "the city looks terrific". Most reviewers criticised the port's touchscreen controls. ''
Pocket Gamer ''Pocket Gamer'' is a video game website that focuses on mobile, portable and handheld games. The site launched in 2005 and is published and owned by UK company Steel Media Ltd. The site covers all major portable and mobile gaming formats, incl ...
''s Mark Brown found them "not ideal", but noted that this was also the case in the original game, while ''
Digital Spy Digital Spy (DS) is a British-based entertainment, television and film website and brand and is the largest digital property at Hearst UK. Since its launch in 1999, Digital Spy has focused on entertainment news related to television programmes, ...
''s Scott Nichols felt that the game "only complicated
he controls He or HE may refer to: Language * He (pronoun), an English pronoun * He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ * He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets * He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' in ...
further". ''IGN''s Davis was thankful for the addition of customisable controls, and wrote that they "make the experience much more controllable", and ''Touch Arcade''s Ford greatly appreciated the developer's efforts to "make the situation bearable". ''Destructoid''s Carter spoke favourably of the controls, despite noting awkward character movement, while ''The Telegraph''s Hoggins found the controls "far more accomplished" than ''Grand Theft Auto III''s mobile port.


Commercial performance


Sales

Within 24 hours of its release, ''Grand Theft Auto: Vice City'' sold over 500,000 copies. Within two days of its release, ''Grand Theft Auto: Vice City'' sold 1.4 million copies, making it the fastest-selling game in history at the time. It was the highest-selling game of 2002 in the United States; by 2004, the game had sold 5.97 million units, and by December 2007 it had sold 8.20 million. By July 2006, it had sold 7 million copies and earned $300 million in the United States alone. ''
Next Generation Next Generation or Next-Generation may refer to: Publications and literature * ''Next Generation'' (magazine), video game magazine that was made by the now defunct Imagine Media publishing company * Next Generation poets (2004), list of young ...
'' ranked it as the highest-selling game launched for the PlayStation 2, Xbox or
GameCube The is a home video game console developed and released by Nintendo in Japan on September 14, 2001, in North America on November 18, 2001, and in PAL territories in 2002. It is the successor to the Nintendo 64 (1996), and predecessor of the Wii ...
between January 2000 and July 2006 in that country, beating ''Grand Theft Auto III'' and ''Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas''. In February 2005, it was re-released as part of PlayStation's Greatest Hits selection, indicating high sales. In Japan, ''Vice City'' sold about 223,000 copies in its first week and over 410,000 by January 2008. The game earned a "Diamond" award in the United Kingdom, indicating over one million sales. By March 2008, the game had sold 17.5 million units worldwide, making it one of the best-selling PlayStation 2 games.


Accolades

''Grand Theft Auto: Vice City'' received multiple nominations and awards from gaming publications. It was named the Best PlayStation 2 game at the
1st British Academy Games Awards The 1st British Academy Video Games Awards, awarded by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts, was an award ceremony held in February 2004 at the Radisson Portman Hotel in London. Hosted by Bill Bailey, the ceremony honoured achievement i ...
, the
Golden Joystick Award The Golden Joystick Awards, also known as the People's Gaming Awards, is a video game award ceremony; it awards the best video games of the year, as voted for originally by the British general public, but is now a global event that can be voted ...
s, and from '' Entertainment Weekly'', IGN, and GameSpot. It was also awarded the prestigious Ultimate Game at the Golden Joystick Awards. The game was awarded Best Action/Adventure Game from the British Academy Games Awards, GameSpot, and IGN. The game's sound also received several awards and nominations: it won Best Music from GameSpot, and was nominated for Best Sound, and it won the award for Sound at the British Academy Games Awards." /> It won Design at the British Academy Games Awards and was nominated for Best Graphics (Technical and Artistic) by GameSpot. The game was the runner-up for IGN's Reader's Choice Overall Game of the Year and was nominated for GameSpot's award for Best Story. It was awarded Best PC Game at the British Academy Games Awards.


Controversies

Similar to its predecessors, ''Vice City'' generated several controversies. It has been labelled as violent and explicit and is considered highly controversial by many special interest groups. Peter Hartlaub of '' SFGate'' noted the game's "mindless violence", but simply attributed it to the developers' attempt to achieve accuracy. Jeremy Pope, who worked on various Rockstar games including ''Vice City'', vowed never to work on violent games again due to their portrayal in mainstream media. In Australia, the game was pre-edited to receive an MA15+ classification; an uncensored version was released in the region in 2010, retaining its classification. In November 2003, the Haitian Centers Council and Haitian Americans for Human Rights staged a protest in New York publicly criticising the game, contending that it invited the player to harm Haitian immigrants and claiming that it depicted Haitians as "thugs, thieves and drug dealers". In response, Rockstar issued a press release apologising and acknowledging the concern, but insisted that the violence should be taken within the context of the game, which also contains violence towards other ethnic groups. When New York mayor
Michael Bloomberg Michael Rubens Bloomberg (born February 14, 1942) is an American businessman, politician, philanthropist, and author. He is the majority owner, co-founder and CEO of Bloomberg L.P. He was Mayor of New York City from 2002 to 2013, and was a ca ...
threatened distributor Take-Two Interactive with legal action, the company apologised and removed offensive statements from future copies of the game. In January 2004,
North Miami North Miami is a suburban city located in northeast Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States, about north of Miami. The city lies on Biscayne Bay and hosts the Biscayne Bay Campus of Florida International University, and the North Miami campu ...
's majority
Haitian-American Haitian Americans (french: Haïtiens-Américains; ht, ayisyen ameriken) are a group of Americans of full or partial Haitian origin or descent. The largest proportion of Haitians in the United States live in Little Haiti to the South Florida area ...
council filed an ordinance to ban the selling or renting of violent games to anyone under 18 without parental permission. The proposal, apparently sparked by ''Vice City'', was supported by North Miami mayor Josaphat Celestin, who stated "We don't believe the First Amendment was written to protect those who want to incite violence". The case was later downgraded from federal court to state court. On 7 June 2003, 18-year-old Devin Moore shot and killed two
Alabamian (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...
police officers and a dispatcher before fleeing in a patrol car; he was later apprehended. In statements to police, Moore reportedly said "Life is like a video game. Everybody's got to die sometime". A $600 million
lawsuit - A lawsuit is a proceeding by a party or parties against another in the civil court of law. The archaic term "suit in law" is found in only a small number of laws still in effect today. The term "lawsuit" is used in reference to a civil actio ...
was filed against Rockstar Games, Take-Two Interactive, Sony Computer Entertainment,
GameStop GameStop Corp. is an American video game, consumer electronics, and gaming merchandise retailer. The company is headquartered in Grapevine, Texas (a suburb of Dallas), and is the largest video game retailer worldwide. , the company operates 4,5 ...
, and Wal-Mart, claiming that Moore frequently played ''Vice City'' and that his experience with the game led him to commit the crimes. The plaintiffs' attorney, Jack Thompson, claimed the graphic nature of the game caused Moore to commit the murders. Thompson removed himself from the case ''
Strickland v. Sony ''Strickland v. Sony'' was a court case that focused on whether violent video games played a role in Devin Moore's first-degree murder/shooting of three people in a police station. In August 2005, former attorney Jack Thompson filed the lawsuit ...
'' in November 2005 after being scrutinised by the judge for unprofessional conduct. In March 2006, the
Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...
rejected an appeal by the defendants to dismiss the case. In September 2006, Thompson brought another $600 million lawsuit against Cody Posey, Rockstar Games, Take-Two Interactive, and Sony Computer Entertainment. The lawsuit claimed that 14-year-old Posey played the game obsessively before murdering his father, stepmother, and stepsister on a ranch in
Hondo, New Mexico Hondo is an unincorporated community in Lincoln County, New Mexico, United States. It is located about thirty-five miles downstream (east) from Ruidoso Downs, where the Rio Bonito and Rio Ruidoso rivers join together to form the Rio Hondo. It ...
. Posey's defence team argued that he was abused by his father and was taking
Zoloft Sertraline, sold under the brand name Zoloft among others, is an antidepressant of the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) class. The efficacy of sertraline for depression is similar to that of other antidepressants, and the differe ...
at the time of the killings. The suit alleged that the murders would not have taken place if Posey had not obsessively played ''Vice City''. The case was dismissed in December 2007, as New Mexico held no jurisdiction over Sony or Take-Two. In July 2017, the Psychic Readers Network (PRN) sued Rockstar over the character named Auntie Poulet, alleging similarities between the character and Youree Harris, who voiced the character. Brandon J. Huffman, a lawyer for Odin Law and Media, noted that PRN's lawsuit faced challenges due to the timing of the lawsuit, as the
Eleventh Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit (in case citations, 11th Cir.) is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the following U.S. district courts: * Middle District of Alabama * Northern District of Alabama * ...
's statute of limitations for copyright infringement is three years; the lawsuit was filed almost 15 years after the game's release. Huffman added that Take-Two could also claim parody or
settle out of court In law, a settlement is a resolution between disputing parties about a legal case, reached either before or after court action begins. A collective settlement is a settlement of multiple similar legal cases. The term also has other meanings in t ...
, but that it was unlikely to do either initially.


Legacy

Mike Snider of '' USA Today'' wrote that ''Vice City'' "raised the bar for video games", citing its interactivity, violence, and soundtrack. ''
Kotaku ''Kotaku'' is a video game website and blog that was originally launched in 2004 as part of the Gawker Media network. Notable former contributors to the site include Luke Smith, Cecilia D'Anastasio, Tim Rogers, and Jason Schreier. History ...
''s Luke Plunkett and ''
PC Magazine ''PC Magazine'' (shortened as ''PCMag'') is an American computer magazine published by Ziff Davis. A print edition was published from 1982 to January 2009. Publication of online editions started in late 1994 and have continued to the present d ...
''s Jeffrey L. Wilson both named ''Vice City'' the best game in the series, with the former naming it the "perfect ''Grand Theft Auto'' experience". The readers of ''
Official UK PlayStation Magazine An official is someone who holds an office (function or mandate, regardless whether it carries an actual working space with it) in an organization or government and participates in the exercise of authority, (either their own or that of their s ...
'' named ''Vice City'' the fourth-greatest PlayStation title ever released. In 2006 ''Vice City'' appeared on Japanese magazine '' Famitsu''s readers' list of top 100 games; it was one of the only Western titles on the list. Art director Aaron Garbut felt that, alongside its predecessor ''Grand Theft Auto III'' and successor '' San Andreas'', ''Vice City'' led the trend of open world games.


Ports

''Grand Theft Auto: Vice City'' was released for Windows on 13 May 2003 in North America and 16 May in Europe, supporting higher screen resolutions and draw distance, and featuring more detailed textures. A
GameCube The is a home video game console developed and released by Nintendo in Japan on September 14, 2001, in North America on November 18, 2001, and in PAL territories in 2002. It is the successor to the Nintendo 64 (1996), and predecessor of the Wii ...
release was planned, but later cancelled. ''Vice City'' was bundled with ''Grand Theft Auto III'' in a compilation titled ''Grand Theft Auto: Double Pack'', released on the Xbox on 4 November 2003 in North America and 2 January 2004 in Europe. The Xbox port features custom soundtrack support as well as improved audio, polygon models, and reflections over the previous ports. ''Double Pack'' was later bundled with ''San Andreas'' in a compilation titled '' Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy'', released in October 2005. ''The Trilogy'' was also released for
OS X macOS (; previously OS X and originally Mac OS X) is a Unix operating system developed and marketed by Apple Inc. since 2001. It is the primary operating system for Apple's Mac computers. Within the market of desktop and lapt ...
on 12 November 2010. For the game's tenth anniversary in 2012,
War Drum Studios War Drum Studios LLC, doing business as Grove Street Games since 2020, is an American video game developer based in Gainesville, Florida. The company was founded as War Drum Studios in October 2007 by Thomas Williamson and Michael Owen. It is ...
ported ''Vice City'' to several iOS and
Android Android may refer to: Science and technology * Android (robot), a humanoid robot or synthetic organism designed to imitate a human * Android (operating system), Google's mobile operating system ** Bugdroid, a Google mascot sometimes referred to ...
devices. The port is almost identical to the Windows version of the game, but with enhanced visuals and a customisable layout. The iOS version was released on 6 December, while the Android version was briefly delayed to 12 December due to technical issues. This port was also released on Fire OS devices on 15 May 2014. An
emulated In computing, an emulator is Computer hardware, hardware or software that enables one computer system (called the ''host'') to behave like another computer system (called the ''guest''). An emulator typically enables the host system to run so ...
version of ''Vice City'' was released on the PlayStation 3 on 30 January 2013 via the
PlayStation Network PlayStation Network (PSN) is a digital media entertainment service provided by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Launched in November 2006, PSN was originally conceived for the PlayStation video game consoles, but soon extended to encompass smartp ...
's PS2 Classics; another emulated version was released for the
PlayStation 4 The PlayStation 4 (PS4) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Announced as the successor to the PlayStation 3 in February 2013, it was launched on November 15, 2013, in North America, November 29, 2013 in ...
on 5 December 2015, upscaled to
1080p 1080p (1920×1080 progressively displayed pixels; also known as Full HD or FHD, and BT.709) is a set of HDTV high-definition video modes characterized by 1,920 pixels displayed across the screen horizontally and 1,080 pixels down the screen vert ...
and with support for
PlayStation Trophies PlayStation Network (PSN) is a digital media entertainment service provided by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Launched in November 2006, PSN was originally conceived for the PlayStation video game consoles, but soon extended to encompass smar ...
. A remastered version of ''The Trilogy'' subtitled '' The Definitive Edition'', including ''Vice City'', was released for Windows,
Nintendo Switch The is a hybrid video game console developed by Nintendo and released worldwide in most regions on March 3, 2017. The console itself is a Tablet computer#Gaming tablet, tablet that can either be docking station, docked for use as a home video ...
, PlayStation 4,
PlayStation 5 The PlayStation 5 (PS5) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Announced as the successor to the PlayStation 4 in April 2019, it was launched on November 12, 2020, in Australia, Japan, New Zealand, North Ame ...
, Xbox One, and
Xbox Series X/S The Xbox Series X/S are home video game consoles developed by Microsoft. They were both released on November 10, 2020, as the fourth generation Xbox, succeeding the Xbox One. Along with Sony's PlayStation 5, also released in November 2020, t ...
on 11 November 2021; versions for Android and iOS devices are also in development. Existing versions of the game were removed from digital retailers in preparation for ''The Definitive Edition'', but Rockstar soon announced they would be relisted. A core team of six fans reverse-engineered the game and released it as an
executable In computing, executable code, an executable file, or an executable program, sometimes simply referred to as an executable or binary, causes a computer "to perform indicated tasks according to encoded instruction (computer science), instructi ...
in December 2020, having worked on it since May; titled ''reVC'', the project allows the game to be unofficially ported to platforms such as
Nintendo Switch The is a hybrid video game console developed by Nintendo and released worldwide in most regions on March 3, 2017. The console itself is a Tablet computer#Gaming tablet, tablet that can either be docking station, docked for use as a home video ...
,
PlayStation Vita The PlayStation Vita (PS Vita, or Vita) is a handheld video game console developed and marketed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on December 17, 2011, and in North America, Europe, and other international territo ...
, and Wii U. Take-Two issued a
DMCA takedown The Online Copyright Infringement Liability Limitation Act (OCILLA) is United States federal law that creates a conditional 'safe harbor' for online service providers (OSP) (a group which includes internet service providers (ISP) and other Inter ...
for the project in February 2021. In April, Theo, a New Zealand-based developer who maintained a fork of the source code, filed a counter-notice on GitHub, claiming that the code does not contain any original work owned by Take-Two; per DMCA rules regarding disputes, Theo's content was restored after two weeks. On 10 June 2021, the team behind ''reVC'' filed a counter-notice; per DMCA rules regarding disputes, the source code was restored after two weeks. In September 2021, Take-Two filed a lawsuit in California against the programmers, asserting that the projects constitute copyright infringement.


Notes


References


Sources

* * * *


External links

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