Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories

After the horrible letdown of Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories, Rockstar Games decides to release a better version of Vice City, which is the portable Vice City Stories. This game is much better, and the graphics are improved. Also, the city in Vice City Stories seems a lot bigger than it was in Vice City, and the game-play doesn't get boring as easily as it did in Vice City and Liberty City Stories. The only cons I can think of are aiming your gun, and weak missions. Otherwise it's pretty fun, and it makes Vice City look super boring, which it kind of is. If you are a fan of Grand Theft Auto, you should definitely check this game out.

Beautifully done, a great storyline, characters well developed, awesome music and the best decade. It's a shame that only came out for PSP and PS2 (I own it for this last one), because you can tell that it has a lot of effort in it and not so many people played it. Even so, it never had any remaster or a planned one is on sight. Only con: it's so glowy. I'm going to be blind. Definitely worth it. Play it, for Pete's sake. It has Phil Collins in concert.

"Before the lights, the coke, and Tommy Vercetti... there was Victor Vance. And he had something to lose."

Vice City Stories isn't just a prequel-it's a gut punch with heart. It takes the neon-soaked chaos of Vice City and grounds it in something rare for GTA: honor. This is Victor Vance's story, and unlike most GTA protagonists, Vic isn't trying to rule the world-he's trying to take care of his broken family. That's what makes this game hit differently.

Let's break it down:

Setting: Vice City. 1984. Two years before Tommy Vercetti turns the place into a cocaine-fueled empire.

This is a dirtier, hungrier, more vulnerable Vice City. There's construction still happening. Crime is on the rise, but it's not yet organized. It's in chaos-and you're right in the middle of it.

Gameplay Upgrades: Empire Building: You take over businesses, defend them from rivals, and turn your street hustle into a criminal empire. It's like San Andreas' turf wars, but evolved.

Improved Combat: Finally, you can swim and climb in Vice City! (Something the original didn't allow.) Vehicle Variety: Jet skis, helicopters, muscle cars-you name it. And the handling? Smooth.

Soundtrack: Pure 80s fire. From INXS to Phil Collins (who literally appears in-game). This isn't just background music-it's a time machine.

Characters: Victor Vance (voiced by Dorian Missick) is a man's man. Military background, tough but loyal, principled but fierce. He's doing all of this to care for his sick brother Lance (yes, that Lance).

Lance Vance is back, and even more of a reckless wildcard here.

You also meet a colorful cast of hustlers, psychos, and crooks like Reni Wassulmaier, Armando Mendez, and Phil Cassidy. It's classic GTA: twisted, funny, and dangerously real.

Why It's a 10 Out of 10: Vice City Stories is everything a prequel should be: ✅ It deepens the lore.

✅ It makes you care.

✅ It enhances your view of the original Vice City.

It doesn't just rest on neon and nostalgia-it builds something bolder. There's genuine emotion in Vic's journey. He's not a power-hungry maniac. He's trying to survive. And when the world pushes him? He pushes back-hard.

Final Word: Vice City Stories is criminally underrated. It's cinematic. It's brutal. It's stylish.

And it's arguably the most human GTA story ever told.

10 out of 10. No hesitation.

the one thing that really struck me about this game was the attention to detail to fussiness for example with the empire building which basically has you attacking a fussiness similar to the gang wars engine on san andreas then once it has been wiped out of any remaining gang members you are able to buy it. then you are able to choose what fussiness type you want from protection, loan shark, prostitution, drugs, smuggling and robbery then you choose if you want it to be a small fussiness medium or large. this is a great add on to the game and i hope is used for future games overall i would give this game an eight out of 10

I'll say right now that I've had a LOT of fun with "Vice City Stories", and a huge part of the game's draw is returning to Vice City (it was fun to witness the architectural changes in the prequel setting). A nice new addition was the Empire building feature, which spiced things up but still made it satisfyingly more-of-the-same. The soundtrack is (again) terrific, the satire and talk radio shows are as much fun as ever (I need more Billy Joe and Bobby Ray) and the story's a departure for GTA; sometimes it works, others not so much. But then they had to go and integrate Phil Collins into the actual story - a stroke of brillliance, and I love that Phil was down with this.

What this game really proves is that Vice City is an awesome place in which to set a GTA game (take note, Rockstar).

Many hours of fun.

9/10