Grand Theft Auto: Vice City
[9] 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.Seeking information, Ken points Tommy towards retired army colonel Juan Garcia Cortez (Robert Davi), who helped set up the exchange.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.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.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.[15] Full production began in late 2001, as Grand Theft Auto III was nearing completion;[16] while early development only involved creating 3D models, executive producer Sam Houser said "it really kicked off at the beginning of 2002" and lasted about nine months.[27] 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.[16] 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 describes as "a party town, all sun and sea and sex, but with that same dark edge underneath".[39] The interplay between Tommy Vercetti and Lance Vance was crafted to be similar to the relationship of Miami Vice's Sonny Crockett and Ricardo Tubbs.[41] The team enjoyed 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".[17] In developing the radio stations, the team wanted to reinforce the game's setting by collating a variety of songs from the 1980s, which required extensive research.[42] The radio stations were published by Epic Records in seven albums—known collectively as Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Official Soundtrack Box Set—alongside the game in October 2002.Producer and talk show host Lazlow Jones stated that the small percentage of station listeners that actually call in are "insane"; in Vice City, the developers "bumped it up a notch", emphasising the extremity.[9][14] IGN's Douglass Perry declared it "one of the most impressive games of 2002",[49] and GameSpy's Raymond Padilla named the experience "deep, devilishly enjoyable, and unique".[49] Game Informer's Matt Helgeson found the missions to be more complex,[47] and AllGame's Scott Alan Marriott felt that the storyline was improved as a result.[3] Marriott of AllGame named Vice City an "unforgettable listening experience",[3] and Perry of IGN declared the music as "the most impressive list of songs in a game".[47] Some reviewers recognised an improved draw distance over Grand Theft Auto III, although many identified frame rate drops during hardware-intense sequences.AllGame's Mark Hoogland praised the improved car details, environment textures, and weather effects;[52] GameSpot's Greg Kasavin echoed similar remarks, noting occasional frame rate drops.[54] IGN's Steve Butts found the port's system requirements to be reasonable, unlike Grand Theft Auto III, and praised the faster load times.Destructoid's Chris Carter felt that they "[suit] the 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".[58] IGN's Justin Davis praised the updated character models, lighting, and textures,[2] and Touch Arcade's Eric Ford noted that the "visuals are improved but not in a drastic manner".[104] When New York mayor Michael Bloomberg threatened distributor Take-Two Interactive with legal action, the company apologised and removed offensive statements from future copies of the game.[105] In January 2004, North Miami's majority Haitian-American 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".[112] In September 2006, Thompson brought another $600 million lawsuit against Cody Posey, Rockstar Games, Take-Two Interactive, and Sony Computer Entertainment.[121] Mike Snider of USA Today wrote that Vice City "raised the bar for video games", citing its interactivity, violence, and soundtrack.[126] 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.[127] Grand Theft Auto: Vice City was released for Windows on 13 May 2003 in North America and 16 May in Europe,[128] supporting higher screen resolutions and draw distance, and featuring more detailed textures.[136] For its tenth anniversary in 2012, Vice City was ported to mobile devices by War Drum Studios, building on the Windows version with enhanced visuals and a customisable layout.[150] A team of Russian modders released an unofficial port of the game to Grand Theft Auto IV's engine in January 2025, aiming to address perceived issues with The Definitive Edition.
Vice City (Jay Rock song)Vice City (XXXTentacion song)Developer(s)Rockstar NorthPublisher(s)Rockstar GamesProducer(s)Leslie BenziesProgrammer(s)Artist(s)Writer(s)Dan HouserComposer(s)Grand Theft AutoEngineRenderWarePlatform(s)PlayStation 2WindowsMac OS XAndroidFire OSGenre(s)Action-adventureSingle-playeraction-adventure gameGrand Theft Auto seriesGrand Theft Auto IIIMiami BeachTommy Vercettidrug dealthird-person perspectiveopen worldfreely roamCubansHaitiansbiker gangscrack epidemicMafiosodrug lordsglam metalScarfaceMiami Vicegaming publicationssixth generation of console gamingbest video games ever madebest-selling PlayStation 2 gamesprequelVice City StoriesColt PythonM60 machine gunMinigunfirst-person viewsniper riflerocket launcherdrive-by shootingsfirearms dealersauto-aimBody armourrespawnswantedhead-up displaymilitaryvigilantefire fightingparamedic servicetaxi cabfilm studioRay LiottaTom SizemoreWilliam FichtnerRobert DaviDanny DyerPhilip Michael ThomasBurt Reynoldsdrug kingpinLuis GuzmánSam Houser3D modelsElectronic Entertainment ExpoCapcomRockstar Games LauncherNew York CityCarlito's Wayneon lightingsilent protagonistblue screenNavid Khonsarimotion capturestop motionpolygonstexturescharacter physicsThe GodfatheractionSonny CrockettRicardo TubbscutscenesEpic Recordstalk radioLazlow Jonescall inMetacriticAllGameEurogamerGame InformerGameRevolutionGameSpotGameSpyaverageClaudeGame RevolutionJeff Gerstmanndraw distanceframe rateartificial intelligencecameraDestructoidPocket GamerTouchArcadeDigital SpyThe TelegraphNowGamerMark Brown6th Annual Interactive Achievement AwardsConsole Action/Adventure Game of the Year