Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories

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

"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

The Grand theft auto series is simple, straight up, Guilty fun. If you've played one grand theft auto game, you'll know what to do in the next one. you play a character who goes from nothing to owning everything on the map. in Vice city Stories, this is truer than ever.

Victor Vance is a soldier posted at Fort Baxter in vice city. He joined the army not to make something of himself, or to kill people for fun, he did it so he could support his dysfunctional family. after being kicked out of the army for helping his commanding officer, His younger brother lance Vance (who appears in Vice City, a game released in 2002, but takes place in the year 1986) eventually joins him, and the two of them plan to take over vice city and become 2 of the richest men that ever lived.

There's not many faults about this game, except for the tough controls on the Psp (i have yet to get used to the joystick) and the annoying gang attacks once you've got your criminal empire built up. but other than that, the game is pure silver.

9/10

I got two GTAs-GTA San Andreas on ps2 and this on psp and I have to say this is quite a good game. I mean the car stealing isn't as aggressive as in San Andreas and in San Andreas you can scale walls, you can't in this one but it still good. One thing I have noticed is some of the missions are similar to San Andreas for instance the mission 'Jive Drive' is just like the San Andreas mission 'Just Business' and in this the las mission 'Last Stand' is like the first half of the last mission in San Andreas 'End of the Line'. It is quite funny, I think this is more funny than San Andreas. This game is quite good so to any GTA fans buy Vice City Stories. (Oh by the way Vice means corruption so really they should call in Corruption City)