Grand Theft Auto: Vice City (2002) (VG)

Director:

Navid Khonsari

Writers:

Dan Houser (written by) &
James Worrall (written by) ...

Release Date:

8 November 2002 (UK)

Genre:

Action | Comedy | Crime | Thriller

Tagline:

Welcome to Vice City. Welcome to the 80s.

Plot:

After being released from jail, Tommy Vercetti left Liberty City for Vice City--a city overrun by the mob. Now, Tommy is out to make the Vice City his home.

Plot Keywords:

Mafia | Drugs | Cocaine | Corruption | Criminal

Awards:

6 wins & 2 nominations

Cast

Ray Liotta	...	Tommy Vercetti (voice)
William Fichtner	...	Ken Rosenberg (voice) (as Bill Fichtner)
Tom Sizemore	...	Sonny Forelli (voice)
Dennis Hopper	...	Steve Scott (voice)
Burt Reynolds	...	Avery Carrington (voice)
Luis Guzmán	...	Ricardo Diaz (voice)
Philip Michael Thomas	...	Lance Vance (voice)
Robert Davi	...	Colonel Juan Garcia Cortez (voice)
Danny Trejo	...	Umberto Robina (voice)
Gary Busey	...	Phil Cassidy (voice)
Lee Majors	...	'Big' Mitch Baker (voice)
Fairuza Balk	...	Mercedes Cortez (voice)
Danny Dyer	...	'Kent' Paul (voice)
Kevin McKidd	...	Jezz Torrent (voice)
Deborah Harry	...	Delores (voice)

Also Known As:

Grand Theft Auto IV (USA) (working title)
Grand Theft Auto: Miami (USA) (working title)
Vice City (USA) (short title)

Country:

USA | UK

Language:

English | Spanish

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

DTS

Certification:

Singapore:M18 | Australia:MA | Finland:K-18 | France:-16 | Germany:16 | Ireland:18 | New Zealand:R18 | Sweden:18 | UK:18 | USA:M

Filming Locations:

Miami, Florida, USA

Company:

Rockstar North

Trivia:

The logo of the Vice City developers, Rockstar Games and Rockstar North, can be found around the city: *On Dwaine's T-shirt *On the door of the V-Rock recording studio *"Roxor International's" logo is shaped like the Rockstar logo *An airline is called "DMAir Rockstar", Rockstar North was formerly known as DMA Design *In the old water channel *In the shop window of Funeraria Romero *On a sign in Fort Baxter *On the jacket of the Ammu-Nation seller

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): During the cut-scene for the mission "Naval Engagement", Danny Trejo, the voice actor of Umberto Robina, mispronounces Umberto's last name as "Robino".

Quotes:

Fernando Martinez: People say to me, "Fernando, are you bilingual?" and I say, "I try anything once."

Movie Connections:

Spoofs Jaws (1975)

Soundtrack:

One for the Treble

My first foray into GTA and I love it.

I never bought GTA3, which dominated the sales charts for a long time (and still does). I felt it wasn't my kind of game. The off-shoot of GTA3, GTA:Vice City was announced and the millions who bought GTA3 were counting the days for its arrival.

As a frequent visitor to IGN.com, all the posters could talk about was this game. I originally planned to buy GTA3 as soon as I finished one of my other games, but after seeing the track listing of licensed songs for Vice City, the 80's theme, and reading a million posts about it, I pre-ordered it and got it on its first day of sale. Although I won't call it the best game I've ever played, it's in my Top 10. Vice City is an outstanding game.

Vice City is about Tommy Vercetti (voiced by Ray Liotta) who has been released from jail after doing 15 years. He is sent by Sonny Forelli to work in 1986 Vice City (Miami). You'll be doing all sorts of illegal activities, such as murder, stealing military equipment and microchips, drug dealing, sniping, and robbery. You'll even blow up buildings for other bosses. Eventually, you too can make Tommy a boss. It's just like The Sopranos. You can even do non-illegal things like drive people around in taxis, save hurt people with an ambulance, and deliver pizza. There's "Fast And The Furious" street racing, dirt bike racing, helicopters, boats, you name it, it can be driven.

You'll meet up with tons of characters who'll pay for your successful missions. which helps you buy property that will allow you to get rich. The game is totally non-linear, so if you don't feel like doing a mission, you could be a taxi driver or just cruise the well-done and huge city that looks just like Miami (I've been there, it's eerily similar). There's so much stuff to do, even doing crazy jumps, rampages (where you do some mass murdering of thugs), or the fabled hidden packages.

The graphics do the job, but the gameplay is what counts. It has a few niggles but doesn't detract. Even if you fail, you'll want to keep trying a mission until you succeed; that's why this game is so good, sooner or later, you'll win the mission. The sound is the best I've ever heard. You'll hear tons of voice clips just by bumping into the denizens of Vice City. The voice acting done by the likes of Liotta, Burt Reynolds, Luis Guzman, William Fichtner, and Dennis Hopper is excellent. The real gem is all the licensed 80's music. There are several radio stations that play all sorts of different hit songs from the era, so you'll get to hear some of your all-time favorites (all listed in the manual). Don't forget the talk radio (I just love DJ Amy). All in all, it delivers a great idea of what people in 2002 think what 1986 was like.

Yes, the game is controversial in nature so it's not for kids, but for adults or teens who do have responsible parents who love and teach their children right and wrong and are active in their lives, this game is indeed the PlayStation 2's defining moment, as Todd Zuniga put it. I'm sure both GTA3 and Vice City are great, but VC is the one to get. The 80's still rule!