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Gamer Galaxy: Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories

Dean Leng (Contact)
Published: Tuesday, November 7, 2006

Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories

Rockstar Games

PSP

Can’t get enough “Miami Vice” reruns? Cherish your ‘Members Only’ jacket? Rockstar has got you covered.

“Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories” is the latest entry to the popular GTA franchise and the second to land on the PSP game station.

Players take on the role of Vic Vance in this 1984-set prequel to “Vice City.”

Joining the military to support his dysfunctional family, Vic soon finds himself unceremoniously booted out and mired in all manner of shady criminal pursuits.

Rockstar’s flimsy attempt at a morally conflicted protagonist fails miserably and results in a less than enthralling story line, which is salvaged only by solid voice work and the trademark lowbrow humor of the series.

Fortunately, most players will be too busy starting gang wars while rocking out to ’80s power ballads to notice the flaws.

“Vice City Stories” offers marked improvements over the last PSP installment, making the game better suited for the portable platform.

If arrested or killed, weapons can be reclaimed for a nominal fee rather than forcing players to waste time scrounging. Checkpoints have been added to the more lengthy side missions. Should the player fail a mission, Trip Skip jumps right into action.

The faster pace of the game lets players pick up their PSP when they have a free moment on the bus and jump into the action without unnecessary delays.

In addition to these tweaks, “Vice City Stories” improves on the go-anywhere, do-anything game play by adding swimming, planes and helicopters. Each is executed surprisingly well, given the limited control scheme of the PSP.

However, the most dramatic addition is, by far, the feature allowing players to build empires.

Properties are scattered around town to be purchased or forcibly taken over. Each can be dedicated to a criminal enterprise (ranging from prostitution to drugs) and improved for a price. As the empire grows, so do incoming revenue and the ire of rival gangs.

Yet, even though players can recruit gang members, rove with a gun-toting entourage, and dutifully protect an empire, the new mechanic doesn’t quite hit the mark. Maintaining an empire can be tedious.

Nevertheless, “Vice City Stories” succeeds in spite of its flaws.

With huge cities to explore, story missions, side missions, empire building and an impressive ’80s sound track with over 100 hit songs from the period, there’s a great deal of game play to be found in this portable package.

But most important of all: Phil Collins makes a cameo. Does it get more ’80s than that?