Overall rating 
3.9 / 5
3.9 / 5
Gameplay 
3.9 / 5
3.9 / 5
Graphics 
3.2 / 5
3.2 / 5
Sound 
4.1 / 5
4.1 / 5
Lasting Appeal 
3.6 / 5
3.6 / 5
11 out of 13(85%)reviewers recommend this product.
Product Reviews
Overall rating 
4 / 5
4 / 5
Gameplay 
4 / 5
4 / 5
Graphics 
4 / 5
4 / 5
Sound 
4 / 5
4 / 5
Lasting Appeal 
4 / 5
4 / 5
HappyGoLucky2099
fromYeeHa, Texas
This game is perfect for:hardcore gamers
GTA: VCS Graphics are Better, Not Great.
PostedApril 26, 2011
Vice City Stories is, again, a prequel, taking place a couple of years prior to the original game. You play as Vic Vance, the brother of central Vice City character Lance Vance. Vic's a strange fellow. When the game begins, he's just joined the army, and he gets off the transport truck at a military base in Vice City. Upon meeting his commanding officer--a borderline psychotic named Jerry Martinez--things start going wrong. We find out that Vic has joined the military to make some money to support his family, specifically his sick brother. But within the first few minutes of the game, you'll find yourself inexplicably picking up drugs for Martinez, killing gang members, and chauffeuring easy women.
Of course, any veteran of this series won't be shocked one bit by missions like these. The trouble here is that the setup for getting Vic into this mess is beyond flimsy. From the get-go, Vic talks about how uncomfortable he is with illegal activities, and yet he does every single illicit thing Martinez asks him to do. If you're someone who doesn't want to do anything illegal, and your boss starts asking you to pick up easy women and hide drugs for him, are you going to just gripe about it and then do it anyway? Not to mention that Vic seems completely willing to run into an apartment complex and start shooting gangsters without even being ordered specifically to do so. He just says, "I'll go get it" (referring to owed money stashed inside one of the apartments) and goes in guns blazing. GTA heroes are never heroes, exactly, but the trick in the past has been that there's been no attempt to play those characters up as sympathetic. They weren't boy scouts--they were gangsters, killers, and drug dealers. Vice City Stories tries to present Vic as a guy who doesn't want to get into that stuff, yet he freely and frequently does throughout the entire game. He mostly comes off as a hypocritical idiot.
Game play - This game was way better then I expected, and its a lot better then Liberty City Stories. There are a few features from San Andreas that are back in Vice City Stories, like swimming, bicycles, and planes/helicopters. There are also a lot of new items and weapons that were never in other GTA's, (e.g. binoculars, and crowbars). One bad thing about this game is it has a lot of glitches, but not as many as the PSP version. Another great thing about this game is the combat; there are a lot of new fighting moves, like grabbing people or snapping their necks.
Graphics - The graphics in this game are slightly better then in LCS, but since it was a game made for the PSP, the graphics are not as good as San Andreas. There are few things in VCS, that look more realistic, for example the fire that comes out of a gun once you fire it.
Sound - The sound in this game is very good. The gunshots sound realistic, also when punching someone it sounds better then in SA. The music in the game is good too.
Value - There are a lot of new side missions in this game to complete when you’re done with all the missions, (e.g. Air Ambulance and Beach Patrol). There are also 99 red balloons (in place of the regular 100 hidden packages) that you have to find and pop by shooting them.
Final Thought - The story is fun and interesting, although the story is not as long as San Andreas, there is still a lot more missions then in LCS, and they are longer, and have more variety. It might have been cool to leave in the multi-player for some two player split-screen fun, but you don't play Grand Theft Auto for multi-player. Overall, Vice City Stories is a good prequel to an excellent classic.
8 of 9 found this review helpful.
Overall rating 
5 / 5
5 / 5
Gameplay 
5 / 5
5 / 5
Graphics 
4 / 5
4 / 5
Sound 
5 / 5
5 / 5
Lasting Appeal 
5 / 5
5 / 5
PynWreck
fromOrange County, California
Great way to finish off the PS2 GTA's.
PostedDecember 20, 2010
As a GTA player since GTA 3, I think this was a great way to finish off the legendary PS2 series. The story is about Vic Vance (Lance Vance's brother; who you either love or hate), a former soldier who got framed for having marijuana in his room. It makes a great prequel to one of the best video games of all time (Vice City), and instead of leaving the city how it was, they change it just the right amount where it feels like a whole different game. I would definitely recommend this game to a friend.
2 of 2 found this review helpful.
Overall rating 
5 / 5
5 / 5
Gameplay 
5 / 5
5 / 5
Graphics 
4 / 5
4 / 5
Sound 
5 / 5
5 / 5
Xavier Diaz
Good Game
PostedAugust 12, 2010
This game isnt like GTA SA but it does stand out. It has surely better things than GTA III. If you like games that take place in the 80's you will sure like this game. At first i wasnt used to it because i played San Sndreas for a long time but after a while it became one of the funnest games ever. This game is worth $14.99 and u should by it. this game shows that it is the most recently made game in the GTA series for ps2. I just hate how you have to write such a long review. i just have 254 more characters before i reach the minimum so i can leave. People i have a facebook as xavier Diaz. If u want more tips and cheats just add me on facebook. Or u can just lok on the internet LOL. So fellow game buyers thanks for listening to what i had to say and have a good day.
1 of 1 found this review helpful.
Overall rating 
5 / 5
5 / 5
Gameplay 
5 / 5
5 / 5
Graphics 
4 / 5
4 / 5
Sound 
5 / 5
5 / 5
Muskrat Love
Another great 80s game
PostedOctober 22, 2008
If you were a fan of Vice City, this is another awesome game but goes back a couple of years from the first vice city. This vice city however is Lance's side of the story. Game is awesome and you will see familiar faces from the 1st vice city. They added new features which is the empire takeover. It's like taking over territories in San Andreas but instead its business takeovers which is awesome. I like it how they put in jobs like the drug deals and robbery. I was disappointed about the robbery like briefcase carrier and bank van. I was hoping to do bank heists like in san andreas and vice city. Loan Shark is great, but disappointed that you steal the same two cars every time I wanted it to be like a list of cars. The payment every day at 16:00 is great, a good way of making money. Storyline is great, graphics kinda stink but I'm that kind of person that likes the variety of fun as in I don't care about graphics I just want the fun of it. The music is awesome if you're a big 80s music fan. Other than that the game is sweet and it's worth $** new, I wouldn't buy it used consider my ps2 is old.
2 of 2 found this review helpful.
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