GRAND THEFT AUTO: VICE CITY (PS2)


It's a blast from the past...

By MARTIN KINGSLEY

The 80s. Sharp threads, funky tunes, fast cars. These words define the 80s.

Strangely enough, though, despite the massive amounts of material on offer, almost no-one has thought to exploit the era as a source of inspirational gaming, unless you count the largely forgettable Interstate 86 (a sequel to the funky driving/action game Interstate 76).

Up until now.

With Vice City, Rockstar have set a new benchmark, both for themselves and for the industry. If GTA3 was a revolution, than Vice City may be considered an evolution, a refinement of excellence into perfection. Or as near as you can humanly get to perfection, anyway.

You play Tommy Vercetti, a mobster who went down for a murder rap and stayed quiet, instead of squealing in exchange for a lesser sentence. The year is now 1986, and you've been released.

While the Family is not exactly enthused to hear that you're back, they send you (Tommy) down to Vice City to "prepare" the area for the arrival of the Mafia. To do so, they give you a fat wad of cash that is going to be used to fund the Family's first big drug deal in the area.

Unfortunately, things do not go to plan, and you are betrayed and left with no cash, no drugs and the Godfather breathing down your neck like there is no tomorrow. To reveal anymore of the plot would be a crime, so I'll leave it at that. Suffice to say, there are more twists and turns than in an episode of the Sopranos...

First off, the voice acting is uniformly excellent, even more so than in GTA3. Unlike in GTA3, Tommy is not a mute, indeed it would be fair to say that he can get exceedingly vocal at some points.

Voiced by the ever-dependable Ray Liotta (Hannibal, Goodfellas), he comes across perfectly as the rough, tough gangster-man he should be.

Bill Finchter plays your coke fiend lawyer Ken with feeling, and Phillip M. Thomas (Miami Vice) reprises his role as an 80s sidekick, playing the part of Lance Vance, your partner in crime.

Rockstar have gone for the star treatment this time, with names such as Gary Busey (Under Siege, Lethal Weapon), Dennis Hopper (Speed, Waterworld), Tom Sizemore (Saving Private Ryan, Black Hawk Down, Natural Born Killers) and Jenna Jameson (Uh… Let's not go there [Good idea - Ed]) showing up in supporting and major roles.

The radio stations are amazing, even better than in GTA3, if that's possible. There are tons upon tons of 80s hits being played, including a couple by Michael Jackson. I spent 2 whole hours parked on the golf course, away from the traffic noise, just listening to the radio.

According to Rockstar, there is about 8 hours worth of music in total and, believe me, all of it's worth listening to. What's really cool, though, is how the whole GTA timeline works out. If you listen to the Vrock radio station, you can hear a younger version of Chatterbox host Lazlow (he's a real person, would you believe?) laying down some heavy beats.

During the ad breaks, he constantly insists that he is a hardcore rebel, promotes the revolution and, ultimately, comes across as a complete wimp. It's possibly one of the funniest things I've ever heard, especially when you load up its precursor - GTA3 - and listen to the modern Lazlow kowtowing to Donald Love's total airwave supremacy.

In keeping with the whole evolution theme, Rockstar have adopted an approach that goes along the lines of "if it ain't broke, don't fix it".

Instead of totally re-coding the engine, they have paid attention to the little details that do not seriously impact upon you during play. By themselves, anyway.

Together, though, all of these little, insignificant details come together to form a significant part of your gaming experience. Things like the evening sun glinting off car windscreens and water drops forming on the camera lens as you drive through a morning shower.

Interestingly enough, the same effect is used when you apply a chainsaw to someone's head, but it ain't water that's spattering the screen, let me tell you.

Speaking of chainsaws, it's interesting what 12 months of intensive 3D rendering can achieve, weaponry wise. This is probably the area of the game that has suffered the most from redesign, gameplay wise. In GTA3, you could carry as many weapons as you liked, but many complained that there wasn't enough firepower to go around.

Unlike some developers, (Romero, I'm talking to you!) Rockstar has listened to your complaints and has answered the call in grand style. There are now around 35 weapons on offer, however, you can only carry about 5 at a time. 1 melee weapon, 1 handgun, 1 machine gun, 1 explosive, etc.

Off the top of my head, the weapons on offer include:

· Screwdriver: Assault, handyman style.
· Hammer: Is there a carpenter in the house?
· Meat cleaver: Prime cuts only.
· Tomahawk: The axe-murderers friend.
· Baseball bat: "Hit me out of the ballpark!"
· Chainsaw: Nice, but surprisingly unsatisfying and slow.
· Colt .45: The original and the best.
· Ingram MAC-10: Sleek little automatic, but chews up ammo like popcorn.
· Shotgun: "This is my boom stick."
· Ruger assault rifle: Wartime antique, but packs a punch.
· M-16: Official assault rifle of the US Army.

There are plenty more weapons, but this is just a basic idea.

As you get access to more powerful firearms, the previous gun of that type disappears in favor of its more powerful descendant. For instance, when you get the M16, you lose the Ruger.

Not that it matters, because you can always get it back. While it may seem a little stupid at first, once you realize that it's actually easier to switch between weapons when you've only got 5 to choose from, then it all suddenly becomes clear.

Uhh… I'm sure I've forgotten something… Oh yeah, I've got it: Cars.

This game isn't called 'Grand Theft Auto' for nothing. The vehicles, all of them, just scream 80s styling. Some of the cars are predecessors to cars featured in GTA3, like the Banshee. It's amazing to see the changes in car design that have taken place between then and now.

The Banshee of modern times is an ultra-sleek sports car that resembles, in more ways than one, a Dodge Viper GTS, but in Vice City, hard lines are the name of the game. That doesn't have a lot of influence on speed, though. The Banshee absolutely flies! And I haven't even started on the pseudo-Lamborghini…

The biggest addition vehicle-wise is that of motorbikes. Yep, motorbikes. Mopeds, dirt bikes, street bikes, Harleys and various other two-wheelers, they're all there. And I have to say that, for an engine that wasn't designed to accommodate two-wheeled physics, the GTA engine does a marvelous job.

I would even go so far as to say that the physics are better than in some dedicated motorbike racing games. It's a pure adrenalin rush to hurtle through side streets on a dirt bike, taking pot shots with a MAC-10 at the similarly equipped object of your fury.

The DualShock2 controller helps in this regard, with the left analog stick used to balance yourself on the bike, while the X button allows you to dictate how fast you go.

It's quite easy to pull off both front and back wheelies, and within minutes you'll be bouncing around Miam-- I mean Vice City, like Evil Knievel at the height of his career.

Boats now play a larger part in the game, almost to the point of becoming common, and helicopters/planes have become prized vehicles of choice if you're lucky enough to find them.

Indeed, it is rumored that once you find all 100 hidden packages you receive a fully armored ARMY helicopter packed to the gills with heavy weaponry.

To complement this newfound aerial freedom, indoor environments have become a small, but important part of the game. You can now walk into your hotel, run up the four flights of stairs and waltz into your fabulously decorated apartment, complete with kitsch coffee table and wardrobe.

While we're on the subject of indoor environments, I'd better talk about the real-estate business Tommy sets up about halfway through the storyline.

You can actually buy select businesses, and after completing a few missions, they begin earning money for you. Say goodbye to belting helpless pedestrians over the head for loose change, and say hello to protection money.

For instance, once you gain the film studio, you can start producing porno films. The studio makes you about $7000 every 24 hours (1 hour in-game equals 1 minute real time). All you've gotta do is just cruise down there in your funky threads and they'll fall over themselves to make you rich.

While people complain about the lack of morals the GTA series has displayed, I think they've neglected the point of creating such games: They're designed for adults.

What do these upstanding members of the community think we have ratings for?

Do they honestly believe that having a white piece of adhesive material with the words "FOR MATURE AUDIENCES ONLY" plastered all over the packaging is supposed to improve the quality of the box art?

There is a very simple solution to your problems if you don't like the content: Don't buy the game.

That's it. Just don't buy it. End of story.

For those of us who appreciate dark humor, excellent gameplay, attention to detail and a fun atmosphere, Vice City is for you.

Those of you who have spent a lot of time on planet Politically Correct are advised to stay well away, lest they have their moral sensibilities offended. Now, where did I put Texas Chainsaw Massacre?

ORIGINALITY 95%
SOUND/GRAPHICS 90%
PLAYABILITY 100%
ADDICTION 100%
ENJOYMENT 100%