Grand Theft Auto: Vice City (2002)

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 Vice City his home.

Writers:

Dan Houser, James Worrall

Stars:

Ray Liotta, William Fichtner, Tom Sizemore

15 wins & 19 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Ray Liotta	...	Tommy Vercetti (voice)
William Fichtner	...	Ken Rosenberg (voice) (as Willian Fichtner)
Tom Sizemore	...	Sonny Forelli (voice)
Dennis Hopper	...	Steve Scott (voice)
Burt Reynolds	...	Avery Carrington (voice)
Luis Guzmán	...	Ricardo Diaz (voice) (as Luis Guzman)
Philip Michael Thomas	...	Lance Vance (voice)
Robert Davi	...	Colonel Juan Cortez (voice)
Danny Trejo	...	Umberto Robina (voice)
Gary Busey	...	Phil Cassidy (voice)
Lee Majors	...	Mitch Baker (voice)
Fairuza Balk	...	Mercedes Cortez (voice)
Danny Dyer	...	Kent Paul (voice)
Kevin McKidd	...	Jezz Torrent (voice)
Debbie Harry	...	Taxi Controller (voice) (as Deborah Harry)

Storyline

After being released from prison, Tommy Vercetti, a former mobster, is sent to the sunny and dangerous Vice City. When a deal within the city goes horribly wrong, Tommy embarks on a jorney across the city to reclaim what is rightfully his, no matter how many lives it takes.

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Plot Keywords:

gun | hammer | neo noir | retro | single player | 

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Taglines:

Welcome to Vice City. Welcome to the 80s.

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Comedy | Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Certificate:

M

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Rockstar Games

Country:

UK USA Austria

Language:

English Spanish Haitian French

Release Date:

29 October 2002 (USA)

Also Known As:

Grand Theft Auto IV

Filming Locations:

Miami, Florida, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Rockstar North, Rockstar Games, Rockstar Vienna

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

DTS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.47:1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The game was produced by Rockstar Games, whose logo is visible in several places in town. It can even be seen as a constellation in the eastern sky at night and a swimming pool on Starfish Island.

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Goofs

During the cut-scene before the mission "Boomshine Saigon", Phil gets his right arm blown off. However, at the end of the mission when Tommy drops him off at the hospital, Phil's left arm is gone instead.

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Quotes

Mr. Zoo: They made me say "I love you".
DJ Amy Sheckenhausen: Oh, I made my boyfriend say that and he slept with my best friend. See, now we're bonding.

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Alternate Versions

There are three different versions of this game for the PlayStation 2, released in this order: Original Stand-Alone, Original Double Pack, and Haitian-Friendly (available as Stand-Alone or Double Pack). The differences between each are listed below. 1. Original Stand-Alone (bar code #10425 27145, Black disc banner): This is the version that came out on release day, October 29, 2002. 2. Original Double Pack (bar code #10425 27300, Red disc banner): This version can be found in the Grand Theft Auto III and Vice City combo package. When putting this package together, Rockstar Games took the time to get rid of the major glitches from the original version, as well make some other additional changes.

• The "Trial By Dirt" mini-game has been altered to make it easier. The rain, Haitians on motorcycles, and barrels won't show up when you do it the first time. The second time around, the barrels will appear. If you beat your best time, rain will appear on your next attempt. If you beat your best time again, the Haitians on motorcycles will appear an your next attempt. Also, they fixed a glitch which caused the stats for that mission to not show up until you played "Test Drive" (the mini-game with the Landstalker), and only with the same time as that mini-game. This was basically a minor problem since it didn't affect getting 100% completion or cause other problems in the game.
• The Lionel Ritchie song "Running With The Night" (on the Flash-FM radio station) has been removed. It is unknown whether Mr. Ritchie or his record company chose to have the song removed.
• Many weapons have been renamed due to the fact the the original names were trademarked, and permission was obviously not obtained originally (or Rockstar Games chose to avoid having to pay any more royalty fees to the individual gun manufacturers). The Colt .45 is now the Pistol, the Python is now the .357, the Spaz Shotgun is now the S.P.A.S. 12, the Ingram Mac 10 is now the Mac, the Uzi 9mm is now the Uz-I, the MP5 is now the MP, the Ruger is now the Kruger, and the PSG-1 is now the .308 Sniper. Also some graphical changes were made to some of the weapons which can be seen when at the AmmuNation.
• It is now easier to get the cop uniform in the Washington Beach Police Station as the number of cops wandering around on the first floor or the locker room have been reduced. This greatly reduces your chances of getting shot at while trying to nab the uniform because you get a 2-Star wanted level as soon as you enter the locker room (the wanted level will go away when you get the uniform).
• The Detonator Bug has been fixed. The Detonator Bug in the Original Version occurs when using a car bomb or Remote Grenades in conjunction with Infinite Ammo (either with cheats or by getting 100% completion). After using the car bomb or Remote Grenades, you are stuck on the detonator because the detonator wasn't meant to have any ammo and the game gets confused when using the remote with Infinite Ammo on.
• The blurry vision in "Boomshine Saigon" is far less in the Double Pack version, although the screen will still swerve around.
• In the opening cutscene for "Recruitment Drive" (one of the movie studio missions), the big breasted woman with the pasties is now wearing a halter top instead. 3. Haitian-Friendly (Stand-Alone: bar code #10425 27388, Black disc banner; Double Pack: bar code #10425 21383, Red disc banner): More than a year after the original release of the game, a lot of Haitian-Americans got mad about how they were represented in Vice City. This prompted Rockstar Games to create a new version to remove or alter references about Haitians within the game. This version was released in early 2004 and comes as a Stand-Alone as well as being part of later runs of the Double Pack. The Greatest Hits copies of Vice City are also Haitian-Friendly.
• References to Haitians have been either altered or removed in the following missions: "Guardian Angels" (given by Colonel Cortez), "Two Bit Hit" (given by Avery Carrington), "Cannon Fodder" (given by Umberto Robina), "Naval Engagement" (given by Umberto Robina), and "Trojan Voodoo" (given by Umberto Robina). In all fairness, references to Cubans have been either altered or removed from the following missions given by Auntie Poulet: "Juju Scramble", "Bombs Away!", and "Dirty Lickin's".
• The Tear Gas Grenades that were behind the Washington Beach Police Station have now been replaced by regular Grenades.
• The "Trial By Dirt" stat glitch which was fixed in the Original Double Pack version appears to have returned.

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Connections

Followed by Grand Theft Auto: Episodes from Liberty City (2009)

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Soundtracks

Fist Fury
(uncredited)
by Rockstar's Lovefist
Written by Allan Walker
Rockstar's Lovefist appear courtesy of Rockstar North

User Reviews

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!