# Is Vice City Worth Playing in 2021? An In\-Depth 2600 Word Guide

- Canonical: https://33rdsquare.com/is-vice-city-worth-playing-in-2021-an-in-depth-2600-word-guide/
- Published: 2023-10-22
- Author: Nelson Ayers
- Categories: [Business & Worth](https://33rdsquare.com/category/games/worth/)

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The short answer is yes – I highly recommend giving Vice City a spin even today. This iconic 2002 open-world game remains a blast thanks to its slick 80s vibe, stellar soundtrack, engaging missions, and fun gameplay. For both nostalgic fans and new players, Vice City is absolutely still worth your time.

Let‘s take a comprehensive look at why this classic Grand Theft Auto entry still holds up incredibly well nearly 20 years later.

## Introduction to the Neon-Soaked 80s World

Vice City‘s setting and ambience are its biggest strengths. The sprawling urban map brings 1980s Miami to life – you‘ll cruise through art deco hotels and nightclubs under the glow of neon while listening to Hall & Oates and Judas Priest.

As Tommy Vercetti, you‘ve just been released from prison after a 15 year stretch. But a big drug deal goes wrong, leaving you in debt to the mob. To get back on top, you‘ll need to rebuild your criminal empire by taking over businesses and carrying out hits across this stunning recreation of a long lost era.

Like all GTA games, you have freedom to tackle story missions at your own pace. In between, you can cause chaos by stealing cars, getting in shootouts with police, or just exploring every nook and cranny Vice City has to offer.

Let‘s dig into the key factors that make Vice City such an engaging experience even today.

## Satisfying Gameplay Mechanics That Stand the Test of Time

Despite releasing all the way back in 2002, Vice City‘s core gameplay holds up incredibly well even by modern standards. Driving cars around the city remains smooth and enjoyable, especially when cruising in high speed sports cars like the Cheetah or Infernus.

The shooting uses a simple lock-on mechanic where pressing R1 locks onto a target, then pressing X fires your weapon. This removes the need for precise aiming or take cover mechanics. While dated, it gets the job done during frantic shootouts with rival gangs or police.

Melee combat is also simple but visceral – you can lock onto targets for punches and kicks, or smack them with blunt weapons like baseball bats or golf clubs. Sprinting into pedestrians to knock them down is always amusing.

Most missions follow familiar open-world formulas – drive to a location, take out a target, escape from the police, etc. But Rockstar‘s tight mission design provides significant variety over 25+ main story missions and many enjoyable side activities.

Overall, despite some aged mechanics, Vice City plays great. The inclusion of auto-aim makes the shooting accessible. The driving feels smooth once you get a sporty car with good handling. An intuitive slapping system makes fisticuffs and melee weapons viable and visceral. The gameplay makes cruising Vice City a blast.

## Visuals Bursting with 80s Style and Personality

While graphically dated compared to modern titles, Vice City‘s visuals have a vibrant style and attention to detail that create a palpable sense of place. The bright pastel art deco buildings pop against the backdrop of blue skies and palm trees swaying in the breeze. Neon lights shine from every hotel and nightclub. The real star is the 1980s fashions – ridiculous hairstyles, bold suits, and flashy sports cars straight from Miami Vice.

This table compares Vice City‘s map size and other stats to later GTA games:

| Game | Year | Map Size | Platforms |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Vice City | 2002 | 9.11 sq km | PS2, PC, Xbox, iOS |
| San Andreas | 2004 | 38.2 sq km | PS2, PC, Xbox |
| GTA IV | 2008 | 16.14 sq km | PS3, Xbox 360, PC |
| GTA V | 2013 | 75.84 sq km | PS3, PS4, Xbox, PC |

As you can see, Vice City‘s actual map size is quite modest. But the urban density with towering art deco hotels makes areas feel vibrant. Draw distances are limited compared to today‘s open worlds. But the visual flareOverrides technical limitations.

I‘d recommend playing on PC with mods that upgrade textures and draw distance for the definitive experience. But even in its original form, Vice City remains beautiful thanks to its personality and flair.

## The Definitive Soundtrack of the 1980s

One of Vice City‘s biggest strengths is undoubtedly its amazing licensed 80s soundtrack. The radio stations are packed with unforgettable hits spanning pop, rock, new wave, and other genres. You‘ll hear legendary tunes from Michael Jackson, Pat Benatar, Judas Priest, Rick James, and Iron Maiden as you drive through the city.

Vice City‘s music choices perfectly complement the action and make cruising around absorbing. The stellar voice acting also brings colorful characters like Tommy Vercetti and Lance Vance to life. It‘s no surprise many fans replay Vice City just to re-experience the nostalgic vibes.

Here are just a few of the excellent radio stations and sample artists featured:

**Wave 103** – Hall & Oates, Luther Vandross, Tears For Fears

**Flash FM** – Mister Mister, Night Ranger, Bryan Adams

**V-Rock** – Judas Priest, Motley Crue, Megadeth

**Radio Espantoso** – Africa Bambaataa, Mantronix, Hashim

## A Lengthy Campaign With High Replay Value

Vice City‘s main story takes around 18-22 hours complete depending on your pace. I‘d budget 25-30 hours for a thorough playthrough where you complete major side content like racing missions, delivering pizzas on a moped, and finding hidden packages. With plenty of variety and density, Vice City remains engaging across multiple lengthy play sessions.

The most completionist players can push 40+ hours aiming for 100% completion by acquiring all properties and completing every minor activity. But the story and characters are strong enough that I never find myself getting bored before reaching the credits in this 20-30 hour experience.

Since just exploring the city and experimenting with chaos is so amusing, Vice City offers significant replay value. Trying new approaches to missions or story branches makes additional playthroughs exciting. Discovering hidden interactions and details you missed before also adds fun replay incentives.

## How Vice City Improves Upon Previous GTA Games

The Grand Theft Auto series made huge strides between the 2001 PS2-launch GTA III and later entries like Vice City and 2004‘s San Andreas.

GTA III pioneered the 3D open world experience, but its hand-to-hand combat felt clunky. Vice City significantly improves melee and shooting mechanics for smoother gameplay. Vice City also introduces an intriguing 1980s atmosphere that feels more vibrant and alive compared to GTA III‘s stoic Liberty City.

However, Vice City lacks the narrative depth and customization options introduced in San Andreas. And its map feels small compared to the massive state of San Andreas. But Vice City remains fondly remembered for its stellar soundtrack, memorable protagonist Tommy Vercetti, and satisfying mission design. It expanded on GTA III‘s foundations in crucial ways.

## Approachable Difficulty Compared to Similar Games

With its auto-aim shooting, arcade vehicle handling, and the absence of cover mechanics, Vice City provides satisfying but not punishing difficulty. Most story missions are relatively forgiving with mid-mission checkpoints and placeable healing pickups to recover health. Since Tommy can sustain tons of damage before dying, firefights feel challenging but doable.

That said, a few missions like the RC helicopter bombing run can feel frustrating. Patience and changing up strategies helps overcome difficulty spikes. Relying on melee attacks in close quarters also makes fights manageable.

Achieving 100% completion poses a steeper challenge due to requirements like completing unique stunt jumps. But I‘d say finishing the story is reasonably achievable even for casual or less skilled players while still providing satisfying gameplay depth. If you get stuck, there are ample guides online to help with tricky missions.

## Controversial Violence Typical of the GTA Series

Like all Grand Theft Auto titles, Vice City includes graphic bloody violence, glorification of crime and gang activities, crude sexual humor, drug use references, and other controversial adult content.

Players can go on cop killing rampages, run over pedestrians, blow up cars, and more. While integral to GTA‘s tone, this content understandably concerns parents.

However, Vice City‘s violence and themes seem tame by today‘s standards. The dated graphics, animations, and physics make the violence less visceral than modern games. There is also minimal profanity in the audio.

I recommend mature teenage players and up. But with the right mindset and parental guidance as needed, most can appreciate Vice City as an exaggerated reflection of pop culture and cinema. The mature elements are core to the mob movie vibe.

## Tons of Improvements Thanks to Mods and Remasters

One of Vice City‘s biggest advantages is an active modding community that has created thousands of mods for the PC version over the past two decades. High resolution texture packs can make the game look as good as modern titles at 4K resolution. Other mods add improved weather effects, lighting, shaders, draw distance, and graphical effects that make the game feel new again.

Fun gameplay mods add new vehicles, weapons, restored content, and quality of life improvements. Mods can really enhance Vice City beyond the original experience.

There are also new remasters in development like Vice Cry that use Unreal Engine to recreate the game from the ground up with modern graphics. As classic GTA mods continue to advance, Vice City becomes more accessible and beautiful than ever before.

## Verdict – An Absolute Classic Still Worth Playing Today

Despite its age, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City remains a must-play entry in the storied GTA series. The slick 1980s Miami atmosphere drips with style. The melee, shooting and driving mechanics still feel great after hundreds of hours of gameplay. The soundtrack stands the test of time as one of gaming‘s best. Impactful story moments and amusing action sequences make Vice City an unforgettable experience.

Some dated design choices require adjustment. But with an open mindset and a few visual mods, diving into Vice City today provides an engaging open world adventure with hours of fun. Both nostalgic fans and new players will find this iconic 2002 game still shines bright in 2021. I couldn‘t recommend Vice City more as a must-play entry in gaming history.

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