0 Review Grand Theft Auto Vice City | Games 2013

Review Grand Theft Auto Vice City | Games 2013
Review Grand Theft Auto Vice City | Games 2013

December 18, 2012 Incredibly, it’s already been 10 years since Rockstar’s Grand Theft Auto: Vice City hit store shelves. Just as Vice City on PS2 was a trip down 1980s memory lane with plenty of pastel pink and not-so-subtle references to films like Scarface, this celebratory 10th anniversary iOS port also takes us down a video game memory lane. Nostalgia-ception! In an age of distinct open-world games like Batman: Arkham City, Skyrim and Far Cry 3 it’s interesting to remember that this wide-open structure was still truly revolutionary in 2002.

This iOS port is the complete Vice City experience. Gamers play as Tommy Vercetti, famously voiced by Ray Liotta, in 1980s Vice City, a fictionalized version of Miami. Tommy rises to the top of Miami’s criminal underworld in a story more than a little reminiscent of Tony Montana in Scarface. All the missions, expertly-acted cutscenes, vehicles (over 100) and spot-on soundtrack selections (several hours worth) are present.

All of the bad found in Vice City returns along with the good, however. Expect to repeat very lengthy and boring driving sections any time you fail a mission. Also expect to spend an inordinate amount of time simply driving to and fro to activate missions. The city itself, which seemed to so perfectly capture the 80s vibe 10 years ago, now looks blocky and empty. Vice City has not aged as elegantly as many games from the early 2000s era.

The iOS port’s improved graphics do help to button up Vice City’s visual fidelity. On Retina Display devices Vice City iOS pushes revamped character models, lighting effects and high-res textures,

Grand Theft Auto: Vice City

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Justin Davis Says

Quality iOS Ports

but don’t expect a miracle – this is still the same 10-year-old Vice City, just sharpened up. The framerate largely holds up, even in moments of intense action, besides when transitioning from one island to another. Here the game can hitch for sometimes seconds at a time, presumably as it loads in the new geometry.

Things are not going to end well for these Cubans.

Even with a console controller in hand, Vice City could sometimes be tricky to control. Driving, shooting, pulling the E-break to slide around a corner… it’s a complex and full-featured game system that uses a lot of buttons. There’s simply no way around it. Thankfully, unlike the iOS port of GTA3, this time around players can fully customize the on-screen virtual buttons. After wrestling with the controls for a while I made the fire and steering buttons larger and moved less important buttons like the car horn out of the way. It helped make the experience much more controllable.

An improved auto-aim system also help ease potential control frustrations. Yes, moving, aiming and firing aren’t ideal, but generally speaking if you point Tommy towards an enemy and pull the trigger your bullets will find the right mark. In some ways it makes some of Vice City’s shootouts a little too easy. But since most people will likely pick up this port just to faff about the city itself, it seems right to err on the side of generous auto-aim.

The Verdict

It’s obvious a lot of care and attention went into this 10th anniversary port. The flexible control options, improved visuals and features like custom soundtrack support and cloud saves are all very welcome. Running around Vice City wreaking havoc on your tiny mobile device is impressive and can still be very fun. But Vice City is 10 years old. and it shows. And playing with touch controls, refined through they may be, is not an ideal way to experience Rockstar’s classic.

Good Luck Everyone :)

Review Grand Theft Auto Vice City | Games 2013

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