Played from – to: (2021-11-19 – 2021-11-24) - Beaten on PC via keyboard.
‣ 6/10 – The shirts look like tablecloth.
‣ Game Audio / Soundtrack - 7/10
‣ Graphics – 7/10
‣ Atmosphere – 8/10
‣ Main Story / Characters – 6/10
‣ Side Activities / Exploration – 8/10
‣ AI – 3/10
‣ Ragdolls / Physics – 4/10
‣ Movement – 3/10
‣ Voice acting – 10/10
‣ Combat –4/10
‣ Final notes: Somehow this game feels better, but I am pretty sure it is not because of the phenomenal work done to modernize it, but simply because it was newer and less broken than GTA III. A big help is the setting for the game. Vice City feels and looks more alive and vibrant. The added talking protagonist is also a big help in storytelling. Here the graphical overhaul looks decent, but I still dislike how glossy and doll like majority of the new character models look. Somehow their faces have less emotion and detail which again is impressive to accomplish. For me GTA: Vice City is definitely better than 3, but fundamentally this game is as equally bad in its gameplay design as III was. Missions usually have timers or unfair rules that can quickly end your progress if you mess up. The whole design of missions is bland and needed a rework not just a slight modernization and a new coat of paint. Again this Definitive edition is nowhere near what a definitive edition of a legendary game should be. It’s laughable that Rockstar gave the port to a fucking C tier company that makes mobile game ports, because this remaster feels like an upscaled mobile version of the game. Combat is enhanced. Sure, the game is modernized enough to be playable in this modern age, but the combat is still pathetic and awkward, boring, generic. If they put more effort into making this game modernized, they would have given you a more refined combat, maybe just copy assets from GTA V, at least then it will function properly, because what we have here is the ability to aim where you point your mouse. AMAZING. Again, it is very sad that half of the legendary songs are now missing, but thankfully there are still some bangers left. Lastly, I will just mention that half of the vehicles you use control like wet noodles on ice. Did that make sense? I don’t care half of the missions are ruined, because you have time pressure, and the vehicles control horribly.

This is one of the greatest games of all times and everyones debate is: Vice City or San Andreas? For me I favour San Andreas but Vice City is on that level for a reason. I think the debate came down to one this: The environment. I preferred the SA atmosphere but the vibrant colourful coat of neon all around the city is so beautiful.The story in itself is amazing, the voice acting is legendary (R.I.P Ray), the side stuff ranged from mediocre to amazing and the Miami feel to the game gives you something different. Legendary game among a trilogy that ranks as the best trilogy of all time. Btw I don't care that's it's the definitive edition it's still the same in my book.

Is Vice City still worth playing now? Probably not, even though I like how the missions are quick and immediate compared to later GTA's. I didn't mind the lack of in-mission checkpoints at first, but there were too many times I had to restart due to a bug or the NPC getting stuck in corners. Sometimes, it was hard to understand what I was supposed to do for some missions. I was hoping this Definitive Edition to improve the controls and fix some of the bugs, but it looks like things got even worse.

I am aware that many people are attached to this game as it was a major step forward for the series and showed the potential of open-world games, but it undeniably aged poorly. The plot is alright, but again nothing that will change your life or that I would consider worth revisiting if you have seen enough mob movies.

GTA Vice City era até então, o mais mal visto em meus olhos, até que eu joguei essa versão, e ele é muito bom! O mapa é simplesmente incrível, lindo, relaxante, aconchegante, e que mesmo pra um jogo antigo foi muito bem feito, eu nunca joguei o jogo original, e eu sei que no quesito gráfico os dois jogos são bem diferentes mas eu vou dar minha opinião baseada nesss versão. Essa escolha de cores claras e vivas te fazem ter mais disposição pra jogar, diferente do GTA 3 com todo aquele cinza e aquela cidade morta e sem graça, diferente do GTA 3 tbm, eu não passei raiva no trânsito com esse, e nem tive que me preocupar com a máfia explodindo meu carro com uma 12, a única coisa que me irrita é a quantidade de coisas pra fazer pra alcançar o 100%, mais doq o GTA 3, mas eu vou tentar, enfim, eu definitivamente não esperava gostar tanto desse jogo.

Wife’s Reaction:
“What a bunch of jabronis.”

Your Not-So-Paradise City:
Vice City is now at a decent place after these Definitive Editions dropped in a piss-poor state. The game is an improvement upon GTA3 in every way, and Vice City’s vibes with neon, palm trees, solid voice acting and soundtrack—even with iconic songs missing—elevated the game and made it memorable. But its rigid mission design tainted an otherwise good time.

"What is romance? What is passion? Maybe a sexy t-shirt that says 'Cunnilingus Instructor'. Maybe it is the mudflaps on your truck, with the silhouette of the naked lady. People ask me 'Is it better to be a DJ or a saviour?' I have been both, and trust me, both have their benefits. Now, we remember the great music of the 1980s. You may not believe this, but we did not have the internet then. When you found a magazine with the pictures of the naked ladies, it was heaven! The promised land! You hide it. Your mother comes into the room without knocking, and you are working yourself into a froth. This - this is the American childhood I longed to have, and it is how I have raised my sons." Fernando Martinez

Now yes the game has lost some of the music licenses (Micheal Jackson) but the game still has some of the best songs of all the GTA's. During my play through I did come across a few bugs that were not too extreme like characters running in place or bad pop ins. Playing this game hit me with a huge wave of nostalgia and since I am older I understand the jokes and games story a lot better. I def love Vice City as a location and the Scare face like story (Starting as a errand boy to becoming the King Pin).

PROS:
-Great Story & Great Characters
-Fun Activities and gameplay.
-Great Music.
-Achievements.
-Vice City.

CONS:
-Remove some of the best songs.
-Graphics do look weird at times.
-Bugs & pop ins.
-The original game was removed from the store.

Def worth playing and if this version is not for you hopefully you have the original version.

Progressing from Grand Theft Auto III to Vice City felt like a vibrant breath of fresh air. Stepping out of the grey, cold, dark Liberty city (New York) into the sunny neon-lit sea front of Vice City (Miami) was a massive improvement. Like my playthrough of Grand Theft Auto III Definitive Edition I aimed to complete the game without the use of cheats like I did in the past.

Much has been updated in terms of game mechanics such as the character models, car handling, weapon behaviour and storyline cutscenes. There is also the welcome addition of helicopters and motorbikes. Soaring over Vice City in a helicopter is a great way to traverse and enjoy the islands. Vice City does share some shortcomings with GTA III though, such as: easily being riddled with bullets, not being able to swim, very few markers on the map letting you know where places are and very few Ammunition shops to top up on weapons and armour.

Most of the iconic 80s music remains from the original game with some exceptions such as Michael Jackson’s ‘Billie Jean’. I absolutely loved returning to this game with these tunes in the background. Vice City felt a bit shorter than GTA III, there is a lot to do with side missions, I did as many as I could comfortably do then went for completion. I still have many games (including San Andreas) to work through so I was not going to spend too much time grinding away the side missions as I did in the past.

The storyline and cutscenes are vastly improved from the previous game thanks to the fact Tommy Vercetti (the game’s protagonist) is voiced by the late and great Ray Liotta and not a silent protagonist. Ray is also supported with a star studded cast of actors including Danny Dyer!

Had a great time revisiting Vice City, it brought back many good memories, the game just isn’t as fun without the use of cheats though.

It worked fine in the beginning but after around 3 hours I just gave up with this game. It literally feels like I'm playing a roblox game and the world is just so dead. The NPC's don't even react to the environment and the character models gets more and more annoying the more I play. At some point the combat also gets annoying for the fact that they couldn't even make a decent corsair. Rockstar also censored the word "haitian" as it is "offensive" so whenever it comes up, the characters just go silent for no reason and just stare at each others. And these are the same people who used to give no fucks and produced Manhunt 2 as a fuck you even though the first game got banned. I am so disappointed that I wanna hide the game for the rest of my life in my steam library. Don't make my mistake and buy this game.

Released as part of the Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy - The Definitive Edition, this is a remaster of the 2002 Rockstar hit, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City. Despite the high praise for the trilogy of III, Vice City, and San Andreas, the remasters were clearly made without the proper respect for those games, and very plainly shows it off through poorly modernized textures and an embarrassing presentation of ugly character models. There are some genuine quality-of-life changes brought, like bringing weapon aiming a few years forward, and selection wheels for choosing your weapon or radio station, ala Grand Theft Auto V.

An unfortunate result of remastering a nearly 20 year old game is that you end up losing out on licensing for certain songs, thanks to the hellhole that is the music industry, and Vice City suffers the most for it. The removal of the Michael Jackson songs, and "Video Killed the Radio Star" are some of the most painful losses to one of the best soundtracks in Grand Theft Auto, but it still boasts a great selection of 1980's hits across multiple genres.

Like The Definitive Edition remasters of III and San Andreas, the remaster of Vice City is still held up by the gameplay it brought us 20 years ago, and can be worth playing if you don't have the original versions on PC or PlayStation 2. Don't expect it to be an accessible, modern remaster: the game still plays like a PlayStation 2 game with some modern changes, and looks like it was modded with graphics that make it look like an early PlayStation 3 game.