PS3 PS2

Grand Theft Auto: Vice City

ShooterRacingAdventureArcade

Space needed: About 4.3 GB
Time to beat: about 134.6 hours
Plays offline: Yes

Overview

Grand Theft Auto: Vice City is a 2002 action-adventure game developed by Rockstar North and published by Rockstar Games. It is the fourth main game in the Grand Theft Auto series, following 2001's Grand Theft Auto III, and the sixth entry overall. Set in 1986 within the fictional Vice City (based on Miami), the single-player story follows gangster Tommy Vercetti's rise to power after being released from prison and becoming caught up in an ambushed drug deal. While seeking out those responsible, Tommy gradually builds a criminal empire by seizing power from other criminal organisations.

The game is played from a third-person perspective and its world is navigated on foot or by vehicle. The open world design lets the player freely roam Vice City, consisting of two main islands. The game's plot is based on multiple real-world people and events in Miami such as Cubans, Haitians, and biker gangs, the 1980s crack epidemic, the Mafioso drug lords of Miami, and the dominance of glam metal. The game was also influenced by the films and television of the era, most notably Scarface (1983) and Miami Vice (1984 to 1990). Much of the development work constituted creating the game world to fit the inspiration and time period; the development team conducted extensive field research in Miami while creating the world. The game was released in October 2002 for the PlayStation 2.

Vice City received critical acclaim, with praise directed at its music, gameplay, story, and open world design, though it generated controversy over its depiction of violence and racial groups. It received year-end accolades from several gaming publications, and it is considered one of the sixth generation of console gaming's most significant titles and among the best video games ever made. Vice City became the best-selling game of 2002 and one of the best-selling PlayStation 2 games with over 14.2 million copies sold; it has sold over 17.5 million copies overall. It was released for Windows and the Xbox in 2003, followed by enhanced versions and mobile ports in the 2010s and a remastered version in 2021. It was followed by Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (2004) and a prequel, Vice City Stories (2006).