| Grand Theft Auto: Vice City | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Developer(s) | Rockstar North[a] |
| Publisher(s) | Rockstar Games |
| Producer(s) | Leslie Benzies |
| Programmer(s) |
|
| Artist(s) | Aaron Garbut |
| Writer(s) |
|
| Composer(s) | Lex Horton |
| Series | Grand Theft Auto |
| Engine | RenderWare |
| Platform(s) | |
| Release | |
| Genre(s) | Action-adventure |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City is an action-adventure video game developed by Rockstar North and published by Rockstar Games. It was released on 29 October 2002 for the PlayStation 2, on 12 May 2003 for Microsoft Windows, and on 31 October 2003 for the Xbox. A remastered version was released for mobile platforms in 2012, for the game's tenth anniversary. It is the sixth title in the Grand Theft Auto series and the first main entry since 2001's Grand Theft Auto III. Set within the fictional Vice City, based on Miami, the game follows Tommy Vercetti following his release from prison. After he is caught up in an ambushed drug deal, he seeks out those responsible while building a criminal empire and seizing power from other criminal organisations in the city.
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 Cuban, Haitian, 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 film and television of the era, including Scarface and Miami Vice. 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.
Upon release, the game received critical acclaim, with praise particularly directed at its music, gameplay and open world design. However, the game also generated controversy, with criticism directed at the depiction of violence and racial groups. The game sparked lawsuits and protests while being labelled as violent and explicit. Vice City became the best-selling video game of 2002 and has sold over 17.5 million copies. Considered one of the most significant titles of the sixth generation of video games, and one of the greatest video games ever made, it won numerous year-end accolades including Game of the Year awards from several gaming publications. Since its release, the game has received numerous ports to many gaming platforms. Its successor, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, was released in October 2004, and a prequel, Vice City Stories, was released in 2006.
Contents
Gameplay
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City is an action-adventure game played from a third-person perspective. The player controls the criminal Tommy Vercetti and completes missions—linear scenarios with set objectives—to progress through the story. It is possible to have several active missions running at one time, as some missions require the player to wait for further instructions or events. Outside of missions, the player can freely roam the game's open world and has the ability to complete optional side missions.[2] Composed of two main islands and several smaller areas, the world is much larger in area than earlier entries in the series.[b] The islands are unlocked for the player as the story progresses.[4]
The player may run, jump, or drive vehicles to navigate the game's world. The player uses melee attacks, firearms and explosives to fight enemies. The firearms include weapons such as the Colt Python, an M60 machine gun and a Minigun.[5][6] The game's three-dimension environment allows a first-person view while aiming with the sniper rifle and rocket launcher. In addition, the game's combat allows the player to commit drive-by shootings by facing sideways in a vehicle.[7][8] The game provides the player a wide variety of weapon options—they can be purchased from local firearms dealers, found on the ground, retrieved from dead enemies, or found around the city.[9]
In combat, auto-aim can be used as assistance against enemies.[10] Should the player take damage, their health meter can be fully regenerated through the use of health pick-ups.[11] Body armour can be used to absorb gunshots and explosive damage, but is used up in the process.[12] When health is entirely depleted, gameplay stops, and the player respawns at the nearest hospital while losing all weapons and armour and some of their money.[4] If the player commits crimes while playing, the game's law enforcement agencies may respond as indicated by a "wanted" meter in the head-up display (HUD), which increases as the player commits more crimes. On the meter, the displayed stars indicate the current wanted level, and the higher the level, the greater the response for law enforcement[4] (for example, at the maximum six-star level, police helicopters and military swarm to lethally dispatch players).[7]
During the story, Tommy meets characters from various gangs. As the player completes missions for different gangs, fellow gang members will often defend the player, while rival gang members will recognise the player and subsequently shoot on sight. While free roaming the game world, the player may engage in activities such as a vigilante minigame, a fire fighting activity, and a taxi cab service. Completion of these activities grants the player with context-specific rewards.[8] As Tommy builds his criminal empire, the player may purchase a number of properties distributed across the city, some of which act as additional hideouts where weapons can be collected and vehicles can be stored.[13] There are also a variety of businesses which can be purchased, including a film studio, a taxi company, and several entertainment clubs. Each commercial property has a number of missions attached to it, such as eliminating competition or stealing equipment; once all missions are complete, the property begins to generate an ongoing income available for the player.[7]
Plot
In 1986, Tommy Vercetti (Ray Liotta), a loyal former member of the Forelli Family, is released from prison after serving a fifteen-year sentence. His former boss, Sonny Forelli (Tom Sizemore), ostensibly promotes Tommy to a caporegime and sends him to Vice City to act as the Forelli's buyer in a cocaine deal and to also do other ground work for the Forellis. When Tommy and his bodyguards arrive in Vice City, crooked lawyer Ken Rosenberg (William Fichtner) takes them in his car to the docks, the site of the deal. They are ambushed by several masked men, who kill their bodyguards. Tommy narrowly escapes with Ken from the docks, losing the Forelli's money and the cocaine in the process. After Ken returns to his office, Tommy drives back to his hotel and informs Sonny, promising him under the threat of consequences to get back the drugs and money and kill whoever was responsible for the ambush.
Seeking information, Ken points Tommy towards Juan Garcia Cortez (Robert Davi), who helped set the exchange up. Expressing regret for the matter, Cortez promises to help Tommy find out who masterminded the ambush plot. In the process of finding leads, Tommy meets Kent Paul (Danny Dyer), who leads Tommy to one of the participants in the ambush. Tommy then works for Ricardo Diaz (Luis Guzmán), who hires him as protection. Cortez soon voices his suspicion that Diaz might have organised the ambush. With the help of Lance Vance (Philip Michael Thomas), whose brother died in the ambush, Tommy kills Diaz; as a result, Tommy and Lance become Vice City's drug kingpins, allowing Tommy to create his own organisation and distance himself from the Forelli family. Tommy also works with the Cuban gang's leader Umberto Robina (Danny Trejo) in their fight against the Haitians. After destroying the Haitians' drug factory, Umberto becomes Tommy's partner in the drug trade. Tommy also earns the respect and friendship of Mitch Baker (Lee Majors), a leader of a biker gang, whose bikers work alongside the Cubans to become protectors of Vercetti family business. Tommy also expands his empire by purchasing assets in nearly bankrupt companies and turning them back into competitive businesses.
Eventually, Sonny discovers that Tommy has gained complete control over Vice City's drug trade without cutting the Forelli family in. Enraged that Tommy has become independent and is hustling him, Sonny sends high-ranking Forelli members to forcefully collect money from Tommy's assets. Tommy quickly disposes of them and decides to sever his ties with the Forelli family. Sonny arrives at his estate with a small army of mafiosi and demands his mob tribute under the threat of force. As Tommy attempts to give the tribute in counterfeit money, Sonny reveals that he set Tommy up fifteen years prior, resulting in his prison sentence. Lance also reveals his partnership with Sonny, admitting to having informed Sonny about Tommy's activities in Vice City. Angered at this betrayal, Tommy chases and ridicules Lance before killing him for his treachery. Heading through his estate, the gun battle eventually culminates in Tommy killing Sonny and his remaining army once and for all. When Ken arrives, he is shocked and worried by the events, but Tommy reassures him that everything is fine, having finally established himself as the undisputed crime kingpin of Vice City.
Development
Rockstar North began to develop Grand Theft Auto: Vice City in late 2001, around the time of Grand Theft Auto III's release.[14] While initial development only involved creating 3D models, executive producer Sam Houser said "it really kicked off at the beginning of 2002" and lasted about nine months.[15] After the release of the Windows version of Grand Theft Auto III, the development team discussed creating a mission pack for the game that would add new weapons, vehicles, and missions. Upon further discussion, the team decided to make this concept a stand-alone game, which became Vice City.[16] The game was announced on 22 May 2002, during the Electronic Entertainment Expo.[17] It was Rockstar North's most expensive game at the time, with a budget of US$5 million.[18] On 5 September 2002, the company announced that the release date of 22 October had been postponed until 29 October to meet product demand.[19] By 15 October 2002, development of Vice City stopped as the game was submitted for manufacturing.[20]
Setting
The game is set in 1986 in fictional Vice City, which is based heavily on the city of Miami.[21] Vice City previously appeared in the original Grand Theft Auto (1997); the development team decided to reuse the location and incorporate ideas from within the studio and the fanbase.[22] They wanted to satirise a location that was not contemporary, unlike Grand Theft Auto III's Liberty City.[14] The team wanted to choose a location that had various similarities and differences to New York City—the inspiration of Liberty City—eventually leading them to Miami, which producer Leslie Benzies describes as "a party town, all sun and sea and sex, but with that same dark edge underneath".[16] Sam Houser called it "the grooviest era of crime because it didn't even feel like it was crime ... it was a totally topsy-turvy back-to-front period of time".[23] The team intended to make Vice City a "living, breathing city", for the player to feel like "life still goes on" while the character is inside a building.[24]
The game's look, particularly the clothing and vehicles, reflect its 1980s setting. Many themes are borrowed from the major films Scarface (1983) and Carlito's Way (1993),[21] the latter for its characterisation and portrayal of nuanced criminals. The television series Miami Vice (1984–89) was also a major influence and was regularly watched by the team throughout development.[25] Art director Aaron Garbut used the series as a reference point in creating neon lighting.[23] In recreating a 1980s setting, the team found it "relatively painless" due to the distinct culture of the time period and the team's familiarity of the era.[25] The art team was provided with large volumes of research, as well as reference photographs from other members of the development team. The team organised field research trips to Miami shortly after the development of Grand Theft Auto III, splitting into small teams and observing the streets.[25][26]
Story and characters
The team spent time "solving [the] riddle" of a speaking protagonist, a notable departure from Grand Theft Auto III's silent protagonist Claude.[27] Ray Liotta portrayed protagonist Tommy Vercetti. Liotta described the role as challenging: "You're creating a character that's not there before ... It's so intensive". When recording the role, the team used blue screen in order to allow Liotta to visualise "how it's gonna move".[28] The team ensured that the player felt "real affinity" for Tommy, making the narrative a key development interest.[14] Dan Houser described Tommy as "strong and dangerous and prepared to wait for the right opportunity to arrive".[26] Director Navid Khonsari recalled Liotta frequently complaining on set and found him difficult to work with as a result.[29] "In some sessions he was ... into it, but then sometimes ... he was very dark and couldn't work", said Sam Houser.[30] Following the game's success, Liotta reportedly claimed that he was underpaid for the role.[31]
The majority of the game's animations were original, with very few borrowed from Grand Theft Auto III. For the characters, the team used motion capture and stop motion animation techniques; cutscenes use the former, while gameplay movements use a combination of both techniques. The team encountered difficulty in animating motorcycle animations, due in part to the variety of models.[32] Pedestrian character models use skins in Vice City, allowing the artists to produce more realistic characters. There are 110 unique pedestrian models throughout the game world alongside roughly 50 story characters; each character is rendered using twice the amount of polygons and textures found in Grand Theft Auto III.[21][26] This also impacted the character physics, improving gameplay aspects such as weapon-hit accuracy.[33] Some character models and scenarios were inspired by films such as The Godfather (1972), and the game's presentation was inspired by action television shows of the 1980s.[34] The interplay between Tommy Vercetti and Lance Vance was crafted to be similar to the relationship of Miami Vice's Sonny Crockett and Ricardo Tubbs.[35]
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