Lotus666
06-08-09, 11:15 PM
LD gave us this review in 2007...
Consoles: Originally released on the Sony PSP, then ported over to the PS2.
Setting: Victor Vance (the older brother (I presume) of Lance Vance) joins the army and is stationed at Fort Baxter in Vice City to support his family - another brother (not Lance) has a really bad case of asthma and needs medications and what-not to stay alive. His family's no help - Lance is a lazy low-life who wouldn't lift a finger to help anybody except himself, there's no father figure in the Vance family, and Mrs. Vance snorts cocaine like it'll disappear tomorrow. Vice City Stories is set in 1984, two years before what happens in GTA Vice City.
Early on in the game, Vic gets kicked out of the army and through other work connections, he learns how to build a crime empire that covers just about all of Vice City. It's somewhat like buying a business, doing missions with it, and it generates money like in Vice City, but also throws in attacking/defending other businesses (kinda like the gang wars in San Andreas). Those who played Vice City before this one may recognize some faces as the story progresses.
Vic can swim, but until you complete Beach Patrol (available when the east side of Vice City opens up), the stamina for it is limited - meaning Vic has to be in a boat or on dry land before stamina is depleted. Rampages are available - but don't relocate to a second position if you fail it the first time and doesn't vanish when you pass it either (it stays in the spot where you found it, and if you passed it - you can play it again for fun if you want). Unique Stunt Jumps can be done on land, but some of them require using a Jet Ski to complete. The hidden packages - this time around, you pop 99 red balloons spread all over Vice City.
The vehicle missions get an overhaul - instead of doing 12 levels in one stretch for Firefighter, Vigilante, and Paramedic, you do 15 levels, but get a checkpoint after completing 5 levels so you can stop whenever you want to take a break from it. It holds the same way for Beach Patrol and Air Ambulance (think Paramedic with a helicopter).
For the most part, Vice City Stories is challenging and entertaining, but I think Rockstar went overboard with the side stuff. Some of it led to me ripping out large clumps of hair in frustration.
My rating - 8 out of 10.
Consoles: Originally released on the Sony PSP, then ported over to the PS2.
Setting: Victor Vance (the older brother (I presume) of Lance Vance) joins the army and is stationed at Fort Baxter in Vice City to support his family - another brother (not Lance) has a really bad case of asthma and needs medications and what-not to stay alive. His family's no help - Lance is a lazy low-life who wouldn't lift a finger to help anybody except himself, there's no father figure in the Vance family, and Mrs. Vance snorts cocaine like it'll disappear tomorrow. Vice City Stories is set in 1984, two years before what happens in GTA Vice City.
Early on in the game, Vic gets kicked out of the army and through other work connections, he learns how to build a crime empire that covers just about all of Vice City. It's somewhat like buying a business, doing missions with it, and it generates money like in Vice City, but also throws in attacking/defending other businesses (kinda like the gang wars in San Andreas). Those who played Vice City before this one may recognize some faces as the story progresses.
Vic can swim, but until you complete Beach Patrol (available when the east side of Vice City opens up), the stamina for it is limited - meaning Vic has to be in a boat or on dry land before stamina is depleted. Rampages are available - but don't relocate to a second position if you fail it the first time and doesn't vanish when you pass it either (it stays in the spot where you found it, and if you passed it - you can play it again for fun if you want). Unique Stunt Jumps can be done on land, but some of them require using a Jet Ski to complete. The hidden packages - this time around, you pop 99 red balloons spread all over Vice City.
The vehicle missions get an overhaul - instead of doing 12 levels in one stretch for Firefighter, Vigilante, and Paramedic, you do 15 levels, but get a checkpoint after completing 5 levels so you can stop whenever you want to take a break from it. It holds the same way for Beach Patrol and Air Ambulance (think Paramedic with a helicopter).
For the most part, Vice City Stories is challenging and entertaining, but I think Rockstar went overboard with the side stuff. Some of it led to me ripping out large clumps of hair in frustration.
My rating - 8 out of 10.