Grand Theft Auto: Vice City

Grand Theft Auto: Vice City is a 2002 action adventure game developed by Rockstar North and published by Rockstar Games. Set in the fictional Vice City during 1986, it follows Tommy Vercetti, voiced by Ray Liotta. Tommy, a former Liberty City mobster, has been released after serving fifteen years in prison for the Harwood massacre. His boss, Sonny Forelli, sends him south to establish the Forelli family in Vice City, whose art direction and atmosphere deliberately evoke 1980s Miami culture. At the opening deal, Tommy arrives with lawyer Ken Rosenberg and Forelli associates at the Ocean Beach docks. The exchange is ambushed by unknown attackers, killing Harry and Lee and allowing the money and cocaine to disappear. Tommy escapes with Rosenberg, but Sonny demands repayment for the lost cash. Tommy consequently works through Vice City’s criminal underworld, meeting Colonel Juan Garcia Cortez, rocker Love Fist, biker leader Big Mitch Baker, and Cuban leader Umberto Robina during his rise to power. Tommy’s early employers include Ricardo Diaz, a volatile drug baron who owns a mansion on Starfish Island. Evidence eventually reveals that Diaz arranged the ambush on the Forelli deal. With assistance from Lance Vance, a survivor of that ambush, Tommy attacks Diaz’s estate in the mission “Rub Out” and kills him. Tommy takes over Diaz’s organization and properties, turning his Ocean Beach hotel into headquarters. The game lets players purchase assets such as the Malibu Club, studio, and taxi company. Asset missions expand Tommy’s income and unlock story progress. At the Malibu Club, he recruits a crew for the bank robbery depicted in “The Job.” The Sunshine Autos garage requires vehicle collection lists and supports street races. The Kaufman Cabs storyline ends with Tommy taking control of the taxi business. In “Keep Your Friends Close,” Lance betrays Tommy and restores his loyalty to Sonny. Tommy ultimately kills Lance and Sonny during an assault on the Vercetti Estate by Forelli men. The game’s open world permits travel by car, motorcycle, boat, helicopter, and seaplane, while radio stations supply era specific music. Its soundtrack includes licensed songs and fictional stations such as V Rock, Emotion 98.3, and Flash FM. Vice City returned to a location first used in Grand Theft Auto but presented it as a fully three dimensional city. It was followed by Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories, a 2006 prequel set in 1984 featuring Victor Vance as its protagonist.