GTA: Vice City Stories turns 16 years old

GTA: Vice City Stories was a successful spin-off and deserves a comeback as a mobile game. (Image via YouTube/RetroTitanium)
GTA: Vice City Stories was a successful spin-off and deserves a comeback as a mobile game (Image via YouTube/RetroTitanium)

Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories has just about turned 16 years old, but the game is still fresh in the minds of those who played it back in the day. GTA: Liberty City Stories was the other spin-off in the GTA series and is only considered second-best, comparatively.

Released originally as a PlayStation Portable exclusive, the game was then ported to PlayStation 2 following its massive success. GTA: Vice City Stories is a good old-school game that has every ingredient required to make it engaging. The game still gives players a memorable experience.


GTA: Vice City Stories is the last game set in Vice City

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The title brought in a slew of improvements that gamers were left wanting to see in GTA: Vice City. One such added feature was the ability of the protagonist, Victor Vance, to be able to swim. There were countless times players felt the need to swim and avoid drowning, which was given an annoying miss in Vice City.

The graphics also improved, which was expected given the game came a lot later than Vice City. This was one of the reasons fans of the franchise believed the game was so successful for PSP. Even after it was ported to PS2, the graphics still looked a lot better when compared to GTA: Vice City.

The story is set two years before Vice City and follows the story of Vic Vance. The engaging story that showcases the fate of Victor Vance and his devastating life is another reason why it's still worth trying, even today.

The game also put a lot of emphasis on side missions that turned out to be quite memorable among gamers. Apart from the old side missions that were improved and once again added to the game, there were also a few new side quests. Players were also given enough freedom to decide how to go about completing them.


Phil Collins: Live

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One of the most memorable moments from the game was the appearance of singer and former Genesis frontman, Phil Collins. Phil appears in a few missions before players can choose to pay a fee to attend his live show anytime they desire, throughout the game.

Phil appears in a mission called "In The Air Tonight" where players stop the mafia from assassinating the star singer. After completing the mission, players can watch Collins perform live at the Hyman Memorial Stadium by paying $6,000, and any time after that too.


Easter Eggs

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GTA games are known to have a lot of hidden Easter Eggs spread throughout the game and there are a bunch of them present in Vice City Stories as well. Players can spot a star constellation that forms the shape of an "R" symbolizing Rockstar Games. The moon that appears in the game is also resizeable, funnily enough.

The game also has an Italian restaurant in Downtown Vice City and in the North Point Mall, named "Barzini" that's named after a character from The Godfather, Don Emilio Barzini. This follows the tradition of having Easter Eggs or references to famous gangster movies in every game in the Grand Theft Auto series.

Vic Vance also wears a very notable outfit in the game that comprises a white tank top, blue jeans, and sneakers which is an homage to GTA: San Andreas' protagonist CJ. Several variations of the outfit can be seen being worn by other mob members throughout the game in Vice City Stories.


Fans pay homage to the memorable game

Twitter users have shared their throwback to the game by sharing a slew of memorable videos and their PSP gameplay.

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