Player0
05-23-2003, 11:45 AM
I didn't know what GTA was until last year honestly. I didn't get my PS2 until this past Christmas, so I never had a chance to play it on the consoles. I had of course heard of the game, people ranting and raving over it, but I passed it along to typical game hype, and didn't think much of the little I saw of the game. But I saw it on the shelf at Media Play one afternoon, on sale for the PC, so I decided to give it a shot. I was blown away, and I finally saw what the deal was about.
I've been waiting impatiently for the PC version of Vice City to come out, which it did last week. I was trying hard not to buy the PS2 version because the PC version promised better graphics, and I think it's easier to manage the controls from a keyboard/mouse. Was the game worth the $30 I spent? (it was on sale).
Yeah, definitely, but don't expect much more than what the original GTA3 offered. The gameplay and game engine are mostly unchanged, which isn't a bad thing really. Obviously, most of the game design (textures/levels/missions) are completely different for this 1980's looking version. There's a completely new arsenol of cars to ride, as well as motorbikes, which is a fantastic addition to the game.
The graphic detail doesn't look too much better from the original, except for cleaner looking textures and some better reflection effects. The neon lighting effects at night are great to look at. The hookers have much more skin showing, yet I digress. Unfortunately, PC hardware has just blown past the PS2 hardware. So ports coming from PS2 games are just not going to look like the current PC games. The graphics are starting to look 'old', and the game engine wasn't really changed enough to justify running it on the PC for that reason alone. In fact, I wonder why it took so long to port this game?
The game seems pretty solid, although it has crashed a couple times due to a bug in the game code somewhere, hopefully this will be cleaned up in a patch. I'm playing this on a dually-xeon with the 9700 Pro of course. The music is great, especially if you like 80's music. If you don't, there are still some funny talk shows to take your mind off the daily drive. The radio station is still one of the most unique aspects to this game though, and it looks like they spared no expense in liscensing some old songs, Blondie, the Cars, some other ones I can't remember but can recognize in an instant.
The gameplay is still the same driving/shooting rampage. The story line and voice acting is still top notch, and there are still all sorts of side missions to keep you busy (I love Vigilanty). The RC helicopter is harder than hell though, and really needs an analog joystick I think. The city scape seems much larger (and turn the draw distance all the way up if you want to manage goign 150mph down any of the roads). The city is a but more congested and 'curvey' than the orginal game. It makes the game harder and more realistic. I still find it hard to find certain places, and some of the driving distances are LOOONG and tedious, and don't hit anything or the cops will take you out long before you reach your destination.
Did I mention this game was harder? I have driving these GTA cars down to a science after the first one, but even my l33t driving skills are no match for Vice City police. They are much more aggressive in this game. Get two stars and everything seems pretty much normal with a couple cops following you. Three stars and forget about it. You might as well give up. The cops drive like maniacs, come at you in ferrari looking cars, and they shoot out your tires and throw spike strips. A new feature to the game and certainly the most annoying, as it renders almost all the vehicals undrivable. And there's a spike strip on every corner. I've only managed to survive long enough to get four stars once. Special Ops drop down from helicopters with heavy machine guns which turn your car to swiss cheese, you get the large armored police cars which show no mercy, and...its a challenge for sure. I love the motorbikes but they are worthless when running from the cops, as any cop is able to instantly 'bust' you on a bike. Its not like the cars where you can get in again and drive away with the cops chasing you. You CANT escape a cop on a bike if your starting from a stand still, which seems completely unfair.
The larger city is of course loaded with extra ramps and secrets, many of which are only accessabel by bikes. You better summon a few hookers and find some armor thuogh, you loose health quickly riding the bikes. The advent of sand textures and more water effects in the city is great. The golf course and minibike tracks are fun. I seem to fall in the water alot, as there is much more of it around in the darndest places.
I'm not completely done with the game so i haven't opened everything up yet. But so far the game is fun, and much harder than the first. Although this game is really just an add-on pack to the first, the sheer size (it may in fact be larger than the original game) warrants spending the extra money for another 'full-title' game box. If you havent played the original though, I suggest you start there. The learning curver for Vice City is much steeper.
I've been waiting impatiently for the PC version of Vice City to come out, which it did last week. I was trying hard not to buy the PS2 version because the PC version promised better graphics, and I think it's easier to manage the controls from a keyboard/mouse. Was the game worth the $30 I spent? (it was on sale).
Yeah, definitely, but don't expect much more than what the original GTA3 offered. The gameplay and game engine are mostly unchanged, which isn't a bad thing really. Obviously, most of the game design (textures/levels/missions) are completely different for this 1980's looking version. There's a completely new arsenol of cars to ride, as well as motorbikes, which is a fantastic addition to the game.
The graphic detail doesn't look too much better from the original, except for cleaner looking textures and some better reflection effects. The neon lighting effects at night are great to look at. The hookers have much more skin showing, yet I digress. Unfortunately, PC hardware has just blown past the PS2 hardware. So ports coming from PS2 games are just not going to look like the current PC games. The graphics are starting to look 'old', and the game engine wasn't really changed enough to justify running it on the PC for that reason alone. In fact, I wonder why it took so long to port this game?
The game seems pretty solid, although it has crashed a couple times due to a bug in the game code somewhere, hopefully this will be cleaned up in a patch. I'm playing this on a dually-xeon with the 9700 Pro of course. The music is great, especially if you like 80's music. If you don't, there are still some funny talk shows to take your mind off the daily drive. The radio station is still one of the most unique aspects to this game though, and it looks like they spared no expense in liscensing some old songs, Blondie, the Cars, some other ones I can't remember but can recognize in an instant.
The gameplay is still the same driving/shooting rampage. The story line and voice acting is still top notch, and there are still all sorts of side missions to keep you busy (I love Vigilanty). The RC helicopter is harder than hell though, and really needs an analog joystick I think. The city scape seems much larger (and turn the draw distance all the way up if you want to manage goign 150mph down any of the roads). The city is a but more congested and 'curvey' than the orginal game. It makes the game harder and more realistic. I still find it hard to find certain places, and some of the driving distances are LOOONG and tedious, and don't hit anything or the cops will take you out long before you reach your destination.
Did I mention this game was harder? I have driving these GTA cars down to a science after the first one, but even my l33t driving skills are no match for Vice City police. They are much more aggressive in this game. Get two stars and everything seems pretty much normal with a couple cops following you. Three stars and forget about it. You might as well give up. The cops drive like maniacs, come at you in ferrari looking cars, and they shoot out your tires and throw spike strips. A new feature to the game and certainly the most annoying, as it renders almost all the vehicals undrivable. And there's a spike strip on every corner. I've only managed to survive long enough to get four stars once. Special Ops drop down from helicopters with heavy machine guns which turn your car to swiss cheese, you get the large armored police cars which show no mercy, and...its a challenge for sure. I love the motorbikes but they are worthless when running from the cops, as any cop is able to instantly 'bust' you on a bike. Its not like the cars where you can get in again and drive away with the cops chasing you. You CANT escape a cop on a bike if your starting from a stand still, which seems completely unfair.
The larger city is of course loaded with extra ramps and secrets, many of which are only accessabel by bikes. You better summon a few hookers and find some armor thuogh, you loose health quickly riding the bikes. The advent of sand textures and more water effects in the city is great. The golf course and minibike tracks are fun. I seem to fall in the water alot, as there is much more of it around in the darndest places.
I'm not completely done with the game so i haven't opened everything up yet. But so far the game is fun, and much harder than the first. Although this game is really just an add-on pack to the first, the sheer size (it may in fact be larger than the original game) warrants spending the extra money for another 'full-title' game box. If you havent played the original though, I suggest you start there. The learning curver for Vice City is much steeper.