GTA: Vice City Stories - first look

If Grand Theft Auto III birthed a new genre, 2002's Vice City blew it wide open. Living cities were one thing, but wrapping them in garish '80s neon and blasting the best tunes the decade had to offer created an atmosphere that no one could resist. Seems only natural then, that the second PSP GTA would follow the same route, and from what we've seen of Vice City Stories, it's everything the console version was and more.

Set in 1984 (two years before the PS2 Vice City), this story begins with soldier Vic Vance set to be transferred down to Guantanamo Bay. Rather than playing as a power-hungry madman, it seems like you'll be more of an on-the-fence player... well, perhaps until later in the game. The missions, in contrast to Liberty City Stories, are longer and more involved, meaning there's plenty of chances for Vance to take on all kinds of seedy jobs. It's only a matter of time before he wants a piece of the pie, right?

Vice City retains its immense size on the handheld too - overall this game's twice the size of its predecessor, with better technology to push more cars, people and boats on the screen than before. The first scene we saw was Vance standing on the beach, with pedestrians walking around, traffic flowing and a jet cruising through the clear blue sky. It's been four years since we set foot in this town, but the moment we saw everything come together, with Flock of Seagulls playing in the background, we couldn’t' wait to start spreading some chaos.

Brett Elston

A fomer Executive Editor at GamesRadar, Brett also contributed content to many other Future gaming publications including Nintendo Power, PC Gamer and Official Xbox Magazine. Brett has worked at Capcom in several senior roles, is an experienced podcaster, and now works as a Senior Manager of Content Communications at PlayStation SIE.