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Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories

Also known as: GTA: Vice City Stories, GTA: VCS, GTA: VCS

Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories - hands-on

Mysterious packages, helicopter rescues and bikini girls with machineguns? They'll do for a start

The third mission, "Lost and Found," had us piloting a helicopter to rescue Vic's friend Louise, and then his inept brother, Lance. Choppers in VCS are actually pretty demanding, and the analog nub doesn't make it any easier. To go forward, you need to inch your nose downward - but not too far down, or you'll just dive toward the ground. Likewise, lowering your altitude requires a gentle touch on the decelerator, or you risk dropping like a stone.

After we'd rescued Lance from the roof of a burning building, it was time to take revenge on the people who'd set him up. They were fleeing on a trio of boats, so we had to catch up to them and fly low, enabling Lance to pick off the crew with a machinegun. The more our chopper wobbled, the worse Lance's aim got and the longer the mission took, but we eventually took out the bad guys, dropped Lance on an unmanned boat and took Louise back to shore.

While our time with the game was short, we're impressed by how much the scope of GTA on the PSP has grown since Liberty City Stories. Not only is Vice City twice as big as Liberty, but the missions are longer and more complex - maybe a little less friendly to the pick-up-and-play aesthetic, but definitely a plus for GTA fans looking for something more involving. Vice City Stories is shaping up to be huge, and we haven't even gotten to the multiplayer battles yet. Stay tuned.

 
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The Knowledge
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories

Genre: Action
Release date: Oct 30, 2006
Published by: Rockstar Games
Developed by: Rockstar North, Rockstar, Rockstar Leeds
Franchise: Grand Theft Auto
Features: Ad-hoc wireless play
9 AWESOME
Read the review
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