Developer : Rockstar North
Release date : 2002
Synopsis :
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City is a 2002 action-adventure game developed by Rockstar North and published by Rockstar Games. It is the sixth title in the Grand Theft Auto series and the first main entry since 2001’s Grand Theft Auto III. Set within the fictional Vice City, based on Miami, the game follows Tommy Vercetti following his release from prison. After he is caught up in an ambushed drug deal, he seeks out those responsible while building a criminal empire and seizing power from other criminal organisations in the city. The game is played from a third-person perspective, and its world is navigated on foot or by vehicle. The open world design lets the player freely roam Vice City, consisting of two main islands. The game’s plot is based on multiple real-world people and events in Miami such as Cuban, Haitian, and biker gangs, the 1980s crack epidemic, the Mafioso drug lords of Miami, and the dominance of glam metal. The game was also influenced by the film and television of the era, including Scarface and Miami Vice. Much of the development work constituted creating the game world to fit the inspiration and time period; the development team conducted extensive field research in Miami while creating the world. Grand Theft Auto: Vice City was released in October 2002 for the PlayStation 2, in May 2003 for Microsoft Windows, and in October 2003 for the Xbox. Upon release, the game received critical acclaim, with praise particularly directed at its music, gameplay and open world design. However, the game also generated controversy, with criticism directed at the depiction of violence and racial groups. The game sparked lawsuits and protests while being labelled as violent and explicit. Vice City became the best-selling video game of 2002 and has sold over 17.5 million copies. Considered one of the most significant titles of the sixth generation of video games, and one of the greatest video games ever made, it won numerous year-end accolades including Game of the Year awards from several gaming publications. Since its release, the game has received numerous ports to many gaming platforms. An enhanced version was released for mobile platforms in 2012, for the game’s tenth anniversary. Its successor, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, was released in 2004, and a prequel, Vice City Stories, was released in 2006. In 1986, Tommy Vercetti (Ray Liotta), a loyal former member of the Forelli Family, is released from prison after serving a fifteen-year sentence for several murders he committed in Liberty City previously. His former boss, Sonny Forelli (Tom Sizemore), ostensibly promotes Tommy to a caporegime and sends him to Vice City to act as the Forelli’s buyer in a cocaine deal and to also do other ground work for the Forellis with setting up their drug trade in the south. When Tommy and his bodyguards arrive in Vice City, crooked lawyer Ken Rosenberg (William Fichtner) takes them in his car to the docks, the site of the deal. They are ambushed by several masked men, who kill their bodyguards. Tommy narrowly escapes with Ken from the docks, losing the Forelli’s money and the cocaine in the process. After Ken returns to his office, Tommy drives back to his hotel and informs Sonny, promising him under the threat of consequences to get back the drugs and money and kill whoever was responsible for the ambush. Seeking information, Ken points Tommy towards Colonel Juan Garcia Cortez (Robert Davi), who helped set the exchange up. Expressing regret for the matter, Cortez promises to help Tommy find out who masterminded the ambush plot. In the process of finding leads, Tommy meets Kent Paul (Danny Dyer), who leads Tommy to one of the participants in the ambush. Tommy then works for Ricardo Diaz (Luis Guzmán), the local drug kingpin, who hires him as protection. Cortez soon voices his suspicion that Diaz might have organized the ambush. With the help of Lance Vance (Philip Michael Thomas), whose brother died in the ambush, Tommy kills Diaz in his own mansion. As a result, Tommy and Lance become Vice City’s new drug kingpins, allowing Tommy to create his own organization and distance himself from the Forelli family. Tommy also works with the Cuban gang’s leader Umberto Robina (Danny Trejo) in their fight against the Haitians. After destroying the Haitians’ drug factory, Umberto becomes Tommy’s partner in the drug trade. Tommy also earns the respect and friendship of Mitch Baker (Lee Majors), a leader of a biker gang, whose bikers work alongside the Cubans to become protectors of Vercetti family business. Tommy also expands his empire by purchasing assets in nearly bankrupt companies and turning them back into competitive businesses, such as a taxi firm, movie studio, print works, and dance clubs.
Source : Wikipedia
