Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories

 PSP
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories Image
Metascore
86

Generally favorable reviews - based on 50 Critics What's this?

User Score
8.1

Generally favorable reviews- based on 193 Ratings

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  • Summary: Vice City, 1984. Opportunity abounds in a city emerging from the swamps, its growth fueled by the violent power struggle in a lucrative drugs trade. Construction is everywhere as a shining metropolis rises from foundations of crime and betrayal. As a soldier, Vic Vance always protected hisVice City, 1984. Opportunity abounds in a city emerging from the swamps, its growth fueled by the violent power struggle in a lucrative drugs trade. Construction is everywhere as a shining metropolis rises from foundations of crime and betrayal. As a soldier, Vic Vance always protected his dysfunctional family, his country, himself. One bad decision later and that job is about to get much harder. Kicked out onto the streets of a city between glamour and gluttony, Vic is faced with a stark choice - build an empire or be crushed. [Rockstar Games]… Expand
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Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 46 out of 50
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 50
  3. Negative: 0 out of 50
  1. Official Playstation 2 Magazine UK
    100
    Not only is this the greatest game on PSP, it also leaves a large percentage of the PS2 back catalogue looking ordinary. But it right now. [Dec 2006, p.76]
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  2. Gaming Nexus
    91
    Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories doesn’t attempt to reinvent the formula, but it does offer you a fantastic action/adventure game full of memorable characters, fun missions and great music.
  3. Boomtown
    90
    Vice City Stories is an amazing game, and one I would wholeheartedly recommend, (a lot of work has gone into it, despite the fact that the city has undergone few changes from the original) but I hope that for the upcoming (if you can wait a year) "GTA IV" we see enough of a change to refresh the genre and franchise, because the games are great, but starting to seem quite samey.
  4. Game Almighty
    88
    This game is a ton of fun, and feels like a definite improvement to some of GTA’s core elements. Rather than just smush a GTA game onto the PSP, it seems like some thought was put into this one specifically to make it a great handheld game.
  5. GamingExcellence
    85
    What VCS does to make things a bit more interesting when off the beaten path of the core story missions is to introduce a new gameplay dynamic in the form of an Empire building system.
  6. Total Video Games
    80
    Vice City Stories is a much richer and well-rounded experience than its predecessor, though the addition of Wi-Fi Infrastructure mode is something that the series is crying out for.
  7. Times Online
    60
    The pressure of following in the footsteps of one of the console’s greatest successes seems to have removed any sense of humour from the game.

See all 50 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

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Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 28 out of 38
  2. Mixed: 7 out of 38
  3. Negative: 3 out of 38
  1. XDavidX
    Nov 19, 2015
    10
    The Vice City & Vice City Stories have the best feeling & climate in all of the GTA history, sure they never have that much features that haveThe Vice City & Vice City Stories have the best feeling & climate in all of the GTA history, sure they never have that much features that have San Andreas but I liked this games !… Expand
  2. Alvin
    Dec 10, 2007
    10
    I like Vice City Stories on PSP, but San Andreas is the best I wish it was on PSP.
  4. Zilcell
    Nov 7, 2011
    10
    This is one of the best games on the PSP because it has so much to do. The missions are so great that you'll want to replay the missions moreThis is one of the best games on the PSP because it has so much to do. The missions are so great that you'll want to replay the missions more than once. The open world is also large and fun to explore.… Expand
  5. Zlataned
    Mar 26, 2016
    9
    Considering the fact that the PSP is not a high-performance console the game is pretty good. In my opinion it's the best game for thisConsidering the fact that the PSP is not a high-performance console the game is pretty good. In my opinion it's the best game for this console. Great soundtrack & many missions - just a normal GTA. Of course it isn't as big as San Andreas but the atmosphere and the setting is very nice. If there are still people who play on PSP: Buy this game! I can absolutely recommend this game.… Expand
  6. sinadoom
    Oct 2, 2011
    8
    Considering that it's on PSP, this has to be the best game for portable consoles. There's a lot of content for a handheld title, and despiteConsidering that it's on PSP, this has to be the best game for portable consoles. There's a lot of content for a handheld title, and despite the game seeming cheap and not as good as the original vice city, VC Stories still delivers a great GTA experience that's fun.… Expand
  7. JacobHellflames
    Jun 1, 2015
    8
    A decent if somewhat slightly bland PSP game. This essentially follows on similar interactivity like GTA LCS and is actually pretty fun toA decent if somewhat slightly bland PSP game. This essentially follows on similar interactivity like GTA LCS and is actually pretty fun to play. There is quite a bit of extra side missions and rampages to do and the size of the city is not really much of an issue here. The new characters in here are quite memorable in their own right and the plot of this game pretty much sets the scene for the events of GTA Vice City, set in 1986. The only slight downside to this game is that there really aren't that many story missions when taken into consideration, and the layout of the game is a little slow to load when travelling, especially when going at fast speeds.They could have had extra features such as being able to buy food from places such as King Knuts and make those areas accessible, or at least make buying health possible like they did in GTA Vice City. Although probably my favourite thing about this game is the mix between obvious and rather not so obvious humour in the game, I would just say it is a bit of a shame that there aren't more story missions for you to do. Controls of the game are decent and aren't confusing or inconvenient in any way and the amount of weapons available to the player is pretty good. It's always pretty fun to play this game and just storm around destroying everything because in this game it's pretty easy to do with the easy to manage controls. Rampges, red balloons and side missions offer some reasonable challenges however some such as the paramedic mission are inevitably boring as it takes so long to complete. Not only that, but the glitch that lets you get to the second island before unlocking it is also kept meaning you can go and do all the rampages and collect all the balloons and unique stunts in advance, making the game missions easier with all the weapons available to you. My only pet peeve in this game is that there probably aren't enough missions where you battle the Vice City gangs, however the fact that your businesses can pull in loads of revenue dauily without you having to do anything is an added bonus. I just would have liked it if the Cholos had got a bit more of a look in in the game, but I guess it just wasn't meant to be. All in all, this is a decent and worthy game to add to your collection and it is actually pretty fun to go through and complete this game in different ways each time. Give it a play and see for yourself.… Expand
  8. FreddieR.
    Dec 11, 2006
    1
    GTA games are all the same and are getting more duller in every one they make this is the worst of them all.

See all 38 User Reviews

Awards & Rankings

4
#4 Best PSP Game of 2006
3
#3 Most Discussed PSP Game of 2006
1
#1 Most Shared PSP Game of 2006