You see, I won't say you're wrong, I will just say " You had to be there" to understand how revolutionary and fun this game was. Of course you don't feel that way since you have experienced so many games since then, but when this came out, Nothing compared.
Yeah it might be like a Seinfeld thing where at the time there was nothing like it, but nowadays with what's come after makes it hard for those just experiencing it to fully appreciate under the scope of it's time.
I was there to experience it and I was also there to see how quickly it was overshadowed by San Andreas, suddenly no one was talking about Vice City anymore and when I got San Andreas I almost forgot I had it as well. It's a great game but definitely overhyped these days in the online sphere, especially when you compare it to the Stories games which were much more polished versions of 3 and Vice... on a portable machine. VCS fixed so much of the empty areas of the map and enhanced the gameplay as much as it could while upgrading the "empire" system. So when in the last few years I started seeing all this Vice City hype, it made me question if those people ever played San Andreas or the Stories games at all.
He makes some great points about the game with nostalgia and hindsight goggles on. Was definitely a game of its time. Still best radio playlist of all the GTA games
I was there. I played it day one. I played the original trilogy. And to this day, I can only remember vague things about the game. No fond memories or nostalgia. Three was revolutionary and San Andreas was brilliant and turned it to 11. Vice City is mid.
I was 10 years old when Vice City released, and there was nothing like it. The first kid in my class to get the game, brought the game manual in and everyone gathered around to look at it lol. It gathered more attention and excitement than a shiny charizard. I had goosebumps regularly for the first week or two when playing. The motorbikes, different outfits and helicopters alone were enough for us to buy it in the first week.. and everything else was the cherry on top. Other details made it exciting as well, like only spending one mission in that big golf area.. and only needing to go in the shopping mall twice. So many little areas were so detailed compared to GTA III, even the back gardens on the island in the middle.. and we were never made to look at those details. Vice City is the one which really solidified GTA as the series where you could do anthing.. where you could live in the game and escape reality. A masterpiece for the time. Maybe it hasn't aged the best; but i'll never forget that magic.
I'll also never forget seeing that iconic intro for the first time, no joke, Vice City's main theme is still one of my favorite video game tracks ever made.
I'm surprised you never mentioned the mall, army base, or stadium, all of which can be entered. This was the first GTA game I played, and it's still one of my favorites.
I really like vice city but everytime I go to play it. The end part of the games ruins it for me having to do 6 of the assets before being able to beat the game
Yeah, I never thought about that. I guess it's a uniquely Vice City thing. Just look the Miami Vice undercover cops in the sports cars that try to stop you on a certain wanted level.
Part of where some of your criticisms for why VC, was hollow. As it was originally going to be an expansion pack for GTA III on PC, but there were so many ideas it became its own game and it was developed in 9 months! Which is pretty crazy when you consider how much game development has changed
It blows my mind that it could feel hallow to anyone. Just the introduction of Businesses and how many of them come along with their own missions before they generate incomes for you. It honestly made me feel more connected to the city than any of the mechanics in San Andreas.
Great video as always, but also holy cow, I got blind sighted by the fact that we're already nearing 200 episodes! :O I still remember the big 100th episode celebration. Doesn't even feel that long ago. How time flies, ey? :P Keep up the great work man. You're one of the hardest working TH-camrs I know!
Yeah, as I already mentioned in the Patreon comments for this video, Vice City really blew me away as a kid, and although the games were heavily banned in my household growing up, I remember my oldest brother would sneak his copy in his bag whenever he came to stay with us, and then when my parents weren't looking I would fire it up in my room with the volume on low, then if anyone ever knocked to come in, I would hide it, good fucking times lmao, it's still my favourite out of the original PS2 trilogy of 3D GTA games, and yeah as I mentioned in your Patreon upload, another dope video from you dude, definitely hope you'll do a future video on Vice City Stories tho.
While Vice City is still a great game to me, I agree it doesn't quite hold up as well as the others. And you put into words why better than I ever could. Thank you.
Hi Jak, just wanted to say I discovered you ELR videos a few weeks ago when I was going through a tough time and it brought me so much joy. I finished the whole series in less than a week. You have a subscriber now and I can't wait to watch this new video. Thank you!
Given the large, empty spaces of land (which could be chalked up to either a time constraint, or populating these areas would be a bit too taxing on the PlayStation 2), and overall smaller feel of the map, I can imagine the mission variety getting stale eventually, but the addition of exploring the interiors of buildings does help shake things up. But now that you mention it, man, I do kind of miss annual releases for games, because they were still in the realm of being very doable, with modern games, however, annual releases just aren't common.
Jak, this is such a well thought-out and reasoned approach to the game. You gave your experience level to put nostalgia in check, and made sure to respect the audience that has a deep love for the game while also voicing your criticisms of it. The way that you both respectfully praised the game and called it out on its shortcomings given the context, makes me respect even more your prowess for critique. Awesome video. That being said, if you talk shit on SA I will riot like its 92. Jk ;)
Great video as always and I'm excited to see you gush about San Andreas, I probably love the game just as much as you. Hell, I made a long ass video on my channel gushing about it myself a few years back, keep up the great work Jak and keep being an inspiration to all of us!
Thats streets of rage theme for the second segment intro took me off guard it's an awesome tune thanks for showing it off, even if it makes me feel old. 👍
Watching the old PS2 trailers and that one original Xbox trailer are such a crazy nostalgia trip. my favourite is trailer 2 The Guns and Roses Welcome to the Jungle in that one just goes so ridiculously hard. I still remember all the hype from trailer 1 when people kept saying they could see a dog at the 20 second mark behind the guy dancing with the white shirt hahahaha the speculation, assumptions and skepticism was real! I think Rockstar must have lost there original copies of those trailers somehow because they haven't ever uploaded them (someone else on TH-cam has uploaded them and they are the versions givin to IGN). rockstar hav only ever uploaded that video "San Andreas the introduction" that came with the special edition of the game still a cool af video. Can't wait for your san andreas video bro!
dude i gotta say, i LOVE the way your honest about the way you feel about this game. I also have a problem with vice city's emptiness, most people let the nostalgia take over and that ruins their take on it, but since this was a blind playthrough for you there was nothing to hold back. new subscriber most definitely
Cheers dude! This was my second playthrough but many of my thoughts haven't changed since I first played it years ago. I do still like it, can't go wrong with a classic Rockstar game but yeah, never understood people that suggest this is their favorite! (Good for them though, stoked they like it!) 😁👍
Yes it's even worse in Vice City Stories, it's one of my favorite GTAs but VCS is so empty at times it breaks the immersion at times, there's even times when the streets are completely empty and have to wait for a vehicle to show up.
What a great video, Jak. Way to bring some fresh perspectives and insight into a game that has been covered so much before. Can’t wait for the San Andreas video. My personal favorite.
3:43 The game is supposed to go into slow-motion there. It's unfortunate that some assumptions by game developers fail to hold up under modern hardware, the game was tied to a 30 FPS limit and doesn't work fully as intended on higher framerates. The HUD elements flash faster than intended and the car that rolls onto the street during the early Avery Carrington mission cutscenes don't even move unless running at a 30 FPS limit.
Playing Vice city and the Scarface game as a kid is what inspired my love for Hawaiian shirts and tendency to roll my sleeves up on almost every jacket and suit I own to this day. The very mention of those games just reels me back into those much more imaginative and pure years of me life, really glad to see you reviewing GTA VC, mate! Great work on the Grand Theft Auto retrospective so far! :) P.S I'd be most intrigued to see you were to review the scarface game one day
It was amazing how Rockstar was able to make so many improvements after the success that was GTA 3. Vice City improved a lot of things such as buying property and the soundtrack. Just like always I enjoyed your video! Keep up the great work!
Finally a different opinion! I love Vice City, so it's amazing to finally hear another perspective that's not "Game is good cause everyone says so". This is why I sub to you
Music was amazing. To have these radio stations in the game in 2002/2003 was absolutely mindblowing. V-Rock and Flash FM alone still hold up today. Also so many of the characters were very memorable. Lance Vance, Diaz, Kent Paul, the Love Fist crew, Mercedes, coked up lawyer Ken Rosenberg...
Spent ages just fucking around in gta3. Was excited for vice city. Got it, annnnmddddd more dicking around in it, but world while improved in details, felt the details were spread out even though the map was smaller. Idk just didn’t get into it as much. If u hand me the controller with vice city running, I wouldn’t be able to know where to go or places are. But if gta3 or even San Andreas running, I know the maps like back of my hand and could go fav spots, check out places on pure memory. Vice city felt like a filler between 3 and San Andreas where they were upgrading the development but wanted to get something out to keep the flame going. Most my friends like vice city, but it’s my least favorite.
You managed to perfectly sum up my feelings for the Vice City map that always seemed to ever so slightly hamper my enjoyment for this game. I played both 3 and Vice city for the first time around 5 years ago (damn), and strangely enough, I've always found the world of vice city (particularly the second Island) to be eerie and almost creepy. Like the PEDs seem a lot quieter compared to other games, buildings are very simplistic looking and lack decoration, and there's so many huge areas with absolutely nothing going on. No people, no decoration, pickups, etc. It's like visiting a place that was once sprawling with activity and abundance before being abandoned. An island that is wasting away to a husk of it's former self the longer it is neglected. The Vice City Stories rendition of west Vice City is way more lively and is probably one of the most slept on improvements Vice City Stories made.
Scathing, but I can't say you're wrong on any of this. Personally I still adore Vice City. Navigating Liberty City with a printed map in my hands at all times is just a bit too much of an ask for me, but I can definitely understand your issues with the map feeling smaller. All in all though, I don't think VC's strengths are in innovation, but more in iteration. It polishes off a lot of the rougher edges of GTA3, and maybe sometimes it goes too far in that. Either way, I think you're in for a treat with San Andreas.
Vice City was my first Rated M game I ever played and then MGS2 was the first Rated M game I ever owned. Cool to see after all these years im looking forward to GTA 6 and hopefully after MGS Delta there will be a remake of MGS2. Over 20 years of gaming life 🔥
This is an amazing video honestly. I played this game on launch back on a PS2 at a friend's house over and over. Nearly everything you said about the game is exactly how I felt at launch and to this day after replaying it several times over. Especially the map design of GTA 3 being nearly a collectathon. I constantly go back and forth in my head whether I prefer 3 or SA as my personal favorite, and I believe to have made my decision on loving 3 the most. I look forward to your VCS video though as I feel that game improves on so many tiny flaws in the original VC. Hot take as well that I think VCS has a superior soundtrack too.
My name and avatar were taken from this game (and some Team17 game), so I'm very biased but I loved Vice City. I think I liked the simplier flat map because I could memorise it, steal the fastest car and drive at full speed from one side to the other, which I really struggled to do in GTA3.
Bro i totally understand what your saying about the map aye. I almost fell like they somehow intentionally made it feel not to expansive compared to gta 3 because rockstar new what they would be capable of with there next big release. (san andreas) i still play my original console release copies to this day.
I remember one map criticism that you didn't bring up, but I recall reading people had back then and even now, was how flat the map was. Even compared to Liberty City in 3, there's a lot less changes in elevation and barely any hills in Vice City. IIRC, Rockstar did hear that criticism and one of their goals in San Andreas was to correct that. Which is supposedly why you see a lot more hills and mountains in that game.
@@SquareEyedJak GTA IV has that problem too from what I've seen, but the city also looks so much alive. I haven't really played through the campaign yet, plan to soon, but I do love to sometimes boot it up to walk around and take in the city. I have actually been playing through the series for the first time since 2021, 100%-ing them too, with me finishing up LCS earlier this year and VCS recently. I can't wait to see your future reviews on all that.
I know this is more of a comment for your San Andreas video.. but my favourite ever mission in the whole Grand Theft Auto series would be in N.O.E. from San Andreas ( the one where Mike Torino asks you to fly to Angel pine and back in that old fighter plane) it was the first mission I really struggled with as a kid an I remember after many attempts finding the easy way to do it by flying along the coastline.. and when I finally got past the first destination (where you drop the package) and was flying back I remember getting that feeling.. man you are a long way from home it's been a long time since you've been there, and it's probably gonna be even longer until you return... and I just remember being totally amazed that a game from 2004 gave me that feeling. Will always love doing that mission.. alot of people hate on it.
The very first grand theft auto game....that I managed to get my hands on. I remember playing this shit for hours. Took me about 6 months to fully 100% and over 120 combined hours put in.
I never got into vice city but im so excited for gta 6. I agree with what you said about the map its just so flat and bland and feels like theres not a lot to it. Looking forward to seeing the san andreas review and seeing you dressed up as big smoke (ps happy (late) bday, enjoyed the stream)
All valid criticisms but, the game felt different at the time. The open world, the 80s vibe with the soundtrack and Scarface inspired story set this apart. Playing this for the first time amd hearing "Billie Jean" set the tone. It was one of those games you could spend hours driving and causing chaos. Friends talking about new discoveries made. There was so much this game had to offer even. There was nothing like it beside GTA 3 at the time. It's a 9 out of 10 at worst. Yes, it had flaws that didn't age well but, it was a different experience back then. This made people want a PS2 to experience something 5th gen consoles didn't offer.
Absolutely top notch review, it's the first discussion on Vice City that discuses it's drawbacks in the exact way I've always felt. Vice City is a great game, especially for the time, but I feel that if you take away the star-studded voice acting and movie-like story, it's actually a step back from what GTA III offered. It's incredible that it was made in a year, but the map was my first issue, it feels very limited and small considering in GTA games, you are driving for like 75% of the time. GTA games have always been a sort of parody on American culture and the things Americans consume, it's something I've always appreciated about the games. I fear that GTA6 is shaping up to be a parody of ITSELF, even more-so than 5 was. I love GTA 5 and I think 6 will be stellar, but I wish they had another go at the 80's time-piece for 6.
I was 11 years old when I first played grand theft auto and grand theft auto Vice City was the first game I had ever played in the series. It made my childhood awesome, but at the same time made my childhood a little fucked up.
I commented on your GTA 3 video and complimented your Claude outfit and told you I expected to see a Tommy Vercetti outfit now on your next video and goddamnit you did it! Haha. Nice
Just hoping he will only wear the character's clothes for San Andreas, and not use any.. ahem.. makeup. It's a joke. That would be awful, of course. I like my humor a bit dark and edgy, but only if done correctly, so someone doing that would not amuse me in the least. I don't think there even is a way to do that that would work, though the use of certain words could, but would be very very hard to pull off correctly, and even then I wouldn't defend that as if it was just nothing, something that people shouldn't feel offended by.
@@rodsk8dude731 lol... I'd just throw on a white tank top and jeans and call it good. Maybe buzz my head. ...and I'm sure if he does San Andreas he'll just be giving his thoughts on the game again, not reciting CJ's lines...
i played vice city a month or two before san andreas when i was 8. at the time, i loved driv3r, and then my cousin brought home vice city and that game blew my mind. although the graphics weren't as good, the game hard character... AND GORE. even the npcs talking blew my mind. when he bought san andreas a month or two later and brought it home, now that was a STEP UP. all the issues VC had were all touched up in SA. plus, it was the first time i heard fuck in a video game. VC was the first game i heard swearing, but hearing fuck in a game was shocking lol was such a treat to experience.
This was a bit before my time, but I played the GTA Vice City Stories and Liberty City Stories on the PSP extensively. It's quite interesting to see how much they cut out of the original games to squeeze onto the handheld. Whilst I enjoyed both games a lot, I think the same comments can be applied especially in regards to the map, vice city is pretty empty (although you get cool helicopters and can swim around or take boats more), liberty is more dense and feels like it has a bit more character and continuity!
Vice City was the first GTA I played so of course I am a little bit bias but the main reason why VC and SA are the best GTA games for me are the soundtracks. The atmosphere it creates is just amazing ... plus I always liked the map of the VC (the neon colours and the atmosphere again). For exploration there was the SA that came afterwards.
*Fun facts about Vice City : It seems that the Forellis are the 3D era Gambinos ,so Sonny is the 3Ds Gotti , although I can't be 100% sure that the Gambinos were the 1st Italian - US crime organization in Miami ,* *Beside the obvious inspirations/similarities 'tween Tony and Tommy and Rosenberg 'tween Kleinfeld and the Miami Vice inspiration, while the original Vercetti's appearance was reminiscent of Ray Liotta , the Definitive Edition bears more similarity to Vincent Gigante who was the boss of the Genovese crime family on the other hand* *The feud of Tommy and Sonny is reminiscent of an altercation 'tween Joseph "Joe Dogs" Ianuzzi Jr. and Thomas "T.A." Agro* *Upon further investigating the Gambinos and Florida , I found out another pallarel 'tween Tommy and Joseph "Piney" Armone this time, as Gotti have sent 'em in '86 to Florida in order to supervise the Gambinos interests in there* *Agro to whom Ianuzzi was owning money to , was Gambinos consigliere and worked under the aforementioned Joseph Armone* *I've something more , something that I ain't even seen coming , well there was another guy related to the Gambinos making moves in Miami, before '70s and his name was Thomas Altamura , and that's not all , it turns out that beside being a Mobster he owned a food place that was called ... Sonny's Restaurant , ....and he had close ties with Santo Trafficante , coincidence? , his mugshot looks suspiciously familiar ain't it ??*
You explain it perfectly. Vice City simply does not have that “sand box” true open world feel. It’s too linear. It is essentially two long narrow highways with some POI but major waste of space. I remember playing and running around the golf course and losing my car and having to run around on foot - it’s absolutely miserable! The docks, the beach… lots of wasted space
I grew up playing Vice City and I actually think it was my first GTA game to play. So I'm definitely biased by nostalgia to an extent. But I couldn't agree more about a lot of the map being pointless. The beach in particular. And the golf course reeks of "FFS what am I doing here?" I remember playing GTA 3 and after playing it I was amazed at how good the world itself was. With that being said, the parts of Vice City's world that slaps, really does slap. Much better than anything in GTA 3. Surprised you didn't mention Tommy's ridiculous fast movement as well. That always bugged me the most. Especially compared to the other games which had a more realistic feel to them. It also doesn't need to be said that the soundtrack is unrivaled in video game history. Chefs kiss to Flash FM.
Good review, interesting to get a different opinion than what I usually hear about this game, I had a copy as a kid but my Disc was super cracked so I never could get past the first cutscene
VC was my first GTA game and continues to be my favorite in the series, the story is amazing and Tommy Vercetti is my favorite protagonist and it's the game that got me into 80's music. I wasn't allowed to have San Andreas at the time, many thanks to the hot coffee mod and my mom thought it was actually in the ps2 game. I used to play it at friends houses and i eventually got hold of a copy which i'd sneakily play but i'd only using mess around and fly about the city with flying cars but when i was eventually allowed to play it properly i enjoyed it but honestly didn't find it great compared to VC, it has a lot more to it but theres something special about VC that keeps me coming back to it and i never get bored playing it, don't get me wrong San Andreas is a great game but i think VC is better, but that's just my opinion, i know a lot a people find San Andreas the best.
That's cool, love hearing everyone's stories of their introductions to the series! As a San Andreas kid, def will be detailing mine in the next video but yeah relatable. I was banned from it as well, had to play it secretly at my cousins' place! 😅
This may be my favorite gta game of the entire series, but I'm so glad you reviewed it! I can understand your points. I played 3 waaaay back and its true, the map for 3 feels much bigger o.O and theres more to explore. While I like the map for vice city, there really is a lot of....dead space o.O but I cant help but love the game overall with its story and tommy is my favorite main lead too! But hey 👀 since ya saw scarface, I would highly recommend Scarface: the world is yours! It's probably the best gta clone I ever played! Its an interesting continuatuon/what if story of the movie! ^^ what if tony didnt die? 👀 thats pretty much the story, tony lives and gets revenge! It even has some content that fans of the movie love! It even has some songs that were cut from the soundtrack. If you ever get your hands on it, play it! it would be awesome to see you make a video on it! ^^ good work as always jak! Cant wait for the San Andreas video!
The only thing I can chalk the emptiness of a lot of the map down to is it coming out only one year later than GTA 3. If they gave themselves one more year working on the game then maybe the game could have been much better.
Man i have never been able to 100% this game. san andreas i didn't care for getting 100% and even the platinum trophy doesn't ask you to do that but out of the 3D trilogy vice city i never could get it all done due to bugs and over all boredom.
I only played VC in 2021 for the first time i think and was pleasantly surprised. After having played 3 for the first time too and hated it, VC is just 3 but good. There's only so good it can get though, which is why i think i may prefer VCS more, idk i haven't replayed that recently. Only SA held up in my eyes from that era of GTA games, VC only if you're a fan of such a vibe, which i am
You really had to be there. For whatever it’s worth , don’t tell anyone you haven’t seen Scarface until recently while criticizing this game. The music , ascetics , and overall feel was something unseen in 2002.
They had to cut out the everglades, key west and ft lauderdale to make the release date that and the lack pf a train was a sign it was rushed but damn were the characters, music and overall vibe great gta 6 looks like it will include thw missing parta plus central florida which is where the magic kingdom lies so many possibilities perhaps a major heist.
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You see, I won't say you're wrong, I will just say " You had to be there" to understand how revolutionary and fun this game was. Of course you don't feel that way since you have experienced so many games since then, but when this came out, Nothing compared.
💯. I feel you. Got young family playing the latest games and won't give a second look at these games.
Yeah it might be like a Seinfeld thing where at the time there was nothing like it, but nowadays with what's come after makes it hard for those just experiencing it to fully appreciate under the scope of it's time.
I was there to experience it and I was also there to see how quickly it was overshadowed by San Andreas, suddenly no one was talking about Vice City anymore and when I got San Andreas I almost forgot I had it as well. It's a great game but definitely overhyped these days in the online sphere, especially when you compare it to the Stories games which were much more polished versions of 3 and Vice... on a portable machine. VCS fixed so much of the empty areas of the map and enhanced the gameplay as much as it could while upgrading the "empire" system.
So when in the last few years I started seeing all this Vice City hype, it made me question if those people ever played San Andreas or the Stories games at all.
He makes some great points about the game with nostalgia and hindsight goggles on. Was definitely a game of its time. Still best radio playlist of all the GTA games
I was there. I played it day one. I played the original trilogy. And to this day, I can only remember vague things about the game. No fond memories or nostalgia. Three was revolutionary and San Andreas was brilliant and turned it to 11. Vice City is mid.
I was 10 years old when Vice City released, and there was nothing like it. The first kid in my class to get the game, brought the game manual in and everyone gathered around to look at it lol. It gathered more attention and excitement than a shiny charizard. I had goosebumps regularly for the first week or two when playing.
The motorbikes, different outfits and helicopters alone were enough for us to buy it in the first week.. and everything else was the cherry on top. Other details made it exciting as well, like only spending one mission in that big golf area.. and only needing to go in the shopping mall twice. So many little areas were so detailed compared to GTA III, even the back gardens on the island in the middle.. and we were never made to look at those details. Vice City is the one which really solidified GTA as the series where you could do anthing.. where you could live in the game and escape reality. A masterpiece for the time.
Maybe it hasn't aged the best; but i'll never forget that magic.
I'll also never forget seeing that iconic intro for the first time, no joke, Vice City's main theme is still one of my favorite video game tracks ever made.
idk to each their own, i prefer Vice City over any GTA game personally, its the only one i go back and play and really enjoy
Same, it's my favorite GTA too.
I'm surprised you never mentioned the mall, army base, or stadium, all of which can be entered. This was the first GTA game I played, and it's still one of my favorites.
I have to unsub because of this video lol. Vice City is unquestionably a top 5 game EVER created. Still fun to this day, yes, the original, no cheats
8:14 do yall listen to music or just skim through it
@@sludgepls I stand corrected. He glossed over it so quickly, though.
Didnt Rockstar say it was originally meant to be a DLC type of thing before realizing they had enough content to make a full game out of it
You are correct.
Vice City got me into the 80s as a kid.
Just finished replaying it and it's one of those games that gets better each time you play it.
I really like vice city but everytime I go to play it. The end part of the games ruins it for me having to do 6 of the assets before being able to beat the game
Yeah the assets part was annoying, the first time I played through, I had no idea why missions stopped spawning lmao.
Square-Haired Jack
I never realised that the cops don't throw spikes out in San Andreas.
Yeah, I never thought about that. I guess it's a uniquely Vice City thing. Just look the Miami Vice undercover cops in the sports cars that try to stop you on a certain wanted level.
Best GTA soundtrack hands down though. Flash FM is banger after banger.
Part of where some of your criticisms for why VC, was hollow. As it was originally going to be an expansion pack for GTA III on PC, but there were so many ideas it became its own game and it was developed in 9 months! Which is pretty crazy when you consider how much game development has changed
It blows my mind that it could feel hallow to anyone. Just the introduction of Businesses and how many of them come along with their own missions before they generate incomes for you. It honestly made me feel more connected to the city than any of the mechanics in San Andreas.
Great video as always, but also holy cow, I got blind sighted by the fact that we're already nearing 200 episodes! :O I still remember the big 100th episode celebration. Doesn't even feel that long ago. How time flies, ey? :P Keep up the great work man. You're one of the hardest working TH-camrs I know!
I've been replaying Vice City recently and it's still as great as it was back in 2002.
Yeah, as I already mentioned in the Patreon comments for this video, Vice City really blew me away as a kid, and although the games were heavily banned in my household growing up, I remember my oldest brother would sneak his copy in his bag whenever he came to stay with us, and then when my parents weren't looking I would fire it up in my room with the volume on low, then if anyone ever knocked to come in, I would hide it, good fucking times lmao, it's still my favourite out of the original PS2 trilogy of 3D GTA games, and yeah as I mentioned in your Patreon upload, another dope video from you dude, definitely hope you'll do a future video on Vice City Stories tho.
While Vice City is still a great game to me, I agree it doesn't quite hold up as well as the others. And you put into words why better than I ever could. Thank you.
Tbh this was the gta i played the most when I was a kid
Love you really upping your production values and also the extra research and review of Scarface too!
OSW!!
15:47 That was a cool and mysterious part of the map, the fog makes it feel like you found a total secret there.
Hi Jak, just wanted to say I discovered you ELR videos a few weeks ago when I was going through a tough time and it brought me so much joy. I finished the whole series in less than a week. You have a subscriber now and I can't wait to watch this new video. Thank you!
Glad to hear, thanks mate! Hope you're doing better now! 😄
@@SquareEyedJak Much better, thank you!
@@SquareEyedJak fun fact this is a game I played when I was 9 years old
Given the large, empty spaces of land (which could be chalked up to either a time constraint, or populating these areas would be a bit too taxing on the PlayStation 2), and overall smaller feel of the map, I can imagine the mission variety getting stale eventually, but the addition of exploring the interiors of buildings does help shake things up.
But now that you mention it, man, I do kind of miss annual releases for games, because they were still in the realm of being very doable, with modern games, however, annual releases just aren't common.
It’s crazy that we got 3, vice city, San Andreas, 4, 5 and all the psp spin offs in the same time between 5 and 6
New jak video, let’s go!
Omg randomly started binging Rockstar game retrospectives and then here comes my favorite Aussie with a new video!
Jak, this is such a well thought-out and reasoned approach to the game. You gave your experience level to put nostalgia in check, and made sure to respect the audience that has a deep love for the game while also voicing your criticisms of it. The way that you both respectfully praised the game and called it out on its shortcomings given the context, makes me respect even more your prowess for critique. Awesome video.
That being said, if you talk shit on SA I will riot like its 92.
Jk ;)
There's a LOT of good... and bad, especially regarding the story and progression
Such a great review from such a wonderfully genuine person. Take care man
Great video as always and I'm excited to see you gush about San Andreas, I probably love the game just as much as you. Hell, I made a long ass video on my channel gushing about it myself a few years back, keep up the great work Jak and keep being an inspiration to all of us!
Thats streets of rage theme for the second segment intro took me off guard it's an awesome tune thanks for showing it off, even if it makes me feel old. 👍
Watching the old PS2 trailers and that one original Xbox trailer are such a crazy nostalgia trip. my favourite is trailer 2 The Guns and Roses Welcome to the Jungle in that one just goes so ridiculously hard. I still remember all the hype from trailer 1 when people kept saying they could see a dog at the 20 second mark behind the guy dancing with the white shirt hahahaha the speculation, assumptions and skepticism was real! I think Rockstar must have lost there original copies of those trailers somehow because they haven't ever uploaded them (someone else on TH-cam has uploaded them and they are the versions givin to IGN). rockstar hav only ever uploaded that video "San Andreas the introduction" that came with the special edition of the game still a cool af video. Can't wait for your san andreas video bro!
dude i gotta say, i LOVE the way your honest about the way you feel about this game. I also have a problem with vice city's emptiness, most people let the nostalgia take over and that ruins their take on it, but since this was a blind playthrough for you there was nothing to hold back. new subscriber most definitely
Cheers dude! This was my second playthrough but many of my thoughts haven't changed since I first played it years ago. I do still like it, can't go wrong with a classic Rockstar game but yeah, never understood people that suggest this is their favorite! (Good for them though, stoked they like it!) 😁👍
Yes it's even worse in Vice City Stories, it's one of my favorite GTAs but VCS is so empty at times it breaks the immersion at times, there's even times when the streets are completely empty and have to wait for a vehicle to show up.
@@BobbyCarillo ig that could be chalked up to the psp having limited hardware but the same could be said for vc on the ps2
What a great video, Jak. Way to bring some fresh perspectives and insight into a game that has been covered so much before. Can’t wait for the San Andreas video. My personal favorite.
3:43 The game is supposed to go into slow-motion there. It's unfortunate that some assumptions by game developers fail to hold up under modern hardware, the game was tied to a 30 FPS limit and doesn't work fully as intended on higher framerates. The HUD elements flash faster than intended and the car that rolls onto the street during the early Avery Carrington mission cutscenes don't even move unless running at a 30 FPS limit.
I sped that up but ok, thanks for the info! 👍
Playing Vice city and the Scarface game as a kid is what inspired my love for Hawaiian shirts and tendency to roll my sleeves up on almost every jacket and suit I own to this day. The very mention of those games just reels me back into those much more imaginative and pure years of me life, really glad to see you reviewing GTA VC, mate! Great work on the Grand Theft Auto retrospective so far! :)
P.S I'd be most intrigued to see you were to review the scarface game one day
Vice city is my fav game of all time, its the only game i can replay over and over and not get bored
It was amazing how Rockstar was able to make so many improvements after the success that was GTA 3. Vice City improved a lot of things such as buying property and the soundtrack. Just like always I enjoyed your video! Keep up the great work!
I've been waiting for this video!
Vice City was the first GTA game I ever played...
Onya Jak! 🤘🏻
This was the first one I remember playing.
Finally a different opinion! I love Vice City, so it's amazing to finally hear another perspective that's not "Game is good cause everyone says so". This is why I sub to you
Now that you mention it, I have never seen people say what makes Vice City good outside of Ray liotta and 1980s.
I think nostalgia plays a huge part into it. I love this game and it is a good game, but its far from perfect like most fans would have you believe.
100% agree. Vice City suffers from nostalgia glasses the most.
Music was amazing. To have these radio stations in the game in 2002/2003 was absolutely mindblowing. V-Rock and Flash FM alone still hold up today. Also so many of the characters were very memorable. Lance Vance, Diaz, Kent Paul, the Love Fist crew, Mercedes, coked up lawyer Ken Rosenberg...
This and San Andreas were my favourite growing up
Great video as always !
Hope you do a San Andreas one soon 🤘
Spent ages just fucking around in gta3. Was excited for vice city. Got it, annnnmddddd more dicking around in it, but world while improved in details, felt the details were spread out even though the map was smaller. Idk just didn’t get into it as much. If u hand me the controller with vice city running, I wouldn’t be able to know where to go or places are. But if gta3 or even San Andreas running, I know the maps like back of my hand and could go fav spots, check out places on pure memory. Vice city felt like a filler between 3 and San Andreas where they were upgrading the development but wanted to get something out to keep the flame going. Most my friends like vice city, but it’s my least favorite.
You managed to perfectly sum up my feelings for the Vice City map that always seemed to ever so slightly hamper my enjoyment for this game.
I played both 3 and Vice city for the first time around 5 years ago (damn), and strangely enough, I've always found the world of vice city (particularly the second Island) to be eerie and almost creepy. Like the PEDs seem a lot quieter compared to other games, buildings are very simplistic looking and lack decoration, and there's so many huge areas with absolutely nothing going on. No people, no decoration, pickups, etc. It's like visiting a place that was once sprawling with activity and abundance before being abandoned. An island that is wasting away to a husk of it's former self the longer it is neglected.
The Vice City Stories rendition of west Vice City is way more lively and is probably one of the most slept on improvements Vice City Stories made.
Scathing, but I can't say you're wrong on any of this. Personally I still adore Vice City. Navigating Liberty City with a printed map in my hands at all times is just a bit too much of an ask for me, but I can definitely understand your issues with the map feeling smaller.
All in all though, I don't think VC's strengths are in innovation, but more in iteration. It polishes off a lot of the rougher edges of GTA3, and maybe sometimes it goes too far in that. Either way, I think you're in for a treat with San Andreas.
You know, iteration is definitely the better word to use I think!
Great commentary as always. Your thoughts on the world design is spot on.
Vice City was my first Rated M game I ever played and then MGS2 was the first Rated M game I ever owned. Cool to see after all these years im looking forward to GTA 6 and hopefully after MGS Delta there will be a remake of MGS2. Over 20 years of gaming life 🔥
This is an amazing video honestly. I played this game on launch back on a PS2 at a friend's house over and over. Nearly everything you said about the game is exactly how I felt at launch and to this day after replaying it several times over. Especially the map design of GTA 3 being nearly a collectathon.
I constantly go back and forth in my head whether I prefer 3 or SA as my personal favorite, and I believe to have made my decision on loving 3 the most. I look forward to your VCS video though as I feel that game improves on so many tiny flaws in the original VC. Hot take as well that I think VCS has a superior soundtrack too.
My name and avatar were taken from this game (and some Team17 game), so I'm very biased but I loved Vice City. I think I liked the simplier flat map because I could memorise it, steal the fastest car and drive at full speed from one side to the other, which I really struggled to do in GTA3.
Try playing the definitive edition and you will learn to appreciate the originals a lot more
Hope you've been doing alright, mate! This was a great video!!
Bro i totally understand what your saying about the map aye. I almost fell like they somehow intentionally made it feel not to expansive compared to gta 3 because rockstar new what they would be capable of with there next big release. (san andreas) i still play my original console release copies to this day.
Say what you say about Vice City's empty world but the only thing that will comfort you in your loneliness is the kick ass soundtrack.
Apparently this game was developed in less than a year. What do you think of the HUD styles of the GTA games over the years, Square Eyed Jak?
Vice city's soundtrack is so good! I still haven't played the entire game through though because my PS2 died 😔. Awesome review!
I remember one map criticism that you didn't bring up, but I recall reading people had back then and even now, was how flat the map was. Even compared to Liberty City in 3, there's a lot less changes in elevation and barely any hills in Vice City.
IIRC, Rockstar did hear that criticism and one of their goals in San Andreas was to correct that. Which is supposedly why you see a lot more hills and mountains in that game.
The location does make sense for the flat terrain but yes, that's another good point. Something that even GTA IV struggled with too imo.
@@SquareEyedJak GTA IV has that problem too from what I've seen, but the city also looks so much alive. I haven't really played through the campaign yet, plan to soon, but I do love to sometimes boot it up to walk around and take in the city.
I have actually been playing through the series for the first time since 2021, 100%-ing them too, with me finishing up LCS earlier this year and VCS recently. I can't wait to see your future reviews on all that.
Great commentary
I know this is more of a comment for your San Andreas video.. but my favourite ever mission in the whole Grand Theft Auto series would be in N.O.E. from San Andreas ( the one where Mike Torino asks you to fly to Angel pine and back in that old fighter plane) it was the first mission I really struggled with as a kid an I remember after many attempts finding the easy way to do it by flying along the coastline.. and when I finally got past the first destination (where you drop the package) and was flying back I remember getting that feeling.. man you are a long way from home it's been a long time since you've been there, and it's probably gonna be even longer until you return... and I just remember being totally amazed that a game from 2004 gave me that feeling. Will always love doing that mission.. alot of people hate on it.
The very first grand theft auto game....that I managed to get my hands on. I remember playing this shit for hours. Took me about 6 months to fully 100% and over 120 combined hours put in.
Yeah, this game was a milestone in the GTA series when it came out. RIP to Ray Liotta, the OG Goodfella
I never got into vice city but im so excited for gta 6. I agree with what you said about the map its just so flat and bland and feels like theres not a lot to it. Looking forward to seeing the san andreas review and seeing you dressed up as big smoke (ps happy (late) bday, enjoyed the stream)
All valid criticisms but, the game felt different at the time. The open world, the 80s vibe with the soundtrack and Scarface inspired story set this apart. Playing this for the first time amd hearing "Billie Jean" set the tone. It was one of those games you could spend hours driving and causing chaos. Friends talking about new discoveries made. There was so much this game had to offer even.
There was nothing like it beside GTA 3 at the time. It's a 9 out of 10 at worst. Yes, it had flaws that didn't age well but, it was a different experience back then. This made people want a PS2 to experience something 5th gen consoles didn't offer.
Absolutely top notch review, it's the first discussion on Vice City that discuses it's drawbacks in the exact way I've always felt.
Vice City is a great game, especially for the time, but I feel that if you take away the star-studded voice acting and movie-like story, it's actually a step back from what GTA III offered. It's incredible that it was made in a year, but the map was my first issue, it feels very limited and small considering in GTA games, you are driving for like 75% of the time.
GTA games have always been a sort of parody on American culture and the things Americans consume, it's something I've always appreciated about the games. I fear that GTA6 is shaping up to be a parody of ITSELF, even more-so than 5 was. I love GTA 5 and I think 6 will be stellar, but I wish they had another go at the 80's time-piece for 6.
^ VC is one of my all time favorite childhood game & it never gets old to the point where I play it from time to time❕
Honestly, I love vice city but your points are 100% valid.
Is it good? Yes. [Roll credits with the Vice City theme]
You do a great job reviewing GTA games, and I highly recommend you play Vice City Stories!
Ran into you on thugpro thank you for the editing software recommendation im working on an overview of cut content in cod4 as my first real video
Ay cheers mate, always nice to meet people in games. Good luck with it!
I was 11 years old when I first played grand theft auto and grand theft auto Vice City was the first game I had ever played in the series. It made my childhood awesome, but at the same time made my childhood a little fucked up.
I commented on your GTA 3 video and complimented your Claude outfit and told you I expected to see a Tommy Vercetti outfit now on your next video and goddamnit you did it! Haha. Nice
Just hoping he will only wear the character's clothes for San Andreas, and not use any.. ahem.. makeup.
It's a joke. That would be awful, of course. I like my humor a bit dark and edgy, but only if done correctly, so someone doing that would not amuse me in the least. I don't think there even is a way to do that that would work, though the use of certain words could, but would be very very hard to pull off correctly, and even then I wouldn't defend that as if it was just nothing, something that people shouldn't feel offended by.
@@rodsk8dude731 lol... I'd just throw on a white tank top and jeans and call it good. Maybe buzz my head. ...and I'm sure if he does San Andreas he'll just be giving his thoughts on the game again, not reciting CJ's lines...
i played vice city a month or two before san andreas when i was 8. at the time, i loved driv3r, and then my cousin brought home vice city and that game blew my mind. although the graphics weren't as good, the game hard character... AND GORE. even the npcs talking blew my mind. when he bought san andreas a month or two later and brought it home, now that was a STEP UP. all the issues VC had were all touched up in SA. plus, it was the first time i heard fuck in a video game. VC was the first game i heard swearing, but hearing fuck in a game was shocking lol was such a treat to experience.
When this came out, I could not wait for my classmate to lend me this game!
This was a bit before my time, but I played the GTA Vice City Stories and Liberty City Stories on the PSP extensively. It's quite interesting to see how much they cut out of the original games to squeeze onto the handheld. Whilst I enjoyed both games a lot, I think the same comments can be applied especially in regards to the map, vice city is pretty empty (although you get cool helicopters and can swim around or take boats more), liberty is more dense and feels like it has a bit more character and continuity!
Vice City was the first GTA I played so of course I am a little bit bias but the main reason why VC and SA are the best GTA games for me are the soundtracks. The atmosphere it creates is just amazing ... plus I always liked the map of the VC (the neon colours and the atmosphere again). For exploration there was the SA that came afterwards.
can't disagree more best gta ever
I'm glad I'm not the only person who thinks G-Spotlight is a fun mission
Vice City experience was never about gameplay, it is about game's feel.
I never appreciated the 80s until I finished Vice City on my PS2 back in 2002, and got a lousy t-shirt upon full completion.
17:57 that blood texture is used in manhunt as well
Cant wait for the GTA SA video, thats gonna be epic
Scarface has also a really cool miami map design
Awesome video!
where can I find that paranoid cover at 27:20?
*Fun facts about Vice City : It seems that the Forellis are the 3D era Gambinos ,so Sonny is the 3Ds Gotti , although I can't be 100% sure that the Gambinos were the 1st Italian - US crime organization in Miami ,*
*Beside the obvious inspirations/similarities 'tween Tony and Tommy and Rosenberg 'tween Kleinfeld and the Miami Vice inspiration, while the original Vercetti's appearance was reminiscent of Ray Liotta , the Definitive Edition bears more similarity to Vincent Gigante who was the boss of the Genovese crime family on the other hand*
*The feud of Tommy and Sonny is reminiscent of an altercation 'tween Joseph "Joe Dogs" Ianuzzi Jr. and Thomas "T.A." Agro*
*Upon further investigating the Gambinos and Florida , I found out another pallarel 'tween Tommy and Joseph "Piney" Armone this time, as Gotti have sent 'em in '86 to Florida in order to supervise the Gambinos interests in there*
*Agro to whom Ianuzzi was owning money to , was Gambinos consigliere and worked under the aforementioned Joseph Armone*
*I've something more , something that I ain't even seen coming , well there was another guy related to the Gambinos making moves in Miami, before '70s and his name was Thomas Altamura , and that's not all , it turns out that beside being a Mobster he owned a food place that was called ... Sonny's Restaurant , ....and he had close ties with Santo Trafficante , coincidence? , his mugshot looks suspiciously familiar ain't it ??*
I still have that love fist fury mate
Please can anyone tell me what song is playing on the outro. I can’t find it in joyless playlists, tell me the name of it, please!
Maybe the only GTA I want to replay (PC) I think i played it first in 2003.
You explain it perfectly. Vice City simply does not have that “sand box” true open world feel. It’s too linear. It is essentially two long narrow highways with some POI but major waste of space. I remember playing and running around the golf course and losing my car and having to run around on foot - it’s absolutely miserable! The docks, the beach… lots of wasted space
Love this video, hope to see San Andrea 😊
I grew up playing Vice City and I actually think it was my first GTA game to play. So I'm definitely biased by nostalgia to an extent.
But I couldn't agree more about a lot of the map being pointless. The beach in particular. And the golf course reeks of "FFS what am I doing here?"
I remember playing GTA 3 and after playing it I was amazed at how good the world itself was.
With that being said, the parts of Vice City's world that slaps, really does slap. Much better than anything in GTA 3.
Surprised you didn't mention Tommy's ridiculous fast movement as well. That always bugged me the most. Especially compared to the other games which had a more realistic feel to them.
It also doesn't need to be said that the soundtrack is unrivaled in video game history. Chefs kiss to Flash FM.
Good review, interesting to get a different opinion than what I usually hear about this game, I had a copy as a kid but my Disc was super cracked so I never could get past the first cutscene
Yeah, when one mere crack on the disc made ModNation Racers unplayable and unable to load into the race mode for me, having a few is not any good.
@@MatthewCenance That’s a good game, I had the Road-trip one on Vita
VC was my first GTA game and continues to be my favorite in the series, the story is amazing and Tommy Vercetti is my favorite protagonist and it's the game that got me into 80's music. I wasn't allowed to have San Andreas at the time, many thanks to the hot coffee mod and my mom thought it was actually in the ps2 game. I used to play it at friends houses and i eventually got hold of a copy which i'd sneakily play but i'd only using mess around and fly about the city with flying cars but when i was eventually allowed to play it properly i enjoyed it but honestly didn't find it great compared to VC, it has a lot more to it but theres something special about VC that keeps me coming back to it and i never get bored playing it, don't get me wrong San Andreas is a great game but i think VC is better, but that's just my opinion, i know a lot a people find San Andreas the best.
That's cool, love hearing everyone's stories of their introductions to the series! As a San Andreas kid, def will be detailing mine in the next video but yeah relatable. I was banned from it as well, had to play it secretly at my cousins' place! 😅
This may be my favorite gta game of the entire series, but I'm so glad you reviewed it! I can understand your points. I played 3 waaaay back and its true, the map for 3 feels much bigger o.O and theres more to explore. While I like the map for vice city, there really is a lot of....dead space o.O but I cant help but love the game overall with its story and tommy is my favorite main lead too! But hey 👀 since ya saw scarface, I would highly recommend Scarface: the world is yours! It's probably the best gta clone I ever played! Its an interesting continuatuon/what if story of the movie! ^^ what if tony didnt die? 👀 thats pretty much the story, tony lives and gets revenge! It even has some content that fans of the movie love! It even has some songs that were cut from the soundtrack. If you ever get your hands on it, play it! it would be awesome to see you make a video on it! ^^ good work as always jak! Cant wait for the San Andreas video!
Bizarre is the lack of people.
If Vice City was made today with the same time gap, it would be GTA IV!
The only thing I can chalk the emptiness of a lot of the map down to is it coming out only one year later than GTA 3. If they gave themselves one more year working on the game then maybe the game could have been much better.
Back in '02 & '03 this was "the game". Just like how Tony Hawk's was in '99 & '00.
Man i have never been able to 100% this game. san andreas i didn't care for getting 100% and even the platinum trophy doesn't ask you to do that but out of the 3D trilogy vice city i never could get it all done due to bugs and over all boredom.
I only played VC in 2021 for the first time i think and was pleasantly surprised. After having played 3 for the first time too and hated it, VC is just 3 but good. There's only so good it can get though, which is why i think i may prefer VCS more, idk i haven't replayed that recently. Only SA held up in my eyes from that era of GTA games, VC only if you're a fan of such a vibe, which i am
You really had to be there. For whatever it’s worth , don’t tell anyone you haven’t seen Scarface until recently while criticizing this game. The music , ascetics , and overall feel was something unseen in 2002.
They had to cut out the everglades, key west and ft lauderdale to make the release date that and the lack pf a train was a sign it was rushed but damn were the characters, music and overall vibe great gta 6 looks like it will include thw missing parta plus central florida which is where the magic kingdom lies so many possibilities perhaps a major heist.
what is the song at 13:45?