Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories

Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories is a 2006 open-world action-adventure game developed by Rockstar Leeds in collaboration with Rockstar North, and published by Rockstar Games. Released originally in October 2006 for the PlayStation Portable (PSP) and later ported to the PlayStation 2 in 2007, it serves as the second major handheld spin-off in the franchise. Following the massive success of Liberty City Stories, Rockstar turned the clock back to the neon-soaked, pastel-colored streets of the 1980s.

Core Concept and Story

The game acts as a direct prequel to 2002’s legendary Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, taking place in 1984 (two years before Tommy Vercetti arrives in town).

It features arguably one of the most tragic narratives in the entire franchise. You play as Victor “Vic” Vance, a relatively honorable, disciplined U.S. Army corporal who only enlisted to pay for his younger brother Pete’s expensive asthma medication. However, Vic’s corrupt, drug-addicted commanding officer, Sergeant Jerry Martinez, immediately drags him into the cocaine trade and frames him, getting Vic dishonorably discharged and thrown out onto the streets.

With no money and a family to support, Vic is reluctantly forced into the criminal underworld. The tragedy is heavily compounded by the arrival of his reckless, flamboyant brother Lance Vance. For fans who played the original Vice City, Vic’s story is draped in dramatic irony, as players already know that his descent into the drug trade will eventually lead to his sudden, violent death at the beginning of the 2002 game.

Gameplay and Features

Vice City Stories pushed the PSP hardware to its absolute breaking point, bringing a vibrant, sun-drenched city to life while introducing several massive new mechanics that surpassed even its console predecessor:

• Empire Building: This was the game’s defining mechanical innovation. Vic could actively attack and take over rival gang fronts across the city. Once secured, you could choose to convert these buildings into various illicit businesses (such as prostitution rings, loan sharking, smuggling, or drug running). Managing these properties, upgrading them, and defending them from rival gang retaliations formed a massive, highly addictive secondary gameplay loop.
• Swimming and Combat: Rockstar finally addressed one of the biggest memes in the franchise. Unlike Tommy Vercetti, who instantly drowned if he touched the ocean, Vic Vance could actually swim (though limited by a stamina meter). Furthermore, hand-to-hand combat was drastically overhauled, allowing Vic to grapple enemies, throw them, and snap necks.
• The Phil Collins Cameo: In a massive, bizarrely awesome pop-culture milestone, Vice City Stories features legendary musician Phil Collins playing himself. In a highly memorable string of missions, Vic is hired by Phil’s manager to protect the singer from heavily armed assassins, culminating in the player having to stop a hit squad during a fully animated, live in-game concert of “In the Air Tonight.”
• Vehicular Additions: Because it was set earlier in the timeline, the game featured several fun vehicular oddities, including rideable BMX bicycles, hovercrafts, and an amphibious quad bike, alongside the return of the beloved PSP ad-hoc wireless multiplayer.

Reception and The “Forgotten” GTA

Upon its release on the PSP, Vice City Stories was met with widespread critical acclaim. Reviewers were blown away by the technological leap over Liberty City Stories; the draw distances were significantly improved, the city felt much more populated, and the Empire Building mechanic added a deep layer of strategic replayability.

When it was ported to the PlayStation 2 a few months later, it was generally well-received, though it suffered from the same criticisms as its predecessor—namely that upscaling a PSP game to a home console resulted in muddy textures and slightly clunky controls.

Today, Vice City Stories holds a bittersweet legacy. Unlike almost every other game in the 3D era, it was never officially ported to PC or modern mobile devices (likely due to the incredibly complex music licensing issues surrounding Phil Collins and the 80s soundtrack). As a result, it is often viewed as the fantastic “lost” or “forgotten” chapter of the classic GTA era.

Quick Note

Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories is a phenomenal, neon-drenched tragedy with some of the best side-mechanics of the PS2 era.

In short: It is a phenomenal prequel that genuinely improves upon the original Vice City in terms of raw gameplay mechanics. If you can track down a way to play it, the addictive Empire Building and the sheer 1980s absurdity of defending Phil Collins from a mafia hit squad make it an essential, high-water mark of handheld gaming.