Vice City Best Mods

[Brayan Jacobsen]

Its hard to resist the charm of classic Grand Theft Auto games like Vice City. Although Vice City is terribly antiquated by today's standards, revisiting the game's sun-baked shores is still a treat. Although an official remaster has finally hit the shelves, mods for this game are still worth trying out.

Luckily, there's an extensive collection of mods for Vice City that attempt to bring this classic title out of the dark ages and into the modern era. Whether it's updated graphics or new features entirely, these nifty mods should make replaying Vice City more of a joy and less of a headache.

Updated December 30, 2021 by Mark Hospodar: Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy - Definitive Edition has finally been released. These beloved titles, however, experienced a bit of a rocky launch since first hitting the shelves in their remastered state in November.

Mods for Grand Theft Auto: Vice City are still an option for players either disillusioned or unsure about the Definitive Edition. A handful of additional mods have been added to this list in the interest of casting a wide net for fans interested in resurrecting this blast from the past.

Before diving into the mod list proper, it's worth mentioning a handy little tool that will make the player's life a lot easier. Modding games as old as Vice City is very rarely a straightforward process. Keeping everything organized for when things go wrong is important and ultimately saves time.

The Mod Loader is highly recommended when installing add-ons for Vice City. It beats rooting around the game's file directories to find the correct installation paths. Mod Loader does practically all the work by itself, which is always a plus. Players installing multiple mods should download this handy tool as well to create a smoother process.

Delivering a smoother and more bug-free experience than the original should be at the top of the list for any remaster. Vice City is an old game, and no longer receives regular updates from the developers to fix lingering problems and bugs.

For that, installing the Silent Patch should be step #1 when looking to overhaul Vice City. The collection of fixes this mod provides is extensive, so it's worth perusing the description page for the full list. Suffice to say, Vice City will run a lot smoother with the Silent Patch installed.

The kind of widescreen monitors that most players are familiar with today didn't exist in 2002. As such, playing Vice City today on a modern setup doesn't look quite right. Fortunately, players can install the Widescreen Fix mod to solve the issue.

The Widescreen Fix mod doesn't do anything too fancy. It simply fixes things like the game's aspect ratio, HUD, and FOV to better fit the size of contemporary monitors. Before thinking about another playthrough, this mod should definitely be given consideration.

When searching for a competent, all-in-one overhaul, the Vice City: Definitive Edition mod is a worthy choice. If players don't want to waste time installing multiple mods one at a time, this comprehensive package is the perfect solution.

Vice City: Definitive Edition fixes many of the problems that still plague the game even after all these years. Vice City will not only run better but look better too. Textures are upscaled, gamepads are given support, and the ability to run the game in 60 FPS is also provided.

Installing a competent retexture mod when looking to remaster a game is essential. There are a few packages that fulfill this function, but one of the more recent and well-made examples is the Vice City Retexture Project.

With this mod, Vice City is certainly able to pop aesthetically. This game, despite its advanced age, still possesses plenty of beauty on offer. Making sure everything looks its absolute best is a great way to experience this game one more time.

The remastered version of the Grand Theft Auto trilogy has been met with a divisive reception. Those looking for a stabler or alternative experience while the official version works out the kinks should take a look at the Final Remastered Edition mod.

The Final Remastered Edition incorporates a collection of other mods within its package. Fans can expect crisper visuals, fewer bugs and crashes, and increased draw distance, to name just a few features. If anyone is on the fence about the remastered trilogy, this mod is worth the time.

Similar to the previous mod, Vice City HD Edition is a package deal that comes with a whole host of improvements. Its primary concern is graphical enhancements, assembling dozens of smaller mods under one umbrella.

Yet another new mod that aims to make Vice City look better is Definitive Edition Classic. Once again, this mod incorporates several smaller add-ons that really enlivens the 1980s atmosphere in a manner that should make longtime fans smile. There are also a few reshading options in the form of added filters for gamers to experiment with throughout a playthrough.

There are a lot of mods that give Vice City's visuals more panache. One aspect of the presentation that fans should consider improving is the various tertiary effects in the game. Taken together, these effects can have a noticeable impact on the overall look of the game.

Vice City: HD Effects upgrades many of the particles in the environment. Textures and effects such as gun flashes, blood, smoke, and tire marks are all given the HD treatment. It's not perfect, but it helps make Vice City appear more realistic by today's standards.

If players want to try to take the game's visuals to the next level, then installing an ENB is the next step. When all the texture mods have been exhausted, an ENB will make Vice City's environment pop even more than it did before.

The Vice City ENB Series mod will further amplify many of the environmental effects encountered in the game. Things like reflections and sun glare will now appear more natural and realistic. It's worth giving a try while making the rest of the game look as beautiful as possible.

One of the highlights of Vice City at the time of its release was its excellent collection of 80s music. Tooling around the map listening to the decade's top artists is one of the most enjoyable aspects of the game. Why not make the selection even better by adding more music?

The MeTV Radio mod does just that by adding over six hours of 80s hits to Vice City's radio stations. Now, it won't be quite as easy to run out of things to listen to while exploring the game world and seeing everything that's on offer.

Since Vice City's release in 2002, open-world video games have only gotten bigger in their scope. Players may find that they run out of activities to perform quicker than they remembered. Adding brand new content to the proceedings is the solution.

The Vice City Big Mission Pack mod strives to increase the game's longevity by incorporating new tasks for Tommy to complete. More than 60 new missions are included to further occupy the player's time, ensuring that fans won't be leaving the shores of Vice City too soon.

In a similar vein to the previous mod, the primary aim of New Vice City is to add additional featuresand activities not present in the vanilla version. Added together, the mod attempts to make the game a more immersive and long-lived experience.

New Vice City's list of features is extensive, but fans should find them interesting enough. More hardcore mechanics such as cars requiring fuel and Tommy needing to eat regularly are included. There are also other abilities like being able to call a cab or even emergency services, much like the player can do in Grand Theft Auto 5.

There's always a man, a lighthouse, and a city. Sometimes, those cities are sucked from 2002 and splatted into modern videogames, like the Vice Cry: Remastered mod that takes the Grand Theft Auto: Vice City map and plops it into Grand Theft Auto V. Bet Ayn Rand didn't see that one coming.

The mod's been floating about for years but only recently hit version 1.0. It started life as a makeover mod for the original Vice City, so in theory its a better version even before GTA V's technobits.

Here's a trailer, which confusingly features remade cutscenes from Vice City's singleplayer campaign that you can't play with the mod - you only get to muck about with the map, and some homemade missions. GTA is obviously at its best when you're just larking about with trucks and drawbridges, so I wouldn't worry.

Vice Cry: Remastered brings Vice City into the modern era with a complete remaster of the Vice City map from Lunchxbles. Take this remaster mod a step further Tommy Vercetti with a separate mod to take a step back into the neon dashed waterfront that captures 80s Florida so well.

While GTA 5 Redux beautifully upgrades the streets of Los Santos with new weather, skies, and many lush 4K textures, this mod is more than just a visual overhaul. GTA 5 Redux also includes tweaks to vehicle handling, a reconfigured police system, and an improved weapon feel to make the gameplay feel more refined after all these years.

Technically a cheat more than a mod, Native Trainer delves deep into the source code of GTA 5 to allow you to turn on and off various exciting settings. Fancy enjoying a little low gravity? Turn it on from an in-game menu and easily bunny-hop down the Vinewood hills with little danger to your health. You can also swap out character models and become a cat for the day. Native Trainer comes lumped in with most Script Hook V downloads, so chances are you already have the file.

Inspired by the best battle royale games, the Complex Control mod overhauls GTA 5 gameplay by putting you in the shoes of a procedurally generated avatar equipped with several special abilities who must battle against NPCs in an ever-shrinking map. By also incorporating rogue-lite elements to keep things interesting, Complex Control is an incredibly fun and challenging addition to the game.

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