GTA: Vice City is one of the most popular games in the GTA franchise, and a huge part of this was its explorable recreation of Miami. Rockstar recreated Miami Beach pretty perfectly in GTA: Vice City - albeit with the usual exaggerated flare the series is known for - through '80s music, yacht parties, clothing styles, and neon buildings that make the player feel as if they are right in the heart of the Floridian city in the 1980s.
A huge part of the '80s vibes stem from GTA: Vice City being heavily inspired by Miami Vice as well. Every other mission includes the player dealing with drugs or gangs in the city. Taking on the character of Tommy Vercetti, the player must retrieve the money from a drug deal that went bad. As Tommy begins building his empire and exploring Vice City, it is clear that Rockstar created the game to mimic Miami in every way.
The architecture in Vice City is almost identical to the buildings in Miami. The Colony Hotel in Miami, for instance, is remade in GTA: Vice City as the Colon Hotel. The Hotel's appearance is very similar to real-life Miami, identically matching with the blue neon sign. Although players can't enter the Hotel, it is nice to see familiar landmarks in the game. Another landmark in GTA: Vice City is the Cape Florida Lighthouse in Key Biscayne. Players can enter the lighthouse and can even find a rare item around the area.
The famous Fontainebleau Hotel in Miami makes an appearance in GTA: Vice City. Renamed as the Ducum Inn Hotel, the landmark can be found in the Vice Point area in the game. The Hotel's half-circle shape is identical to the real Fontainebleau Hotel in Miami Beach. Players can't enter the Ducum Inn unless they are playing GTA: Vice City Stories, which is different from GTA: Vice City, with its own story and a different playable character. The Fontainebleau Hotel is one of the most historic buildings in Miami and was made famous through many movies and TV shows.
The map in GTA: Vice City comes to a point like the state of Florida and even has islands that resemble those in real-world Miami. Where North Bay Village and Normandy Shores golf course is in Miami, Vice City has a similar layout in the same location. The place called Little Haiti is in the game as it is also in the same place as it is in Miami. When in comparison, Miami and GTA: Vice City's maps are almost identical.
Another part of Vice City that fits Miami's real world is the characters' clothes. The majority of the clothes worn in Vice City include Hawaii-type button-down shirts or mafia-style outfits. The 1980s were a time for pastel suits, and they definitely flourish throughout the game. The majority of the women in the game wear swimsuits or dresses, and protagonist Tommy Vercetti can change clothes with many different outfits available in the game that fit the Miami lifestyle that was shown on-screen in the '80s.
Throughout GTA: Vice City's 20-hour campaign, players can interact with various nationalities common in Miami, completing various storylines for the Haitian and Cuban groups. The Cuban missions include Umberto Robina, voiced by Danny Trejo in GTA: Vice City, and while many of GTA: Vice City's characters can slip into caricatures to match the GTA series' tone, it's the wider representation of these cultures that helps to make Vice City seem so much like real-world Miami.
In GTA: Vice City, the music gives the game the '80s theme it is looking for. Being on a yacht while a Hall & Oates song plays in the background is an iconic moment. The era of music throughout the game is an excellent selection for the setting. Although some songs are missing from the GTA: Vice City radio in the Definitive Edition due to various licensing deals expiring, Rockstar picked suitable soundtracks to capture the Miami feel in the '80s as players explore the city.
GTA: Vice City captures the '80s lifestyle in Miami in exaggerated but often accurate ways through its clothing, neon architecture, and music hits, and overall, it does a great job making players feel like they are in the real-world Miami in the heart of the 1980s. Rockstar is looking to revisit the iconic Vice City location - and the wider state of Leonida - in Grand Theft Auto 6 in Fall 2025, and from what was shown in the anticipated sequel's trailer, this should better represent a modern version of Miami, much like how GTA 5 brought San Andreas out of the 90s and into the present day.
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City is a 2002 action-adventure game developed by Rockstar North and published by Rockstar Games. It is the fourth main game in the Grand Theft Auto series, following 2001's Grand Theft Auto III, and the sixth entry overall. Set in 1986 within the fictional Vice City (based on Miami and Miami Beach), the single-player story follows mobster Tommy Vercetti's rise to power after being released from prison and becoming caught up in an ambushed drug deal. While seeking out those responsible, Tommy gradually builds a criminal empire by 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 Cubans, Haitians, 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 films and television of the era, most notably 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 Windows, and in November 2003 for the Xbox.
Upon its release, Vice City received critical acclaim, with praise particularly directed at its music, gameplay, story, and open world design. However, the game also generated controversy over its depiction of violence and racial groups, sparking lawsuits and protests. 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, and a further enhanced version was released in 2021. Its successor, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, was released in October 2004, and a prequel, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories, was released in October 2006.
In combat, auto-aim can be used as assistance against enemies.[11] Should the player take damage, their health meter can be fully regenerated through the use of health pick-ups.[12] Body armour can be used to absorb gunshots and explosive damage, but is used up in the process.[13] When health is entirely depleted, gameplay stops and the player respawns at the nearest hospital while losing all weapons and armour and some of their money.[5] If the player commits crimes while playing, the game's law enforcement agencies may respond as indicated by a "wanted" meter in the head-up display (HUD), which increases as the player commits more crimes. On the meter, the displayed stars indicate the current wanted level, and the higher the level, the greater the response for law enforcement[5] (for example, at the maximum six-star level, police helicopters and military swarm to lethally dispatch players).[8]
During the story, Tommy meets characters from various gangs. As the player completes missions for different gangs, fellow gang members will often defend the player, while rival gang members will recognise the player and subsequently shoot on sight. While free roaming the game world, the player may engage in activities such as a vigilante minigame, a fire fighting activity, a paramedic service and a taxi cab service. Completion of these activities grants the player with context-specific rewards.[9] As Tommy builds his criminal empire, the player may purchase a number of properties distributed across the city, some of which act as additional hideouts where weapons can be collected and vehicles can be stored.[14] There are also a variety of businesses which can be purchased, including a pornographic film studio, a taxi company, and several entertainment clubs. Each commercial property has a number of missions attached to it, such as eliminating competition or stealing equipment; once all missions are complete, the property begins to generate an ongoing income available for the player.[8]
In 1986, mobster Tommy Vercetti (voiced by Ray Liotta) is released from prison after serving a fifteen-year sentence for murder. His boss Sonny Forelli (Tom Sizemore), seeking to establish drug operations in the South, sends Tommy to Vice City to oversee an important drug deal alongside crooked lawyer Ken Rosenberg (William Fichtner). However, the deal is ambushed by unknown assailants, with Tommy and Ken barely escaping. Angered upon hearing the news, Sonny orders Tommy to recover the drugs, alongside the money Sonny gave to him, under threat of consequences. Seeking information, Ken points Tommy towards retired army colonel Juan Garcia Cortez (Robert Davi), who helped set up the exchange. Expressing regret for the ambush, Cortez promises to find out who masterminded it.
While investigating, Tommy meets with several people who offer him help: music director Kent Paul (Danny Dyer), who maintains connections with the city's criminal underworld; Lance Vance (Philip Michael Thomas), who aided in the deal and lost his brother in the ambush; Texan business tycoon Avery Carrington (Burt Reynolds), who in return enlists Tommy's help with several deals; and drug kingpin Ricardo Diaz (Luis Guzmn), who employs both Tommy and Lance. Eventually, Cortez begins voicing his suspicions that Diaz organised the ambush. Upon further investigation, Lance discovers this to be true and, against Tommy's advice, tries to kill Diaz, only to get himself captured. After Tommy saves Lance, the pair kills Diaz before he can retaliate.
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