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Infernal Mass · Oct 20th, 2002, 09:48 PM

for non ign insiders.. enjoy

---------------------------------------------------------------

Finally! We have finally, finally played it. We have sat down for a good long time and put our grubby paws on the undoubted heavyweight champion game of 2002, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, until the PR folks forced us out of the small, unfurnished San Francisco Rockstar offices. Ahhh? (Big sigh of relief.)

So? The big question still remains: Is it all that? After all of the thousands of words, dozens of movies and screenshots, and incredibly hype-laden things that have been said about GTA: Vice City, is the game really a bigger, better version of GTA3? Will it really be that good? Does it provide enough newness to make it worth the potential hassle of finding one?

The simple answer is the same as the long and complicated one: Yes. Unwaveringly, emphatically, unanimously, wide-eyed and giddy yes. Grand Theft Auto: Vice City is the unequivocal tour de force of 2002, and it appears that the numerous additions, slight wrinkles and alterations in gameplay, graphics and sound ultimately come up aces. Aces, I tell you.

Presentation
The 90% complete build I played features pretty much everything that's going to be in the game, though not all was entirely available to me. I started playing in the early areas, but then was able to skip around to a complex mid-game level ("Guardian Angel"), enjoyed a taxi ride, a time-based mission, and an early delivery mission, too.

The first, most noticeable thing about Rockstar's massive, urban action-adventure game is the way it's presented. To look around, the third-person perspective camera automatically and loosely follows lead Tommy Vercetti; the character often turns to face the camera, which eventually returns to follow him, whether he's in a car, on a motorcycle, walking or running. By pressing R3, the camera now instantly switches into first-person mode, enabling players to look around in 360 degrees. Players can switch camera angles by pressing Select. With most games, these mundane details are usually tertiary, but with this game, nothing can be left unnoticed.

The in-game menu has improved to make traveling more convenient, more straightforward, and to enable bad drivers to find their way from one point in town to the next with greater ease. Press Start and a menu system appears, temporarily stopping the game. It provides an in-game menu, a statistics page (how many kills, cars crashed, arrests, etc.), Mission Briefing (the latest conversation you had with a significant person, a.k.a. from a person delivering a mission objective), an iconographic legend and other details, such as audio and visuals options. The audio options are fun on their own, since players can switch from one station to the next right there and listen in without playing the game.

The in-game menu is best, though, enabling players to see where they are on the map (indicated by a pink arrow) and where the mission point starts, indicated by another icon. Significant additions also include icons notifying players of Ammu-Nation stores, your home, and significant places to go. By using the R1 players can zoom close to the map and by pressing R2, they can zoom out to see the entirety of Vice City, which, by the way, looks like two giant thumb-shaped islands surrounding a few smaller islands harbored inside them. They're generally shaped like two symmetrically facing states of California.

Tommy's home is also far more elaborate than the little hovel given in Grand Theft Auto III. Tommy enters the Oceanside Hotel, and after a short, three to five-second cutscene, they can save their game at the front desk, using the tape recorder icon, or walk upstairs to the rather large, stagger-stair apartment room, from where Tommy can see the busy life of Vice City from his window. Entering and exiting buildings isn't seamless, but it's hardly noticeable. Tommy walks in a building, a quick load occurs, and he's in; same when he leaves. It's better than a lot of games I've played.

Mad, Styling Driving
As soon as I wrapped my hands around the PlayStation 2 controls, I commenced by performing personal driving tests. I checked how the cars handle, using a discerning eye to examine the brakes, drifts, speed, shocks, weight, and damage models. The cars are all enhanced, specifically in their weights, speeds and handling abilities. They're still arcade-style driving machines, and some are more noticeably change than others. Like for instance, the Cuban gang car is heavier than the Mexican gang car in GTA3. It's designed to resemble a 1940s or 1950s Buick and it moves like a fricking boat! It's slow to respond and slow and fun to experiment with, just to see how badly it handles.

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Oct 20th, 2002, 09:48 PM	#105
Infernal Mass pariah Joined: Apr 2002 Posts: 2,385	for non ign insiders.. enjoy --------------------------------------------------------------- Finally! We have finally, finally played it. We have sat down for a good long time and put our grubby paws on the undoubted heavyweight champion game of 2002, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, until the PR folks forced us out of the small, unfurnished San Francisco Rockstar offices. Ahhh? (Big sigh of relief.) So? The big question still remains: Is it all that? After all of the thousands of words, dozens of movies and screenshots, and incredibly hype-laden things that have been said about GTA: Vice City, is the game really a bigger, better version of GTA3? Will it really be that good? Does it provide enough newness to make it worth the potential hassle of finding one? The simple answer is the same as the long and complicated one: Yes. Unwaveringly, emphatically, unanimously, wide-eyed and giddy yes. Grand Theft Auto: Vice City is the unequivocal tour de force of 2002, and it appears that the numerous additions, slight wrinkles and alterations in gameplay, graphics and sound ultimately come up aces. Aces, I tell you. Presentation The 90% complete build I played features pretty much everything that's going to be in the game, though not all was entirely available to me. I started playing in the early areas, but then was able to skip around to a complex mid-game level ("Guardian Angel"), enjoyed a taxi ride, a time-based mission, and an early delivery mission, too. The first, most noticeable thing about Rockstar's massive, urban action-adventure game is the way it's presented. To look around, the third-person perspective camera automatically and loosely follows lead Tommy Vercetti; the character often turns to face the camera, which eventually returns to follow him, whether he's in a car, on a motorcycle, walking or running. By pressing R3, the camera now instantly switches into first-person mode, enabling players to look around in 360 degrees. Players can switch camera angles by pressing Select. With most games, these mundane details are usually tertiary, but with this game, nothing can be left unnoticed. The in-game menu has improved to make traveling more convenient, more straightforward, and to enable bad drivers to find their way from one point in town to the next with greater ease. Press Start and a menu system appears, temporarily stopping the game. It provides an in-game menu, a statistics page (how many kills, cars crashed, arrests, etc.), Mission Briefing (the latest conversation you had with a significant person, a.k.a. from a person delivering a mission objective), an iconographic legend and other details, such as audio and visuals options. The audio options are fun on their own, since players can switch from one station to the next right there and listen in without playing the game. The in-game menu is best, though, enabling players to see where they are on the map (indicated by a pink arrow) and where the mission point starts, indicated by another icon. Significant additions also include icons notifying players of Ammu-Nation stores, your home, and significant places to go. By using the R1 players can zoom close to the map and by pressing R2, they can zoom out to see the entirety of Vice City, which, by the way, looks like two giant thumb-shaped islands surrounding a few smaller islands harbored inside them. They're generally shaped like two symmetrically facing states of California. Tommy's home is also far more elaborate than the little hovel given in Grand Theft Auto III. Tommy enters the Oceanside Hotel, and after a short, three to five-second cutscene, they can save their game at the front desk, using the tape recorder icon, or walk upstairs to the rather large, stagger-stair apartment room, from where Tommy can see the busy life of Vice City from his window. Entering and exiting buildings isn't seamless, but it's hardly noticeable. Tommy walks in a building, a quick load occurs, and he's in; same when he leaves. It's better than a lot of games I've played. Mad, Styling Driving As soon as I wrapped my hands around the PlayStation 2 controls, I commenced by performing personal driving tests. I checked how the cars handle, using a discerning eye to examine the brakes, drifts, speed, shocks, weight, and damage models. The cars are all enhanced, specifically in their weights, speeds and handling abilities. They're still arcade-style driving machines, and some are more noticeably change than others. Like for instance, the Cuban gang car is heavier than the Mexican gang car in GTA3. It's designed to resemble a 1940s or 1950s Buick and it moves like a fricking boat! It's slow to respond and slow and fun to experiment with, just to see how badly it handles.