One year on and Grand Theft Auto - with all its hundreds of buildings, flowing traffic and bantering pedestrians - is still an incredibly impressive sight running on the PSP. This time around of course, Rockstar's portable follow-up takes place in the 80s era and location of Miami - erm, Vice City, and it's looking even more visually stunning than before.
Most of the reasons Liberty City Stories impressed us are in the pastel-shaded follow-up - it's still hard to believe that there's a fully functioning GTA game running on Sony's handheld, and Vice City Stories certainly doesn't pull any punches - in fact, it's arguably the most impressive looking game on the PSP.
This time around you play as Vic Vance, the soldier brother of unfortunately-named Vice City sidekick, Lance Vance. The action takes place a number of years before the original PS2 game, meaning not everything is as you remembered it in the old Miami-eseque city, a giant ferris wheel among the unfamiliar landmarks you'll find.
GTA's famous 'sandbox' gameplay is in full operation, and you can go anywhere and do anything just as in previous series instalments - only this time there's JetSkis and ATV's to tear around in. But the real meat of VCS is of course the missions, which Rockstar has carefully modified to suit gaming on the go.
A common complaint about Liberty City Stories' missions is that they were too short, but instead of making Vice City's too long and unsuitable for a quick tube stop shoot-up, Rockstar has made them slightly more complex and action-packed, with more vehicle-swapping and shoot-outs going on than in LCS' sometimes simple 'drive from A to B' affairs.
One mission for example, has you carrying out a drug deal by the ocean which predictably goes horribly wrong, and you end up chasing a boat along the waterfront. Thanks to a carefully placed ramp you leap onto the ship, shoot up it's inhabitants and snatch the loot for a job well done - and all of that in less than ten minutes of bite-sized gameplay.
Another great example is a mission that takes you to a mansion packed with bikini-clad henchwomen, and after finishing off a massive hussy fire-fight you're off to the beach for an ATV chase with the big boss. The chase itself is as impressive as GTA action comes - the ATV in front lobbing grenades in your path as his passenger takes pot-shots at our ride. A low-flying chopper eventually adds to the chaos, but thankfully our shooting skills bag the bad guy before we reach a dirty, propeller-fuelled end.
Again, here in ten minutes of gameplay we'd had more gunfights and action than most Lethal Weapon films get through in an hour. The variety of missions at least is certainly more satisfying than anything offered in Liberty City.
But just because the locale is familiar doesn't mean Rockstar hasn't made some big additions to the GTA formula - quite the opposite in fact. The empire-building feature, whilst reminiscent to the business-purchasing shenanigans in the PS2 game, is a significant addition to the series and adds a lot of depth to the gameplay as well.
After taking out rival operations, you have the option of setting up shop and developing one of your own businesses from one of six types, including loan sharking, prostitution and drug running. Businesses are a great way of raking in the cash and also offer optional side-missions, which further bolster the 'sandbox' nature of GTA and potentially add hours of additional gameplay.
Expectedly, our only issues with Vice City Stories remain the same as with the last game - and they're mostly to do with the PSP itself. VCS, for the most part, controls painfully; lock-on combat most of the time has Vic flailing like a mentalist, the analogue-nub is increasingly uncomfortable after extended play and camera controls are equally iffy.
But, these small control issues are more than made up for by perhaps the best feature of the entire package - the multiplayer modes. Multiplayer was undoubtedly one of the highlights of Liberty City Stories, so unsurprisingly we approached VCS's Deathmatch offering with a plenty of excitement. Thankfully, it doesn't disappoint.
First, you're presented with an immense roster of playable characters, which includes such hilariously-named folk as 'Candy Barr' and our new favourite officer of the law, 'Colin Allcars'.
The first of the modes, Survivor, is essentially your basic Deathmatch. As with Liberty City, the entire metropolis is your playground to snipe, JetSki and career cars off of giant ramps in, and there's a plethora of guns and cars liberally scattered around too. Again, like the last game, we find that in Survivor often players are too spread out for much action to take place in a short space of time, although waypoints pointing out where combatants are on the map at least speed you into the action painlessly.
One of VCS' more interesting and remixed modes is Race, which funnily enough has you and your opponents speeding through the city to various waypoints, trying to snatch first place. In one instance you start off battling across the beach on ATVs, but eventually you're instructed to race toward a set of parked-up motorbikes before speeding towards the next set of waypoints.
Eventually, you then reach the marina where you do another bit of vehicle-swapping onto a set of tanked-up JetSkis and the race continues through the canals. Usually by this point we've already had an unfortunate incident involving our motorcycle and a wall, but thankfully a teleport system sportingly catches you up with the pack if you lag behind.
The next mode, VIP RIP, arranges players in to two separate teams - either the Los Cabrones or the Cholos - and then randomly picks one 'VIP' who - you've guessed it - has to be protected by the other members of his or her team. The VIP's mission is to secure several briefcases scattered across the city, and then finally make a break for it with his compadres to sweet, sweet freedom.
Unlike the sparse action of Survivor mode, VIP RIP usually has the action in whatever area the VIP is in, typically resulting in six-man car pile-ups and epic highway car chases. One particular bridge stand-off had us frantically battling on a bridge to secure the VIP, the target eventually managing to swerve passed the pursuing team in his motor - whilst on fire - and then make a bolt for it into an alley.
Finishing off is the most enjoyable game mode of the lot, Bomb Da Base, which is what Rockstar describes as "pass the parcel with a bomb." As with the last mode, BTB separates players in to two different teams before challenging them to snatch a bomb from the center of the city and deliver it to the enemy base marked on the map for a 60-second countdown to fiery destruction.
Definitely one of the most enjoyable game modes in Vice City Stories, and also responsible for one of the most epic game sessions we've yet had on the PSP.
As long as you can round up a group of mates with PSPs to play, Vice City Stories' multiplayer is a blast to play, and is a killer complement to the already stellar single-player offering.
As it is, Vice City stories wields some significant and genuine improvements over the last handheld instalment, with graphics rivalling anything else on the PSP. Obviously more attuned with the PSP hardware, Rockstar has topped last year's excellent Liberty City Stories with a GTA sporting as many thrills, action and now-famous witty dialogue as the series has ever seen. If you're a GTA fan, or simply want to witness what the PSP is capable of, then Vice City Stories is a real essential.
I don't know many people who have not played the game on one format or another, and I've played it on most. The gameplay itself is almost on a par with big brother, and the slight variance to the PS2 version in-game story, retaining the map gives you the feel that you've been here before.
The multiplayer option increases the shelf-life yet further (or until the next one comes out) and adds even more pleasure to your GTA:VCS experience, quite literally will keep you playing for hours.
In the future, there will be an extension pack for your PSP enabling longer life and a much more comfortable gaming position. The much needed relief this would bring would be welcome - but as this is more likely just wishful thinking, my slight discomfort does little to hinder my opinion of a great portable addition to the GTA series.
Copyright 2006 - 2009 Future Publishing Limited, Beauford Court, 30 Monmouth Street, Bath, UK BA1 2BW England and Wales company registration number 2008885
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