REVIEWS OF GTA VICE CITY STORIES

There have been notable efforts to improve the game over the short and somewhat sparse Liberty City Stories. The game seems to be longer, for one. There are more complex multi-part missions, more collectables, and an expanded empire-building aspect that was touched on in the original Vice City.

Your new job involves a lot of driving and a lot of killing people in a big, densely populated, busy and interesting Vice City that's nearly identical to what we see in the original PlayStation 2 .

After a certain point in the story, which moves as you complete missions for various individuals willing to pay cash for carnage (or the prevention of carnage), Vic becomes a crime boss and can take over certain buildings and turn them into brothels, loan shark outfits, and other illegal operations that get you paid in cash money at the beginning of every day.

There are a few technical hitches -- objects popping up suddenly, moments of janky jerkiness -- but overall the technical package is extremely impressive. The city is huge, the load times in between scenes are for the most part no sweat, and the sound is incredible, with a solid cast of talented voice actors and a licensed soundtrack that captures the essence of the '80s in an extremely broad range.