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vsp · 04-24-2003, 01:34 PM

It is the cop outfit; it's in the same place as in "No Escape." (Which is a little odd. Imagine a beat cop charging into an airfield and commandeering an Apache, saying "I need this, there's a mugging-in-progress downtown." Then again, real-life beat cops typically don't have to deal with guys with rocket launchers and Gatling guns.)

GTA3 has some things going for it that Vice doesn't:

* GTA3 came _completely_ out of left field to stun the gaming world. I owned all three GTA titles (1, 2, London pack) before GTA3, so I was no stranger to the series, but even I was blown away as to how perfectly the developers took it to the next level. Vice was nowhere near that kind of generational leap, so while it was also highly entertaining, there was a certain been-there-done-that feeling to many parts of it.

* GTA3 had MUCH better music. Much much better. Not that there weren't tracks on Vice that I enjoyed, but apart from a couple of Love Fist songs, they'd all been heard before.

The homegrown tracks on GTA3 had that funky Craig Conner vibe to them, which was a major plus; the parody music was a highlight of all the previous GTAs. Likewise, while some large-label musicians were included, they weren't 'name' artists like Vice used; they were off-the-beaten-path types that were new to most people. (I bought the relevant Scientist album after enjoying K-Jah, for instance.) If I wanted to hear the non-original songs of Vice City, on the other hand, my local Sam Goody had all of them.

The talk radio for both games was excellent, so one point for Vice for having two stations, though (again) I probably preferred Lazlow in GTA3 to either individually.

* You didn't have to tweak the graphics in GTA3 in the first five minutes to make the game viewable. (Did anyone NOT turn the blurring off in Vice?)

Now, Vice was a more COMPLETE game, with lots of new features, but I expected no less. The motorcycles and helicopters alone were worth the purchase price, the property system gave it new life in late-game, and the storyline was fleshed-out more than GTA3's without limiting the player's in-game freedom.

According to the rumor mill, there are two development teams working on sequels: a PS2 sequel using the GTA3-Vice engine, and a second sequel intended for the PS3 and supposed to be another "generational leap," so to speak. Think 2004 for the former.

04-24-2003, 01:34 PM	#307
vsp Syndrome of a Down Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: West Chester Posts: 1,367	It is the cop outfit; it's in the same place as in "No Escape." (Which is a little odd. Imagine a beat cop charging into an airfield and commandeering an Apache, saying "I need this, there's a mugging-in-progress downtown." Then again, real-life beat cops typically don't have to deal with guys with rocket launchers and Gatling guns.) GTA3 has some things going for it that Vice doesn't: * GTA3 came _completely_ out of left field to stun the gaming world. I owned all three GTA titles (1, 2, London pack) before GTA3, so I was no stranger to the series, but even I was blown away as to how perfectly the developers took it to the next level. Vice was nowhere near that kind of generational leap, so while it was also highly entertaining, there was a certain been-there-done-that feeling to many parts of it. * GTA3 had MUCH better music. Much much better. Not that there weren't tracks on Vice that I enjoyed, but apart from a couple of Love Fist songs, they'd all been heard before. The homegrown tracks on GTA3 had that funky Craig Conner vibe to them, which was a major plus; the parody music was a highlight of all the previous GTAs. Likewise, while some large-label musicians were included, they weren't 'name' artists like Vice used; they were off-the-beaten-path types that were new to most people. (I bought the relevant Scientist album after enjoying K-Jah, for instance.) If I wanted to hear the non-original songs of Vice City, on the other hand, my local Sam Goody had all of them. The talk radio for both games was excellent, so one point for Vice for having two stations, though (again) I probably preferred Lazlow in GTA3 to either individually. * You didn't have to tweak the graphics in GTA3 in the first five minutes to make the game viewable. (Did anyone NOT turn the blurring off in Vice?) Now, Vice was a more COMPLETE game, with lots of new features, but I expected no less. The motorcycles and helicopters alone were worth the purchase price, the property system gave it new life in late-game, and the storyline was fleshed-out more than GTA3's without limiting the player's in-game freedom. According to the rumor mill, there are two development teams working on sequels: a PS2 sequel using the GTA3-Vice engine, and a second sequel intended for the PS3 and supposed to be another "generational leap," so to speak. Think 2004 for the former.