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Steam is giving away Grand Theft Auto: Vice City to anyone that pre-purchases Grand Theft Auto IV through them. GTA IV is going to be out on December 2 so you only have little over a week to save $10 and get Vice City for free.

Of all of the Grand Theft Autos, Vice City is easily my favorite GTA in the series. The game was absolutely perfect in terms of story, length, and especially the music. It's also the only GTA, to me at least, where it doesn't feel like a chore getting through the story. Vice City was really all about Tommy Vercetti doing things for himself where as the other GTAs were about the main characters usually stuck doing things for other people.

What's your favorite Grand Theft Auto game?








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22 comments | showing # 1 to 22
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Drack48's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/23/2008 17:18
Drack48
I have a feeling the next game will go back to vice city, it's everyone's favorite.
Zombutler's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/23/2008 17:25
Zombutler
Vice City is easily my favorite, and sometimes I wonder if the guys at rockstar know that would never have to work again if they made another title set in vice city, using GTA IV's engine.
Danl Haas's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/23/2008 17:27
Danl Haas
See also: Free Prince of Persia: Sands of Time for pre-purchasing the new POP on steam.
Zombutler's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/23/2008 17:28
Zombutler
that they**
MrSadistic's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/23/2008 17:37
MrSadistic
I thought San Andreas was better, even if it did have that "gangsta" theme.
Mushman's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/23/2008 17:39
Mushman
Vice city, without a doubt, I still play that game, more than I do GTA4!! :)
Charles Sharam's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/23/2008 17:45
Charles Sharam
"It's also the only GTA, to me at least, where it doesn't feel like a chore getting through the story."

I've got to agree with you on that, Hamza. GTAIV was a fantastic game by all means but I felt, more than ever, like I was being pushed all over the place by other characters. I played the game quite extensively with my girlfriend back when it came out and neither of us could pretend to care about the plot all that much as the cycle of errands simply wasn't compelling. As such, the experience dissolved into the thrills of fast driving and punching bystanders in the face all too quickly, and we put it on the back burner without ever finishing the story.

Tommy Vercetti had great ambition and this made him more interesting to me than tag-a-long Nico. He was the kind of character that made you want to play to the end.
Aaron Mxy Yost's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/23/2008 17:54
Aaron Mxy Yost
Favorite is definitely Vice City. Although San Andreas was a close second.
vexed alex's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/23/2008 17:59
vexed alex
My favorite is the easily to hate, GTA IV.

:)

I'm sorry, but no other GTA characters were as interesting as Niko.
vexed alex's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/23/2008 18:05
vexed alex
easy to hate*
Tronjoy's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/23/2008 18:16
Tronjoy
How about GTA 1? Didn't it have Liberty City, San Andreas, AND Vice City? Wow! Also, anyone remember what happens when you run over all of the Hare Krishna's in a line? I can't remember.
dip's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/23/2008 18:16
dip
Vice City is easily my favorite as well.
Hamza CTZ Aziz's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/23/2008 18:21
Hamza CTZ Aziz
Tronjoy: That's also another of my favorite to this day! I think you just got a money bonus running those guys over in a line. I used to just drive next to them to hear there catchy chant :D
Tronjoy's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/23/2008 18:24
Tronjoy
Hamza: GOURANGA!

I had to look it up. :)
Muddy Waterz's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/23/2008 18:31
Muddy Waterz
I thought San Andreas was the best out of all of them. I kinda enjoyed the whole gang element haha. Hopefully they do another west coast GTA.
Rabite's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/23/2008 19:46
Rabite
Or you could save $40 and get Vice City and not have to sit through a dating sim. Or do chase missions non-stop. Or listen to Roman's retarded ass. Or...
the_real_one's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/23/2008 19:46
the_real_one
san andreas baby
The Amazing Shenazin's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/23/2008 20:15
The Amazing Shenazin
Vice City is probably my favorite as well

that game was absolutly mindblowing for it's day
B-Radicate's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/23/2008 20:46
B-Radicate
GTA3 was one of the main reasons I sold my Gamecube and bought a PS2 (and I never once regretted the decision), but Vice City was what made me true GTA believer. The story was perfect, the characters were interesting, the music was astounding (albeit I'm a giant 80s pop fan), the gameplay never got boring or repetitive, and the vibe just... felt... right.

San Andreas was a bit too much for me. Trying to cram three cities into a single game never allowed me to feel connected to any of them. While it tried admirable new things, like car customization, gang territory, and character personalization, too many glitches made it through (custom cars disappearing in garages, for example) that frustrated me and the story was so long and convoluted that I didn't even know what was happening by the end.

GTAIV had so much promise with a new engine and hardware, but the story just fell flat for me. People argue Niko was "the most engaging" character, but I highly disagree. He mopes around a bland city (where the fuck are all the gangs everyone is talking about?) doing fetch quests for characters that have less development than an eleven year old girl all the while pissing and moaning about a dark past he's trying to escape from while continuing on the same path by KILLING EVERYONE IN HIS WAY.

Plus, instead of adding to and refining all of the bold and creative side quests and gameplay elements of San Andreas, they neutered all of the fun aspects of the game and focused on dating simulations that never made a true impact on anything in the game (I never once felt the need to call a friend or girlfriend for help). No stores were purchasable, Niko was no where as personal as CJ (in terms of customization), gangs disappeared, car customizing vanished, side quests got cut, the cell phone was annoying as fuck... but wait, there was lackluster multiplayer, so no one seemed to care. This is all on top of the fact that Saint's Row 2 released a few months later and is echelons above IV in terms of raw fun and actually expanded on concepts from the prior title instead of destroying them.

Vice City is the best game in the series for me. If they took San Andreas' amount of customization and general "stuff" to do, completely lifted Vice City's story and setting, and made it with IV's engine (minus the horrible physics system that made Niko turn like a tank and cars indestructible) I would buy ten copies and give them away on the street.

As it stands now, IV made me never want to play another title in the series.
DonHonk's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/23/2008 23:04
DonHonk
Well I think...

Screw it, B-Radicate has my exact thoughts.

I love the 80s.
Neonie's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/23/2008 23:56
Neonie
GTA is not my thing. Saints Row 2 FTW <3
nat145pp's Avatar - Comment posted on 05/03/2011 23:05
nat145pp
Excellent read, I just passed this onto a colleague who was doing a little research on that. And he actually bought me lunch because I found it for him smile So let me rephrase that: Thanks for lunch!
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