PSP: Vice City stories, Yay or nay?

[carocat]

Anyone who has played Vice City stories: Is it worth buying? How are the controls? How is the feel of the game and how does it compare to the original Vice City [provided you've played it].

The trailer (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3FfbOCLzgp4) looks like they've kept the same feel which is good and some of the reviews I've read are promising, but I don't trust reviews too much.

[Bonzo]

Ive played this on my friends PSP, i didn't like it - it seemed to plastic compared to Vice City on the PS2, still the LAN over WiFi was fun.

[carocat]

What do you mean by too plastic?

[DinnyHoon]

It's a great game, but it doesn't feel like Vice City. The main character's a bit of a pushover, and the missions are horribly tedious. The soundtrack's not as good as VC either. You just don't feel as immersed into the game as you did with the original. MUCH better than LCS, but there's still something missing.

[Bonzo]

It just seems too fake - i know the PS2 game was fake :D but it feels like they messed around with the game engine. I mean you can hop on a motobike and crash into a brick wall and drive / fall through the graphics.
You just don't feel as immersed into the game as you did with the original
Well that some's it up.

[Pirate Balloon]

It's basically a halfarsed game for the franchise.

[neyo]

Cat i've played it quite a bit:

http://www.neyo.co.uk/imgs/gtavcs.jpg


I would say that, it's as good a GTA game, as the PSP allows it to be. There are many games on the PSP that really feel 'right' with dual analog controls, especially if you've played their franchise counterparts on Playstation consoles. Whether you let the controls get the better of you though, is a different matter altogether. Personally, I found games like these troublesome initially but you do adjust. I played Metal Gear Solid:Portable Ops for a good 20hrs through the story and that too 'suffered' in the same manner, but it was awesome, I really enjoyed and recommend the game (when it's out in the UK! (http://play.com/Games/PSP/4-/1015298/-/Product.html?searchstring=portable+ops&searchsource=0):P). So yeah, going back to VCS, i'd say if you're buying it with commuting in mind, probably best not too, the controls and gameplay are really more of a sit down comforably and play. But if you're interested in it, to maybe play when you're at home, and you enjoy the franchise you'll enjoy this too. I never played Vice City much on PS2, but one 'enhancement' to the game is the city is dotted with businesses which you can acquire in any order to bring you income. It's novel initially, but with probably 40 businesses on the map, it gets troublesome acquiring them (which involves maybe hijacking 10 cars, or dropping off prostitutes 10 times and then ramsacking the place) because it's quite repetitive. The main story missions though, in my eyes at least offer humour and the usual kind of gameplay you'd expect. I put more hours into the game than I expected, so it can't be that bad really. I'd score it roughly at a 7.5/10, it's good but for a proper portable experience you need to playing Loco Roco or Killzone, games built for PSP and have great controls and presentation to boot...

Have any questions though, and i'll gladly answer them. Since when did you get a PSP anyhow? I'd of sold you mine!!

[carocat]

Thanks for the replies, guys.

Neyo: I don't have a PSP myself, but my housemates have had one for about a year and I've played on it a few times. I'm not really interested in any of the games they've got though. Considering one of them is currently playing on my 360 and has been playing on it for a few days and because no one ever uses it during the day anyway, I can play on it when I want to.

I absolutely love Vice City, the feel to it, the soundtrack, the city and I've played the Xbox version to death. Infact, I am considering kicking my housemate off the 360 now, so I can play it again. I definitely would just play it at home sitting down though, I wouldn't think it's a game you could play on the bus/train.

So, I'm not too sure what to make out of it, when I read:
The soundtrack's not as good as VC either. You just don't feel as immersed into the game as you did with the original. MUCH better than LCS, but there's still something missing.

Questions:
Can you use all vehicles, cars, bikes, boats, choppers?
Can you swim/climb?
How simliar is the city to Vice City?
How long is the main story mode?

Neyo: you still got your copy? Want to sell it to me?

[neyo]

Can you use cars, bikes, boats, choppers?
Yes, yes, yes, yes.

Can you swim/climb?
Yes, Not sure...

How simliar is the city to Vice City?
It's the same city, isn't it?

How long is the main story mode?
I really can't tell you how long i've played it so far - without loading it up, but i'd hazard a guess at 15-20hrs for the regular missions plus building up your empire too. I'm at 22% and I'm fairly sure i've played a solid 10hrs or so, how much of that 22% is the main missions though, I have no idea?!

The music *IS* great, I don't know how people could say otherwise really, I often find myself driving a little bit extra, just so I can hear the end of another 80's classic.

[carocat]

How simliar is the city to Vice City?
It's the same city, isn't it?
I don't know which is why I was asking.... I've played VC so much, I would never get lost if it is the same game. :)

So, you still got it? Want to sell it? Or are you taking it with you? :p

[DinnyHoon]

NB: You can swim, but only for a very short amount of time (otherwise you uncontrollably drown).

[Sladey]

Ive got to agree with Neyo, GTA:VCS is actually quite an achievement for the PSP. Granted it's exactly (ish) the same city as Vice City, but as with LCS, because its set before the events of the previous VC there are parts in the game that show that things are still to be constucted as where with VC being set later on it's already built.

The Controls are a little fiddly initially, but u'll soon crack them as u will with any PSP game.

The graphics is where i refer to as the game being an achievement, for u to go up high in a helicopter and still holding the frame rate with the proccessing speed of the PSP (remember it's a handheld, not a console) it's just short of genuis coding.

The story is alright, not the best story of the GTA series, but it all fits along. Just a little on the short side. Yet the side missions bolster that up for a bit more longetivity. I cmpleted the whole thing in about 20-25 hrs, which isnt too bad.

IMO, the music is no where near on par with any of the GTA, but thats just my view. It's not bad, but im not so much as a fan of the music they provided. Good job u can download a converter off Rockstar to do ur own music. The game plays much better when u have a bit of Dre or Eminem while our driving.

The veichles are just as good as the ones in GTA:VC if not the same just with a few more thrown in.

The game is going pretty cheap these days, so if u have a PSP the it's a game worth buying (or downloading for 3.03 OE-C users)

[Zyber]

IMO, the music is no where near on par with any of the GTA, but thats just my view. It's not bad, but im not so much as a fan of the music they provided. Good job u can download a converter off Rockstar to do ur own music. The game plays much better when u have a bit of Dre or Eminem while our driving.


Sladey you gangsta...

http://img396.imageshack.us/img396/4031/kittah4gy9.jpg

You're actually the first person whose said they didn't like the music in Vice city. I haven't played stories yet (tis on my list of things to download, gonna run through loco rocco and LCS first) but the music on the PS2 version was quality. My mate has VCS and he says theres a Phil Collins concert; come on dude, you can't beat a bit of Phill Collins.

[Sladey]

In one of the missions (well 2 or 3 actually) u have to drive Phil Collins around while people are chasing u for his and his managers blood.

[benandrews]

tbh i thought it was kind of the same as liberty city stories, ths good thing is you can play your own music on a radio station in the car which i thought was pretty cool