GTA Vice City

Vice City looks like a neon postcard from 1986, but underneath the palm trees and pastel suits it plays like one of the most demanding open-world crime games of its era once Tommy Vercetti starts building a business empire.

Tommy Vercetti’s Business Empire

Unlike GTA 3, Vice City lets Tommy Vercetti buy and run properties across Vice City, from the Malibu Club to the print shop, and each business comes with its own short mission chain before it starts generating passive income. New players often ignore these properties in favor of pushing the main story, missing out on the cash flow that makes later, more expensive purchases realistic.

Radio stations like Flash FM and Wave 103 aren’t just background noise — players frequently cite specific radio moments as some of the most memorable parts of driving around the map, which is unusual for a game this old.

Combat and Vehicle Handling Changes

Vice City introduced motorcycles and a wider vehicle roster than GTA 3, and beginners used to the earlier game’s handling often struggle with how differently bikes control compared to cars, especially during high-speed police chases. By the time you reach missions requiring precise helicopter control, like the Sunshine Autos race chains, that handling gap becomes a real obstacle.

Completionist players hunting hidden packages across Ocean Beach and Vice Point approach the map completely differently from story-focused players who just want to finish Tommy’s arc.

What Still Gets Debated About Vice City

Mission difficulty spikes, particularly around vehicle-heavy missions like Demolition Man, remain a point of frustration even among longtime fans, and it’s one of the more honest criticisms that comes up in retrospectives of the game.

How do you make money quickly early in Vice City?

Completing the print shop and taxi missions early provides steady income before the bigger businesses like the Malibu Club become available, giving Tommy Vercetti working capital sooner.

What’s the best vehicle for police chases in Vice City?

Sturdier cars with balanced handling outperform bikes in sustained chases since bikes are faster but far more vulnerable to being knocked off in a single hit.

Vice City turned its business-ownership system into something later Grand Theft Auto games kept building on, and Tommy Vercetti’s rise from errand-runner to empire owner still gives the map’s neon streets a reason to matter beyond the missions themselves.