Celebrating the 10th anniversary of Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, Rockstar Games released the game on iOS. The Android version was also planned for release today, but technical issues have delayed its appearance in the Google Play Store.
Rockstar Games already released Grand Theft Auto III for Android and iOS, which was a faithful port of the original game. The content of the game was brought completely to mobile and unfamiliar players could experience this classic game.
Compared to GTA III, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City features even more voice acting from main and secondary characters. The problem Grand Theft Auto III had on mobile was with the touch screen controls, a problem that persists in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City.
How does Grand Theft Auto: Vice City play on iOS? Read on to find out.
Still the same game
Connecting Liberty City to Vice City, the start of Grand Theft Auto: Vice City presents the plot of Tommy Vercetti trying to find out who attacked him and messed up his deal with the mafia. For the rest of the game, you search for clues while gaining a reputation as a man not to be trifled with.
As a sandbox game, you have the freedom to choose what you want to do. As you progress through the storyline and meet new characters, the game presents new missions for each of them. You usually have a couple of characters you can complete missions for at any given time, but the further you progress in the game the more characters you meet and the more mission you’re given. Grand Theft Auto: Vice City doesn’t present a massive amount of missions at one time so it never feels overwhelming.
Since I played the original on PlayStation 2, experiencing Grand Theft Auto: Vice City again provided some fun nostalgia. The problem with the iOS port is that the controls are frustrating. The original controls required a lot of buttons and translating those to the touchscreen worked well but aren’t precise. The other problem is that the camera doesn’t follow the main character well. While you can manually control the camera, it requires you to manipulate the touchscreen which is frustrating during combat.
It’s great to see Grand Theft Auto: Vice City getting another life on mobile and it may be possible that Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas may also see a mobile release before Grand Theft Auto V.
Be sure to check out my full review of Grand Theft Auto: Vice City.
