An Excellent Buy!
GAMEPLAY
The game operates pretty much the same way as the rest of the series (especially liberty city stories) The controls and combat systems are the same as before. If you haven't ever played a GTA game you can master the control scheme in about a half hour. The story line is basically the same as the other games. The main character moves into the city. Starts to set up shop. Gets screwed by a friend/ the person he is working for, and then takes over the city to get back at them. However the story is still immersive, introducing new characters and bringing back some old ones. It's really nice to see how vice city shaped up to be the way it was as you entered it as Tommy Verseti in the original GTA Vice City.
The additions to this title over liberty city stories are welcome. You can actually swim again! that was a pet peeve of many people familiar with San Andreas. It was an ability that was taken away! But now its back. This may sound like a trivial issue, but it is nice to immediately drown when you accidentally flip your car into the water during a high speed chase.
However, the biggest addition to this game is the return of purchasable property; but this time they are customizable. Thats right you can customize your properties! The properties can be customized so you can capitalize on different parts of the criminal underworld. As soon as you reach this point in the game (fairly early on) you can turn properties into Loan shark businesses, Prostitution houses, etc. There are 6 categories in all. The are 3 levels you can upgrade each category into: Small time, medium and Big time. Each costs a bit more money the the previous but will earn you more money at the end of the day. This is by far the biggest addition to the game. It really immerses the player in the game and keeps them coming back for more.
GRAPHICS
The graphics look pretty much exactly the same as they to on GTA 3; in short, they are damn good, especially for a hand-held console. The only problem i noticed is that the frame rate can drop a bit during intense battles with multiple cars blowing up. This seems to be a rare occurrence and doesn't disrupt play too much.
SOUND
One problem I've always had with the GTA series is the sound. the guns sound kinda lame and the cars have like 6 different engine sounds. This title is no different, but is another issue that is easy to get past. However the sound track is great, and really adds to the level of immersion that you feel while playing.
VALUE
This game is one of the best for the PSP. The gameplay is so imersive that you will keep coming back time and time again. The campaign takes several hours to complete the first time around so it's worth your money right there. I've seen this game as low as $30 to date so you really can't lose.
To sum up i will put it simply. This is a great game. If you have a PSP I highly suggest buying VCS. I have several games in my collection and this is the one i play the most. It's just that good. If you were a fan of the previous games you will love it. If you've never played a GTA game due to being trapped in a bomb shelter for the past few years, this is a great place to start! If you don't like the series. . . well, then why have you read this whole review?