Vice City Stories: Vic Vance and the Empire That Wasn't His Idea

Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories arrived on the PlayStation Portable in October 2006, followed by a PlayStation 2 version in March 2007. Like Liberty City Stories the year before, it was developed by Rockstar Leeds together with Rockstar North, and like that game it was a prequel. Where Liberty City Stories stepped back three years from Grand Theft Auto III, this one stepped back two years from Vice City, setting itself in 1984.

The protagonist is Victor “Vic” Vance, played by Dorian Missick. Vic is a minor figure in the earlier game, and part of the appeal of the prequel is watching a supporting character become the center of his own story. He begins as a soldier, and the setup is one of quiet pressure: he is pulled toward crime by circumstances, family ties and the opportunities of a city that rewards the ruthless. His brother Lance is the most obvious link back to the game that followed. If you know where that thread goes, the story reads with a certain dramatic irony.

The signature mechanic is empire building. Rather than simply completing missions for other people, you expand a criminal operation by taking over businesses from rival organizations, then defending them. It is a business layer on top of the action game, and it gives the open world a persistent stake. You are not only passing through Vice City; you are gradually owning parts of it.

I think this is where the game most clearly distinguishes itself. The earlier PSP entry was a compact retelling of familiar ideas. Vice City Stories tried to add a management dimension, and it makes the map feel like a place with contested ownership. That is not unique in the wider genre, but for the series it was a distinct approach.

On the technical side, it is a handheld game working with what the hardware allows. The PSP version supports wireless multiplayer for up to six players across a range of modes, a feature that was absent from the PlayStation 2 port. Reviews at the time were strong, and the game has continued to sell well over the years, which says something about how well the PSP audience took to the formula.

Then there is the setting. Vice City’s 1980s aesthetic, pastel and neon and synthesizer-heavy, is one of the most recognizable in the series. Setting a game two years before the original allows a revisit without repeating it: the city is still recognizable, but you see it in an earlier and less settled state. Whether the nostalgia lands depends on how attached you are to the original.

If Liberty City Stories was a proof that a handheld could carry a Grand Theft Auto game, Vice City Stories is the follow-up that asked what you could add once that proof was in hand. It did not reinvent the series, and it does not need to. It is a solid, slightly underrated entry that gave a supporting character a story of his own.