I know that many people hold San Andreas as the best Grand Theft Auto of all time, but I have a SERIOUS soft spot for Vice City, so please don’t hate me. You need to remember, I grew up in the 90’s, but experienced the 80’s as a wee little kid, so there is a definite allure there for me, and every single thing we all know about the 80’s, Vice City got just right.
First off, you had the soundtrack, and if you hate 80’s new wave and glam, then the soundtrack sucked for you, but if you took the entire thing as one giant, finely-tuned satire, it was an absolute joy. It took itself a little less seriously than all other GTAs. It seemed to have more fun with itself. Hell, even the neon color palette and cheesy suits worked incredibly well in this game. Was it as well-written as GTA IV? No. Was it as gritty as San Andreas? No. Was it as awe-inducing as the first time you played GTA III? No. But it what it lacked in all those areas, it made up for in fun, and, as I have said before, isn’t that why we game? To have fun?
Anyway, the Grand Theft Auto games always had absolutely epic climaxes, and Keep Your Friends Close from Vice City is a perfect example of that. Though the whole game alluded to its Scarface influences, that final mission pretty much puts you in the Scarface finale (just look at the staircase from that pic and any Scarface fan can tell you, Rockstar obviously knew what they were doing and were very much doing it on purpose). It just felt, in those moments, that you had really become that kingpin you were trying to be the whole game, but you also felt the pressure as if every single person in the world was gunning for you at once. Which, in that scene, they really kinda were.
And my God, it was badass.