50 Greatest Games of all time - P&B decides

[Mr. Brightside]

New Vegas is my favourite also, even if just for Old World Blues.

[mizfit]

The story is much stronger and fits the apocalyptic wasteland more than 3 and 4 for me. 

I'll probably give it another try after Christmas now it's on backwards compatibility. I downloaded fallout 3 recently and it was okay, just never gone back to it

[Dindeleux]

PIE AND BOVRIL - 50 GREATEST GAMES OF ALL TIME

=13th Place

 

Grand Theft Auto Vice City

 

Oh boy.  Our first Grand Theft Auto entry.  Will it be the last?

Before I begin I would like to confirm that I have played this game however I have never owned it so only played it casually at a mates.  As a result I will miss stuff out here but you kind chaps will fill in the blanks I'm sure.

GTA Vice City was released in 2002 for the Playstation 2 and, in my opinion, truly kicked off the GTA series to what we have today.  The original GTA was groundbreaking for the time due to its general lawlessness but the old top-down view was a bit limiting.  Still a great game though.  GTA 3 then moved onto 3D graphics and Rockstar took criticism for the violence levels in the game.  GTA Vice City though really took things to new heights in terms of story, violence, sounds and just overall coolness.

The game saw you take the role of gangster Tommy Vercetti as you tried to develop a criminal empire to challenge those already in Vice City.  Vice City, both the physical place and the game, were based (quite closely at times) to Miami, Scarface and Tony Montana.  Ambushed at the very start of the game whilst you carry out a drug deal, Tommy starts to move away from his Mafia background to take over the drug and crime trade in Vice City with the ending of the game being the completion of this takeover and the elimination of rivals and old friends.

Some of my favourite characters in Vice City were:

Tommy - Obviously.

Kent Paul  - The night club guy.  Voiced by Danny Dyer which I think was a great fit.  

Ken Rosenberg - If Vice City was a movie you would really need Jonah Hill to play him.

 

For some reason I was not a fan of Lance Vance.

Another reason for Vice City (and Rockstars) continued success was the backdrop and music that they placed great importance on.  The variety of radio stations, iconic music and just the work they put into in-game advertisements, talk show radio means you can waste hours just cruising around the city looking cool and causing mayhem.  This would become a real trait of all future GTA games.

Vice City was very much a commercial success and has sold over 20 million copies.  It is rated as a 9.5/10 average and won multiple gaming awards.  Vice City changed the face of gaming in a lot of ways - being a cool bad guy was one of them.

Rated very strongly by you guys with 49 points (and the most nominations so far) and it still stands up as a great game 14 years after release GTA Vice City comes in just outside the top 10 and was rated by you as:

1 x 1st place

1 x 3rd place

2 x 4th place

2 x 5th place

1 x 8th place

1 x 9th place

 

 

 

ETA - I threw some additional pics into this writeup because GTA photos are always cool as f**k.

[Ludo*1]

Cracking write up but Fallout 4 placing that high is just: [emoji38]

[BFTD]

Had a great time with Fallout 4, but the story's pretty mediocre, almost as though they knew they didn't need to bother because people tend to ignore it and explore the wasteland instead. The only thing it really has over Fallout 3 or New Vegas is the updated engine - I could live without the settlement building, personally.

Vice City generally gets nominated as the best GTA game by critics and players alike. It'll be a bit surprising if any of the others finish it above it. Like Fallout 3, it has that little bit extra over the others due to the setting, which sprinkles a bit of magic over the whole thing. Rockstar North (or whatever DMA Design are called these days) lost me with San Andreas, which just had too much superfluous shite, and I understand GTA4 was even worse for that, so I haven't been back since then. Shame.

[Dindeleux]

9 minutes ago, Ludo*1 said:

Cracking write up but Fallout 4 placing that high is just:

I'm fanboying it a little here but every game on the poll is where it deserves to be.

[1320Lichtie]

Had a great time with Fallout 4, but the story's pretty mediocre, almost as though they knew they didn't need to bother because people tend to ignore it and explore the wasteland instead. The only thing it really has over Fallout 3 or New Vegas is the updated engine - I could live without the settlement building, personally.
Vice City generally gets nominated as the best GTA game by critics and players alike. It'll be a bit surprising if any of the others finish it above it. Like Fallout 3, it has that little bit extra over the others due to the setting, which sprinkles a bit of magic over the whole thing. Rockstar North (or whatever DMA Design are called these days) lost me with San Andreas, which just had too much superfluous shite, and I understand GTA4 was even worse for that, so I haven't been back since then. Shame.

Need to remember the ages of some posters though.

Anyway for me San Andreas was better. Loved them both to ridiculous levels mind you.

I played vice city when I was in primary 6 ffs.

Loved it, can't mind the name of the band, they were also good. The old voodoo lady, some extremely funny moments and the music was just absolutely brilliant I hope GTA 6 goes back and does something similar in a similar era and environment.

[BFTD]

7 minutes ago, 1320Lichtie said:

Loved it, can't mind the name of the band, they were also good.

 

Lovefist, I think? That was pretty funny. Wasn't Kevin Kidd (or Rome/Trainspotting) one of the band members?

[Fuctifano]

I voted for Vice City as my only GTA game in this, GTA 3 was the killer app for that generation of consoles, but Vice City was the most fun out of any of them I think. Plus, I heard A Flock Of Seagulls in the pub tonight and immediately associated it with Vice City, and always will do.

I also enjoyed fallout 4 but the story didn't really do it for me, and the settlement building is essentially a separate game that has no effect on anything once you've ticked the boxes. So many dislikable characters as well (Preston, McCready, Cate, Piper, Dance etc etc)

[Gaz]

I have two main problems with Fallout 4:

1) The setting. I realise that in terms of the Fallout mythos that Boston and the Commonwealth is hugely important, but one of the things I loved about Fallout 3 was wandering around Washington DC and seeing places I've seen in countless TV programmes / films in their ruined state. Couldn't say the same about Boston.

2) Apart from the graphics, it didn't feel like much of a sequel. It just felt like another spin-off. It could have been called Fallout: Boston for that very reason.

[Gaz]

San Andreas was probably the better game, but I've never been a massive fan of rap music / hip-hop culture so I much preferred Vice City.

[paul-r-cfc]

Vice city was also a big one got me when I was in p6/7 but absolutely loved it. Can't find any fault with it really and it would have taken my number one slot if I had got round to making a list. Still listen to the play list on Spotify every so often and always lose my shit when a VC song comes on the radio or in a club etc

[GingerSaint]

I voted for SA and if I was doing multiple titles per series, Vice City would have been a close 2. For me, SA is the objectively better game but you get more fun out of Vice City.

I could play this game blindfolded and recite every song and line of dialogue perfectly. Great characters too. Tommy, Lance Vance Dance, Diaz and Umberto just a few of my favourites. 

[Francesc Fabregas]

I think, perhaps more so than any other game, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City is a triumph of style over substance. That's not to say Vice City doesn't have depth and lacks richness of any sort, far from it, but I don't think I've ever been so taken by a television advert before.

The advert is perfect - brilliant editing, lovely graphics (for the time, anyway), hugely evocative of some of the most iconic movies of the 1980s, all underpinned by a world-class song - and it hooked me straight away. As "GingerSaint" above me notes, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas is objectively the better game but Vice City has more memorable moments.

There's so many to choose from - how about hurtling through Starfish Island in a stolen Cheetah whilst listening to Roxy Music's More Than This? Interactions with characters like Kent Paul, Lovefist and Mercedes? The missions for the movie studio? The betrayal of Lance Vance? The mission with the chainsaw?

Yeah, Vice City is tremendous.

[djchapsticks]

Mass Effect trouncing Mass Effect 2 and Fallout 4 in the top 20 has me questioning the meaning of life, TBH.

Disappointed in you, P&B.

[mishtergrolsch]

Vice City was my favourite GTA. Using Remote control helicopters to blow up construction sites and the wee remote control cars as bombs too. The whole setting and vibe was brilliant. Anyone member the talk radio station that played the "pets...in a box!" Advert? Pished myself laughing at that whenever it came on.

GTA 3 close behind due to being the first '3d' release. Still remember using the trains to get about in Liberty City!

SA was good but nowhere near the fun levels of the other two for me. Not into the hip hop / rap scene as someone else put it. Got a bit bored of it after a while.

I thought 4 was AWFUL. Main character was so flat and boring, the mobile phone was really annoying and having to go play fucking pool every 5 mins or take some bint out for a drink pissed me off and I traded in after 3 or 4 hours.

Not played 5 yet.

The first top down versions of the game were also great, the first is a nostalgiafest. 

"Hey! Aruzo! I've got a warning for you from Bald Man Sonetti. Cross him again, I'll stick a gun up your ass, and blow your fuckin' eyeballs out! ...Capiche?"

Gouranga-ing the Elvis impersonators in the orange jumpsuits. 

All started by my uncles mates in my home city. I even had an original demo my uncle got from them.

I'm welling up.

[Tamdunk]

Vice city had always been my favourite GTA but V has now replaced it. I think it's one of the best made games of all time, to create something of that size and complexity which works so well is an amazing achievement and the online stuff just takes it to a new level. Plus the space radio station is phenomenal, I have at least half of those tracks in my collection.

4 gets a lot of stick, I quite like the different approach they took with it, where V is heavily based around the sopranos, 4 had a lot of influence from the wire, the driving didn't feel right tho. I'd defo recommend people give it another shot, when roman phones agree to go bowling, then call back and cancel and it doesn't affect the relationship level.

[mrcat1990]

Four was my favourite. Come at me.

[CountyFan]

Anyone else having their eyes opened to a whole new bunch of games? I'm ashamed to say I have never played any fallout game but I'm away to change that. I'm also immediately going to go out and buy whatever the highest placed game I haven't played turns out to be. 

[Forfinn]

I can't believe I've only stumbled across the thread now and have missed my chance to vote 

Vice City would rank as my favourite GTA game. I don't think I've enjoyed a game from the series more, and certainly compared to other games at the time, it was excellent.  And the whole soundtrack was superb.  I think I've still got the V-Rock CD lying around somewhere!

ETA: There's a V-Rock playlist on Spotify. The memories are flooding back - https://open.spotify.com/user/rockstargames/playlist/5lbQ6WlcwGzwQCfC4Br0wn