GTA Vice City VHS Edition

Rockstar North encapsulated the look and sounds of Miami in the 1980’s while spinning an exciting tale of glory and power. Many mods have been made for Vice City’s PC edition since, but one does stick out: GTA Vice City VHS Edition. Before we dive into that mod and its features, let’s go over what makes Vice City special.

There was always only a single video game franchise that could match the vibe of Miami Vice and Scarface: The World Is Yours, and that was Grand Theft Auto. It’s no surprise that Rockstar North was able to create a masterpiece in open-world design and storytelling in 2002’s megahit Grand Theft Auto Vice City.

We’re Going to Miami

There’s no beating around the bush when it comes to what makes Vice City so special. The recreation of Miami in the 1980’s as Vice City was brilliantly done. The city was, of course, smaller in smaller, but impressive for the time nonetheless.

Compared to the bleak, grey and black cityscape of Grand Theft Auto 3, Vice City feels much freer. With long, sandy beaches, colorful buildings and clothing, and an incredible soundtrack to go with the game, you won’t find a better game set in Miami, even until this day. The soundtrack of Vice City alone can be considered one of the best, especially if you enjoy music from the 80’s.

All About Those Benjamins, Baby

The story of Vice City is one of money, power, and respect. You play as Tommy Vercetti, a criminal within the mob. After being released from jail after a 15-year sentence, you’re sent to Vice City to help with the drug organization there. However, things go awry as they often do in GTA. Losing millions of dollars on a single deal, your mission is then to get the money back from those who stole it.

Revenge might seem like the primary motivator at first, but Tommy has bigger plans afterward. Inspired with how sloppy things are run in the city, he starts to recruit friends and grow his own empire. You’re then taken on a wild ride as your cars, friends, money, and properties grow.

Speaking of properties, Vice City added a new feature to the GTA series that eventually became a staple. You can purchase businesses all around the city that rake in cash for you over time, while also providing unique bonuses. You really start to feel like a kingpin once you start snatching up all the buildings.

When you’re not buying buildings, you’re performing the usual GTA antics: stealing cars, running from the cops, and getting into shoot outs. All of this is just as fun as it is in other GTA games, although the shooting mechanics can be considered a bit rough around the edges. There’s no cover system and the manual aim is a bit jerky. If only there was a mod to help with this? hint hint

The bread and butter of GTA games is usually the vast amount of side content that you can complete. If you’re a completionist, you won’t have to worry about getting bored because each mission and side activity is just plain fun – even the drone demolition mission. Just a few of the activities that you can seek out are: taxi rides, firefighter missions, stunt jumps, payphones, hidden packages, and a shooting range.

Don’t Forget to Rewind

If you were born before the turn of the 21st century, there’s a good chance you know what a video home system aka VHS is. They are what preceded DVD players and were the primary way to watch movies at home from the 80’s to the early 2000’s. If you were to have watched Scarface for the first time, there’s also a good chance it was on VHS. So, what better thing to base a mod in a 1980’s telling of a mob story than a VHS player itself.

The key difference in the VHS Edition compared to the original Vice City are the graphics itself. A shader is placed over the game as if you’re watching a VHS tape of the game, rather than playing it. The lines of an old CRT TV can be seen flickering while you play, really giving you the feel that your monitor is an old 15-inch Phillips FST.

That’s not all the VHS Edition changes. It improves on a lot of the base game, meaning you’ll see less issues during missions, along with smoother controls. These improvements to the controls are much appreciate considering the difficulty of shooting in Vice City. Even better, Tommy can now swim! For a game based in Miami, I found it weird that our main protagonist couldn’t swim.

Pros:

• Adds 100+ vehicles, 20+ weapons, and 13 new missions
• Improves the controls and some missions
• Adds a sleek 80’s CRT TV shader that fits the vibe perfectly

Cons:

• Doesn’t work well with other mods