We Played the GTA 4 Vice City Remake
Modders released a full remake of Vice City in Grand Theft Auto IV. It might just be one of the biggest labours of love in gaming, so of course Rockstar tried to shut it down. Within about 30 seconds of installation, you’ll know why.
There’s something amusing about s company as large and respected as Rockstar (or parent coming Take-Two) feeling threatened by a few of their fans. But after showing the project on YouTube, the Vice City NextGen Edition channel was nuked. Normally that would be the end of it, but these guys rewrote parts of the code and released it anyway.
The mod includes all of Vice City’s story missions, all of the side missions, some additional Easter eggs and a host of other visual improvements. They have effectively combined the best versions of Vice City into a single Grand Theft Auto IV-themed package. That brings with it the good and the bad, depending on how you feel about IV. Personally, I’m not entirely sure the driving is a fit for Vice City. Opinions will vary.
One thing few will debate is the absolute scale of this project. I’ve recently played the Xbox Series X collection version of Vice City, and the quality of the image was comparable to me. Different, obviously, but in no way a step down. This is an extremely pretty game when you consider the age of the source material and the age of the engine running it. Had this come out earlier – while the GTA Collection was mired in controversy – it could have definitely diverted sales. This is an extremely playable version of GTA: Vice City.
Today? It’s hard to imagine someone downloading this over buying the Collection. You’ve had your chance to own it by now.
Vice City Reimagined
Besides, they’re very different experiences. Not least because of GTA IV’s driving mechanics. IT feels like Vice City, but not quite as you remember it. Some of those features are exciting and others – yes, like the driving – feel like they’re working against you.
What I played feels very much along those lines. You’ll be amazed one minute and annoyed the next. Hand-to-hand combat felt terrible, but the improved shooting was natural and frankly game changing. Cars turn too wide in the road, making it hard to dart around in the same way you might be used to. Vice City NextGen doesn’t stop at remaking the original game. It includes the radio tracks removed from more recent re-releases. Side missions, hidden packages and stunt jumps are present too. The developers have included neon on buildings, first present in Vice City Stories. You’ll spot period-appropriate cars from San Andreas.
There are moments where you might wonder why this isn’t something Rockstar ever considered doing themselves. A small team working on a remake in the GTA V engine, complete with additional content for Grant Theft Auto Online, feels like a slam dunk. And then you realise that so much of what made Vice City special is in the confines of the PS2. It could be remade, but not as the same game.
As I said before, this has been a labour of love. These guys are clearly huge fans of the source material. They’re also clearly very talented, and maybe a bit too talented for Rockstar’s lawyers. It was inevitably going to have a target on its back. But that is a mark of its quality.