5 improvements GTA Vice City made to the GTA series

GTA Vice City was a pioneer for the GTA series in many ways, introducing some of the greatest features and aspects that fans know and love to this very day.

Although GTA 3 revolutionized the series, it should be stated that GTA Vice City did its fair share in propelling the series to new heights. The latter game introduced several quality-of-life updates (as well as some major features) that are still prevalent in later GTA titles.

GTA Vice City is still a great game to play today, so it's interesting to see how the game made several improvements to a popular video game series like GTA. This article will focus more on new aspects and features rather than some more subjective elements like mission design, graphics, etc.

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Five ways GTA Vice City improved the GTA series

#5 - Purchaseable safehouses and assets

The Malibu Club is a great asset to have (Image via GTA Wiki)

Money became more important in GTA Vice City thanks to the ability to purchase safehouses and assets. Not only did this mean there would be more save points for a player's convenience, but the assets had extra missions and money to be made.

Assets in GTA Vice City were able to generate a revenue stream that would cap every day. Over time, these assets would make a profit over the player's initial investments, and that's not to mention the money players got from the missions themselves.

#4 - The reintroduction of motorcycles

The Sanchez is a fun motorcycle introduced in GTA Vice City (Image via GTA Wiki)

Bikes were a vehicle class in GTA 1 and its London expansion packs, yet it strangely went missing in GTA 2 and GTA 3. As a result, GTA Vice City is the first 3D GTA game to implement motorcycles as a vehicle players can drive.

GTA Vice City had six motorcycles (Angel, Faggio, Freeway, PCJ 600, Pizzaboy, and the Sanchez), all with their own distinct appearances and stats. Naturally, motorcycles have appeared in the later GTA games since GTA Vice City reintroduced them.

#3 - In-game map

It's an easy map to memorize, but having an in-game way of seeing it is still very useful (Image via GTA Wiki)

Maps are a terrific feature to help players know where they are going. Surprisingly, a viewable in-game map was first introduced in GTA Vice City. GTA 3 had the classic minimap radar, but no viewable map on the pause screen.

It's much better to have an in-game map than being required to print it out like Rockstar Games Support would suggest for GTA 3 fans wondering where the map is. Unsurprisingly, this feature has been a mainstay in every GTA game since then.

#2 - Bail Out

The concept of leaping out of a moving vehicle is nothing new to modern GTA fans. However, it wasn't a feature that was always present in the GTA series. If a player was playing GTA 3 and their vehicle was either going to blow up or dive into a body of water (and thus drown), the player wouldn't be able to bail out unless the vehicle is stopped.

Fortunately, GTA Vice City introduced the Bail Out feature. Now, players can exit a moving vehicle whenever they want. It's a simple quality-of-life update that some players overlook, yet it's an incredible one at that.

#1 - A voiced protagonist

Tommy Vercetti having a voice did wonders for GTA Vice City's narrative (Image via Rockstar Games)

Giving a protagonist a defined personality goes a long way in making both the storyline and their surrounding characters more engaging. The silent protagonists of GTA 3 and its predecessors were boring, often doing whatever they were told to do.

GTA Vice City's Tommy Vercetti was anything but boring. He was voiced by Ray Liotta, who did a good job in bringing the character to life with some witty and memorable voice lines. Unsurprisingly, this made GTA Vice City so much more exciting to play compared to its predecessors.

Note: This article reflects the writer's personal views.