GTA San Andreas vs GTA Vice City graphics: Which is better?

GTA San Andreas and GTA Vice City are two legendary games from the 3D universe. These games are termed classics today and sold millions of copies when they were released.

The major success of both these titles is the reason Rockstar Games is a world-renowned company. The hit series made in the PS2 era is still very popular with the community today.

There has been a debate in the community ever since the beginning about which game has better graphics.

---

Which game has better graphics, GTA Vice City or GTA San Andreas?

Although GTA San Andreas and GTA Vice City were made just two years apart, their graphics are pretty similar as they have the same polygonal style that players can see throughout the 3D universe.

GTA San Andreas did a polish on a few things regarding visual enhancements, like the texture of the roads, buildings, and water. Still, it wasn't too far from what GTA Vice City had achieved by being artistically better with colors.

Vice City came out in 2002. The game had graphics ahead of its time, as gamers had never seen such visuals in older Grand Theft Auto titles or any other game. Many of them loved the aesthetic this title had and its neon Miami feeling.

The hardware of that period limited these games as graphic cards didn't have advanced shaders and virtual video memory. However, Rockstar pushed its limits to make them look as realistic as possible.

San Andreas didn't have an interesting color palette like its predecessor, making the latter more visually pleasing.

GTA Vice City has a better art style and art direction. The city of Miami was always bright with many colors, with neon pink and purple standing out the most because the city used to get lit up at night. The game also had a neon HUD, which added to the visual the game was going for.

GTA San Andreas wasn't that colorful in its art style but was more towards making things look realistic. The title had better shadows and also more detailed textures.

Although it has a technological advantage in having more detailed textures and assets, the game had a very dull aesthetic, with brown and gray dominating the color pallet. In contrast, GTA Vice City had vibrant colors on vehicles and buildings.

---

The verdict

GTA Vice City is a visually better experience between the two. However, it doesn't have all the details that GTA San Andreas provides.

The art style and color palette alone made the former stand apart. This is proof that better-quality graphics don't provide a better-looking game.

Strictly talking about graphics, GTA San Andreas took things to another level by making the game look as real as the hardware permitted.

Note: This article reflects the opinions of the writer.