GTA Vice City came out almost 20 years ago: Remembering the game’s legacy today

One legendary game that fans know and love was released on October 29, 2002. That title was none other than GTA Vice City, and its legacy still holds up well 20 years later. This game came out to critical acclaim upon its launch date, with critics and fans loving:

• The addition of a voiced protagonist
• Characterization
• 80s vibes
• Music
• A new lively world, especially for the time

Following GTA III was a tough task for most video games. That title revolutionized open-world games. Thankfully, GTA Vice City did excellent in that regard. As gamers now know today, this game was a terrific sequel that lived up to the expectations established by its predecessor.

Not only that, but it continues to be a beloved game even in the modern era.

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GTA Vice City is an iconic game, even 20 years after its initial release date

The game's graphics haven't aged all too well, but it's still charming to look at (Image via Rockstar Games)

GTA Vice City was released on October 29, 2002, for the PS2 to excellent reviews from both critics and fans. For reference, this game had a Critic Score of 95/100 on Metacritic. Several respected game review websites and magazines gave the title a perfect score, and it's not as if many gamers didn't agree with them back then on this front.

This game was extremely successful. It was the fourth best-selling PS2 game of all time, having sold over 10.5 million copies since its release date. Only GTA San Andreas, Grand Turismo 3: A-Spec, and Grand Turismo 4 sold more copies.

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Why fans love GTA Vice City

Tommy Vercetti (Image via Rockstar Games)

Many of the reasons why fans love this game were explained in this article's intro. However, some clarification might be helpful for some readers. For example, the addition of a voiced protagonist seems like a no-brainer to most young gamers today, but that wasn't necessarily the case back when GTA Vice City was released.

Its predecessor, GTA III, was a legendary game with a mute protagonist. Simply having a protagonist who could speak did wonders for making players care more about that character. Not to mention, Tommy Vercetti's personality helped expand this game's story in a way that wouldn't be possible with a silent protagonist like Claude.

Similarly, the soundtrack for this game was simply phenomenal. Taste in music is subjective, but there's no denying that the audio and voice acting were excellent for the time.

A star-studded lineup of voice actors like Ray Liotta for Tommy Vercetti or Luiz Guzman for Ricardo Diaz is one thing; it's another when those voice actors put in excellent work that truly makes their characters come alive on their own.

The aforementioned legendary soundtrack also mixes in wonderfully with the 80s setting. Gamers won't find many weird anachronistic traits in this game like they would in some other video games.

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Fans still look back to the game fondly to this day

Interestingly enough, Rockstar Games' official website states that the release date for GTA Vice City is October 27, 2002. Some sources — most notably the GTA Wiki and Wikipedia — say that the game came out on October 29, 2002. Either way, this beloved title is approaching its 20th anniversary to much fanfare.

The public opinion on GTA Vice City's 20th anniversary is generally full of many positive emotions related to nostalgia, which shouldn't be surprising considering that the game was a memorable part of many gamers' lives back then.

Some other players hope for a GTA 6 trailer of some kind soon due to several rumors popping up this month about it. That said, the lack of a GTA 6 trailer shouldn't dissuade gamers from remembering how great the iconic GTA Vice City was and still is.