Vice City Stories, like so many things on the PSP, was overlooked by much of the world, which is a shame because it introduced some fantastic mechanics that subsequent games in the series haven't yet followed up on. The best was the empire-building aspect of the game, which was a kind of fusion between the property-buying in the original Vice City, and the gang warfare in San Andreas. This involved you attacking vehicles outside rival gang members' property, taking out anyone who came out to oppose you, then tearing up the inside of the gang's building. The property would then be empty and you could move in to buy it. It's pretty basic by today's standards, but a new Vice City would have no technical trouble making this mechanic more detailed and up-to-date. Maybe the empire-building missions could take inspiration from GTA V's Heist Missions, where you select a gang for the job, then you get to choose how to approach it. Do you take over enemy businesses by going in all guns blazing, or throw a molotov cocktail in through the window and set it alight? When you storm the rival gang's building, just think about how much fun you'd have tearing it up from the inside with the lifelike physics of GTA V; smashing up drinks bottles behind the bar, beating up diners in restaurants, and destroying cars in auto-garages. The idea of building a criminal empire is so defining of 80s crime films too (think Scarface and Once Upon a Time in America). It just isn't something that happens in games and films these days, and we want it back!
Gamer, Researcher of strange things.
I'm a writer-editor hybrid whose writings on video games, technology and movies can be found across the internet. I've even ventured into the realm of current affairs on occasion but, unable to face reality, have retreated into expatiating on things on screens instead.
