Grand Theft Auto: Vice City

 Review

Common Sense Media says

GTA continues with more sex, violence & drugs.
greenON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age.
yellowPAUSE: Know your child; some content
may not be right for some kids.
redOFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age.
not for kidsNOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age.

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Quality
 
Sometimes media can be age appropriate but a real waste of time. Our star rating assesses the media's overall quality.

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Parents say

Kids say

What parents need to know

Parents need to know that this game features all manner of violence, drug use, and foul language. Kids who play this game will be able to steal cars, kill a prostitute after having sex with her, shoot cops, and sell drugs. While clever pop culture references to the 1980s make the game creative and appealing, the graphic nature of its storyline makes it shocking. Parents also need to know that the star rating given to this game is based on quality of gameplay within this adult genre of gaming and not an endorsement of the violence within the game.

  • Stealing, killing, and shooting are all a part of this gangster lifestyle.
  • The object is to shoot, kill, and beat up as many people as possible. There is gang warfare, beatings, drive-by shootings, killing of innocent bystanders, bloody and grotesque deaths.
  • Explicitly sexual -- you can be serviced by hookers.

What's it about?

The controversial Grand Theft Auto series continues with GRAND THEFT AUTO: VICE CITY. And while it changes locales from the previous entry, it doesn't abandon the series' trademark recipe of drugs, sex, and violence. Players control Tommy Vercetti, a recognized member of a big-city crime family, recently released after time in prison. Rather than returning home, Tommy settles in Vice City, a near-perfect replica of mid-1980s Miami. With a surging drug trade, profitable prostitution rings, and brutal violence, Vice City looks like a perfect fit for a guy like Tommy. Sure enough, it's not long before players are pimping women, selling drugs, and strong-arming rivals with the help of shotguns, AK-47s, Molotov cocktails, and a deadly chainsaw (among other weapons).


Is it any good?

 

If you've heard of the Grand Theft Auto series, it's likely you have formed an opinion on whether it's a fun, groundbreaking, and popular game, or if it's exploitative, x-rated schlock. The game's contents are so objectionable -- and nevertheless well-made and engaging -- that it can't help but be polarizing.

But as offensive as the scenarios presented in Vice City may be, the game's amazing detail, ease of play, deep story, and sprawling game environment make it easy to spend hundreds of hours exploring and exploiting in this adult-content world.


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What families can talk about

Families can talk about the presence of adult content in video games. Does the interactive nature of the experience make it more influential than books or movies? Is it appropriate for game developers to address such mature subjects as drug use and prostitution in what was once considered a children's medium?


This review was written by Aaron Lazenby
Teen, 17 years old
June 18, 2009
 
Onne of the cleaner GTA's
THis is one of the cleanest GTA's out there but you can search very hard and try to break into a stripclub but unless you try to find it it wont happen, otherwise sex is not in it. if your looking for a 100% sex free GTA get Grand Theft Auto III, it just has mild violence and language.

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Adult
April 9, 2008
 
Warning: this game will make you be a good parent
I'm 18. I play GTA: Vice City. Deal with it. The fact of the matter is, GTA has inspired kids to commit heinous crimes, such as the shooting in Florida where the male-nurse was killed. Why weren't the parents locking up the guns? Why did they purchase the game for the kids? Games have ratings. You should all try reading them. GTA is, at its core, a mafioso wonder that rival the Godfather or Scarface. It's brutal, sex-fueled drug-snatching fun. If you're an adult, it is a great game. If you're a parent, maybe you should not by this for lil' Jonny.

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Adult
April 9, 2008
 
OMG Violence
OK, I'm 18, and I enjoy playing this game very much so, and so does my 15 year old younger brother. I have been playing violent video games since the age of about 11 I'd say, when my grandfather purchased Doom2 Hell on Earth for me. You know what? that was the coolest back then blowing all the monsters up and stuff. But I NEVER even thought of taking the game out of the game and doing something stupid like shooting a bunch of people cause I could do it on my computer. But back to GTA yes it is violent, but its not as pointless as some think. You don't just go around shooting people and stealing cars. There is a really good story behind it all. To sum it up Tommy just gets out of jail where he has been for 15 years and comes back to Vice City to take it over. The game really is great when it comes to the story so I think you ignorant people should actually play the game before blowing up on it. And another thing, the game is rated "Mature" after all, and most store won't even sell M games to young kids with out parent permission. So you would assume that the parents would be aware if their frail little boy is playing this game.

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Adult
April 9, 2008
 
While highly controversial, not the least redeemable.
GTA: Vice City has bee a favourite whipping boy of anti-game activists ever since it's release. I find that to be unfortunate. Make no mistake: This game is one of the more extreme games available to the general market, and not appropriate for most kids. However, even in Vice City, there are things you could discuss with kids, should you allow them to play it. Why does a character like Tommy Vercetti (or his film counterpart, Scarface's Tony Montana) become a glorified cult hero? What causes urban gang violence? These questions deserve discussion, though playing this game is still not likely to be wise for most kids.

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Adult
April 9, 2008
 
not that bad
Well, my son recently begged for this game saying it wasn't as bad as the other titles in this series. I soon found out it really wasn't. It does have violence and a bit of language, but I couldn't find hardly any sex in the game. SO if your child is begging for this game I would just think of how mature they are and if they could handle it first.

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Adult
August 11, 2010
 
it is not for cats
is it easy to play but i dont have it if you can give me it will be good

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Parent of 8 year old
April 3, 2011
 
Awsome Game For Kids
This Grand Theft Auto is one of the best and cleanest of them all.If you actually watch your kid play the game,you will realize that isn't all that bad.The only problem with the game,is that theres profanity,but i guarantee that your kid wouldn't copy it. me and my 7 year old play it once in a blue moon. Theres no sex or nudity,just girls in bikinis.The thing that makes it fun, is the cheats and weapons!

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Adult
April 9, 2008
 
Unbelievable
As long as your mature teen has some understanding, then he/she/it can play this game, but I don't get why parents are stupid enough to let their kids even under 10 play this. I mean, would a first or second grader be amused by all the violence and people having sex? It shows too much portrayal of it, but as usual, it is likely to be a joke. This is almost on par with Conker's Bad Fur Day.

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Parent of 12 year old
April 3, 2011
 
It's better than what they have now days
I honestly think this a good game for kids.Me and my son play it whenever we get a chance to.the reason it says strong sexual content is because there is a strip club.but you can't even get into one until you beat the game.and trust me, it takes a really long to beat it.it dosen't have sex nor nudity.it just has girls in bikini's. but hey,it's alot better than what they have now days.

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Kid, 12 years old
September 4, 2010
 

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This review was written by Aaron Lazenby
Platforms:PlayStation 2, Windows, Xbox
Available online?Not available online
Genre:Role Playing
Developer:Rockstar Games
Release date:October 29, 2002
Price:$49.99
ESRB rating:M for Blood and Gore, Strong Language,Strong Sexual Content, Violence

This review was written by Aaron Lazenby

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About our rating system
ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age.
PAUSE: Know your child; some content may not be right for some kids.
OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age.
Learning ratings
BEST: Really engaging, great learning approach.
GOOD: Pretty engaging, good learning approach.
FAIR: Somewhat engaging, OK learning approach.
NOT FOR LEARNING: Not recommended for learning.

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