Common Sense Media Review
GTA continues with more sex, violence & drugs.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 18+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Play
Parent and Kid Reviews
Based on 36 parent reviews
Based on 65 kid reviews
Kids say that while the game offers great storytelling and immersive experiences reflective of 1980s culture, it is fraught with violence, strong language, and sexual content, which some reviewers believe make it unsuitable for younger players, ideally those under 13. Many appreciate the gameplay but advise parental guidance due to its explicit themes, classifying it as appropriate only for mature teens and above.
- story depth
- high violence
- language issues
- age appropriateness
- parental guidance needed
- cultural reflection
Summarized with AI
Summarized with AI
Privacy Rating Warning
Privacy Rating
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Pass
Meets our minimum requirements for privacy and security practices.
Warning
Does not meet our recommendations for privacy and security practices.
Fail
Does not have a privacy policy and should not be used.
Privacy Rating
Our expert evaluators create our privacy ratings. The ratings are designed to help you understand how apps use your data for commercial purposes.
Pass
Meets our minimum requirements for privacy and security practices.
Warning
Does not meet our recommendations for privacy and security practices.
Fail
Does not have a privacy policy and should not be used.
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.
Talk to Your Kids 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?
Game Details
- Platforms : Windows , PlayStation 2 , Xbox
- Pricing structure :
- Available online? : Not available online
- Publisher : Rockstar Games
- Release date : October 29, 2002
- Genre : Role-Playing
- ESRB rating :
- Last updated : November 19, 2019
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