Regardless of one's thoughts about their quality, it is hard to argue that the three Grand Theft Auto games on the PS2 are not some of the most important games ever made. Not only were they absolute sales juggernauts, but they also broke a lot of new ground in open-world game design.
Fans go back and forth on whether Grand Theft Auto: Vice City is the best of the franchise, or if it is San Andreas. The following list will point out the strengths of each. At the end of the day, it is easy to see both arguments for which one is the best Grand Theft Auto. One thing is for sure: they are both fantastic.
Updated July 25, 2022 by Jason Wojnar: The definitive editions of the Grand Theft Auto trilogy released late in 2021 were lambasted for their poor quality. One would think more care would have been put into such a revered set of games. In the months since its release, patches have come out to remedy some of these issues, but many fans still prefer to boot up their PS2 to play these original classics.
The poor reception of this product led to rumors that GTA IV and Red Dead Redemption remasters were canceled. Some gamers might finally feel comfortable jumping into these remasters, however, in which case they might be interested to read about how Vice City and San Andreas stack up against each other. Read the updated version of this list to find out.
12 Vice City: Soundtrack
This one is entirely subjective, but Vice City's soundtrack is special for how much it contributes to its aesthetic. San Andreas does its share of this too, though it's diluted by some of the classic rock stations that don't reflect the characters and mood of the west coast in the early 90s.
Regardless of which station players turn on in Vice City, every song feels absolutely appropriate for whatever players might be doing at the time. In this way, the older game's soundtrack takes the cake even if someone prefers the songs in San Andreas.
11 San Andreas: Characters
Vice City's writing is leaps and bounds above Grand Theft Auto 3, but the series still had a way to go. The characters all feel like cartoons and are one-dimensional. San Andreas takes a big leap with its cast.
The protagonist, CJ, is reluctantly pulled back into the world he left behind, which alone makes him more interesting than Tommy Vercetti. There is also a compelling family dynamic. Even the villains are more entertaining, even if they still have a mustache-twirling vibe to them.
10 Vice City: The Setting
Even though the technical limitations of both games show nowadays, there is still something special about Vice City's depiction of the 1980s. The character models are quaint, and other parts of the world definitely look like they were made in 2002, but players still feel like they walked through a time portal upon booting up the game. It goes to show that graphics are not everything.
One could say the same about San Andreas, but it loses some of that 1990s sheen once the story progresses to San Fierro and Las Venturas. Vice City really immerses the players in the location and time period.
9 San Andreas: The Gameplay
Vice City's gameplay is too similar to Grand Theft Auto 3 for most to consider it a major step above its predecessor. Playing it today reveals many flaws in the way Tommy Vercetti moves and jumps. San Andreas, on the other hand, does a lot to push the series forward.
Players can aim freely, walk while prone, climb objects in the environment, and much more. Movement and driving simply feel smoother overall. More missions involve shootouts, and they actually play well. Shooting and aiming feels wonky in Vice City, while gameplay is much smoother in San Andreas.
8 Vice City: It's Still The Best Version Of The City
Grand Theft Auto 3's Liberty City is made worse purely because of Grand Theft Auto 4, which improved upon the setting. The same goes for Los Santos in San Andreas being recreated in Grand Theft Auto 5. Even though the fifth numbered entry is only Los Santos, it contains desert and temperate forest environments similar to San Andreas.
There is no HD recreation of Vice City's map to make the original look worse by comparison, which works to Vice City's advantage. Maybe fans will get one in the future, but until then, the Vice City from 2002 is still the best faux Miami sandbox players have.
7 San Andreas: The Story
Vice City is a relatively simple tale about a criminal building up an empire. It is compelling from a gameplay perspective, but there is nothing really interesting or unique in the meat of the story. San Andreas, on the other hand, is an epic crime story with dozens of characters.
Players are led to believe the game will be about one thing before the whole story is turned on its head and players are sent down a whole other path. Along the way, the main character, Carl Johnson, grows and changes, keeping players engaged. Vice City has basically one major twist that comes at the end of the game.
6 Vice City: More Open-Ended
Vice City is uniquely structured for a Grand Theft Auto game. After a certain mission, the game lets players acquire property and complete missions for each of them in any order. While San Andreas has assets and side missions, they are not directly tied to progression.
Reaching the credits in San Andreas is still just a linear series of missions. There are a lot of them, about 100 to be exact, but they follow a typical path. The level of choice in Vice City makes players feel like they have more control. In fact, players don't even have to do all the missions to reach the credits in Vice City.
5 San Andreas: More Interesting Missions
With about 100 story missions in all, the objectives had better be interesting for players to remain engaged until the very end. The missions cover a wide range of gameplay mechanics like shootouts, car chases, on-foot chases, and even flying to Liberty City.
Vice City has fewer missions by comparison, and they offer less variety. As previously stated, shootouts are not as fun, and movement does not feel as tight as it does in San Andreas.
4 Vice City: The Definitive Edition Looks Better
There has been a lot of controversy around the definitive editions of the trilogy released recently. The graphics have come under a lot of criticism, and there are numerous technical issues. San Andreas suffers the most of the three. Some argue that certain aesthetic choices destroy the PS2 game's unique vibe.
On the other side of the coin is Vice City, which fares better with the upgrades. Character models still look strange at times, but the overall look of the city is improved. San Andreas at least looks improved now with the series of patches the developer has released.
3 San Andreas: RPG Mechanics
San Andreas forces players to pay close attention to CJ's stats. If he goes too long without eating, he grows weaker. But if players feed him too much he will gain weight and won't be as agile. Additionally, certain stats like stamina, muscle, and lung capacity increase as players do certain activities.
CJ gets better at driving cars, bikes, and motorcycles the more he engages with them. He also gets better with certain weapons as he uses them. These RPG mechanics make players feel like everything they do counts and has an effect on their game.
2 Vice City: Faster Pacing
It only takes a few hours for players to really get into the meat of Vice City. After a small series of missions, players are already big-timers, doing missions with large set pieces. San Andreas, for better or worse, starts smaller and takes a while to pick up. Just when players think they are in the main gameplay loop and ready to make the big bucks, the game throws a curveball and CJ is back to square one in another part of the map.
While this type of pacing lends to San Andreas' grand scale, Vice City is more immediately gratifying. Many GTA players enjoy the faster pace and quicker buildup this title offers.
1 San Andreas: More Varied Landscape
While the vibe of the 1980s might be more enjoyable, San Andreas has a huge advantage when it comes to the maps simply because the terrain is more varied. Each of the three large landmasses has a distinct personality and there are rural areas to explore. It is impressive to behold even today more than 15 years after release.
Vice City generally has one tone to it, while San Andreas varies greatly with its regions. There is something especially satisfying about doing a mission where the player crosses several areas of the map, really making players feel like they are traversing across a whole state.
Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy is out now for PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X and S, Xbox One, and PC.