In the second part of our trawl through Grand Theft Auto history, we're hitting the lascivious streets of Vice City
Ray Liotta voices Tommy Vercetti
GTA3 lead character Claude was mute, but 12 months later, Vice City's protagonist Tommy Vercetti was voiced by Ray Liotta – a symbol of the series' rise to prominence and prosperity. Rockstar Games president Sam Houser animatedly described his vision for the game to the Goodfellas actor over dinner, with Liotta describing him (politely) as a 'fucking lunatic'. In 2008, Houser told Edge Magazine that Liotta complained about Vice City's workload and wanted a pay rise to do a sequel. "Well, how about we just killed off your character? That's how we handle that," Houser retorted. Houser 1, Liotta 0.
Riding a bike with Billie Jean
GTA Vice City's defining moment isn't just cruising the neon-lit 1980s Miami streets for the first time – ideally, on a Harley Davidson inspired Angel – but doing it to Michael Jackson's Billie Jean. Rockstar automatically tuned your first vehicle to Flash FM to play the track – a scripted synergy, but subtle enough to feel accidental. Vice City's incredible, unprecedented, licensed soundtrack opens with arguably the most influential record in pop history, but the *genius* is its iconic framing.
The obscene difficulty of Death Row
The game's hardest mission, bar none. You need to shoot your way into a scrap yard to save Lance Vance (voiced by Miami Vice's Philip Michael Thomas). It sounds easy, but guards swarm from all directions and death is only a few direct hits away. Worse, there's a time limit as Lance's energy drains. Death Row exposed GTA's infuriating lack of mission checkpoints, as you drove to AmmuNation to buy a bulletproof vest for the 17h time.
Say hello to my little friend
One location. Two key missions. 'Rub Out' sees Tommy Vercetti and Lance Vance team up to shoot their way into drug baron Ricardo Diaz's mansion – an easy task – to end their 'dispute'. The shock is seeing the camera pan outside the mansion with the words 'Property Acquired', the first time GTA allowed you to own a house. Vice City's final mission 'With Friends Like These' takes the Scarface power fantasy full circle, as you defend your mansion from gangster Sonny Forelli and (spoiler) turncoat Lance Vance.
The ad you couldn't run from
To the urgent synth punk of 'I Ran' by Flock of Seagulls, Rockstar's agenda-setting TV ad for Vice City packed all the game's licentious thrills into one 30-second joyride. Shotguns, explosions, night clubs, fast cars – all pummeling the screen in an explosion of neon Miami sunshine. If you didn't care about GTA before you saw the ad, you certainly did afterwards.
Protecting Phil Collins in GTA: Vice City Stories
Phil Collins was the first celebrity to appear as himself in a GTA game, but we had to wait until 2006 for the handheld GTA: Vice City Stories on PSP. It was worth it. Playing as Lance Vance's older brother and ex-soldier Vic Vance, you need to protect Collins from assassins during a live performance of In the Air Tonight. Yes, quite. Collinsadmitted to MTV during the Vice City Stories press tour that the lyrics to this famous track were improvised – much how Sam Houser describes the making of GTAIII.