Grand Theft Auto is one of the most popular open-world video game franchises today, spawning tons of sequels and spin-offs to its name. The most notable and best of which arguably being Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories, and Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories.
Liberty City Stories, the prequel to 2001’s Grand Theft Auto III, depicted the past of mob boss Toni Cipriani struggle to rise in the criminal world of Liberty City. Whereas Vice City Stories portrayed the struggles of up-and-coming criminal, Victor Vance, who most saw in Vice City. While Liberty City Stories and Vice City Stories are both fantastic spin-offs, they're great in different ways.
10 Liberty City Stories: Added Lore To GTA III
Liberty City Stories' protagonist Toni Cipriani was the main focus of the spin-off''s storyline. Although Toni made his debut in GTA III, the story centered around Claude and did not give Toni much of the spotlight. For LCS, Rockstar Games decided to focus on the Leones in order to expose what the mafia life of Liberty City would look like in 1998.
Liberty City Stories showed Toni Cipriani's journey as he helped Salvatore Leone try to take over the entire mafia business from his uncle. After successfully sending his uncle back to Sicily, Salvatore made Toni his right hand and became the head of the mafia to rule over Liberty City.
9 Vice City Stories: Added Lore To Vice City
Like Liberty City Stories, Vice City Stories was also a prequel to its original game. VCS was set in 1984, two years before the main story of Vice City in 1986. The protagonist of Vice City Stories was Victor Vance, a small-time criminal trying to build a criminal empire while also tending to his sick brother Lance.
Victor was originally a side character in Vice City, but Vice City Stories paved a new way for the character and gave him some recognition.
8 Liberty City Stories: Improved Graphics For Liberty City
Liberty City Stories polished Liberty City's graphics far more than III could. One of the main improvements was reducing the foggy and gloomy atmosphere set in Liberty City. The sunlight-lit streets of Liberty City were a beautiful sight to behold for GTA III fans. Another improvement in graphics was the inclusion of the Liberty City Cemetery which was not present in GTA III.
7 Vice City Stories: Improved Game Mechanics
Vice City Stories added something both GTA III and Vice City lacked: swimming mechanics. Other than taking their protagonists out for a quick dive in the ocean, players could find a drastic difference in the weapon-wielding portion of the game. Guns in Vice City Stories equipped and reloaded much faster than its predecessors. Handling vehicles was also much easier than in the previous games of the franchise.
6 Liberty City Stories: Missions Were More Fun
Although GTA III had some interesting missions, a revenge arc was not everyone's cup of tea when it came to Claude's journey. Liberty City Stories had some better missions lined up for Toni. Some of the most intense missions for Toni included intense gunfights in the "Portland Chainsaw Masquerade," facing Torini in "The Sicilian Gambit," and driving in first-person view during the "Taking The Peace" mission.
Liberty City Stories had more interesting missions and involved more vehicles in comparison to GTA III. Missions involving cars, bikes, and boats captured the true essence of what Grand Theft Auto was most known for.
5 Vice City Stories: Another Dive Into The Beautiful Vice City
Based on the magnificent shores of Miami, Vice City was a truly beautiful game. Vice City Stories showcased Vice City in an even better light. The graphics improved drastically, making Vice City look more stunning. For fans who were already nostalgic for Vice City, Vice City Stories came packed with missions and lore.
4 Liberty City Stories: Toni Cipriani's Mafia Life Progression
Toni Cipriani's mafia life was the main focus of Liberty City Stories. LCS delved into how Salvatore Leone took over the Leone cartel and ruled the mafia industry of Liberty City. Toni went from being a mere henchman working under the Leones to a "capo" (captain) of the cartel. Each mission developed Toni's progression into the mafia empire and players were excited to see what the story would bring next to the table.
3 Vice City Stories: Gang Rivalries And Building Possessions
While buying and selling businesses was a possibility in Vice City, Vice City Stories improved and put a much-needed emphasis on the business aspect of gameplay. Players had to initiate gang wars in order to acquire certain turfs like the Malibu Club. They also had to defend their own areas from rival gangs. Since Vice City Stories was a prequel to Vice City, the story showed the step-by-step process of how the massive drug empire came to be.
2 Liberty City Stories: Added Side Missions, New Weapons, And Cars
Liberty City Stories had a massive amount of side missions to choose from. Not only could players roleplay as a taxi driver or deliver food, they could also take tourists on a tour across the city and even collect hidden packages as collectibles.
LCS also added some new weapons and cars which were missing from the GTA III catalog. The V8 Ghost and Deimos SP sports cars were some of the more famous racing options in the game. A huge variety of melee weapons were also added, which included the chainsaw and katana.
1 Vice City Stories: Improved Graphics & More Side Missions
Vice City Stories took a page out of Liberty City Stories' book and improved on its graphics. Although VCS was a part of the 3D Universe with lower specifications as compared to GTA V today, the game ran much smoother than Vice City and there were a ton of newly added side missions to keep players busy. Some new side missions included "Phil's Shooting Range," completing different sorts of challenges, race & time trial events, and accepting impound requests where players could tow local cars to the impound lot.
0 Comments