WHEN GTA3 made its debut about this time last year, it quickly became the best-selling PS2 game ever. The reason for this is that it lifted the restrictions so many other games imposed.

Players could now steal any car on the street, beat up more than just the bad guy (an odd form of catharsis) and then head off the beaten track to explore a maze of alleyways.

In short, GTA3 lets you do what other games wouldn't.

GTA: Vice City builds on that idea.

There are now more weapons, more vehicles (eg, helicopters, speedboats, motorcycles, golf carts), more realism and there is more access to more buildings so much more that it starts to overwhelm.

How does Vice City differ from GTA3? Tommy Vercetti (that is you) is the anti-hero of this whole strange saga and he now has more personality (and a voice).

He can change clothes, buy property around the city and zip around on all sorts of motorbikes.

Loading times are considerably longer.

The pause between gameplay and animated sequences is often enough to grab a snack from the kitchen.

I had the additional misfortune of some mid-mission game freezes, so save frequently.

The 1980's soundtrack is great and the humour is still there particularly in the radio DJs' soundbites.

Vice City is a must for GTA fans and ought to keep us occupied until next Christmas.

Overall: 5/5