GTA: The Trilogy - The Definitive Edition has been released, bringing players back into the crime-infested world of Grand Theft Auto's 3D universe, but two important games in GTA's 3D timeline have yet to be remastered. Liberty City Stories and Vice City Stories are spin-off games originally released for the PSP in 2005 and 2006, respectively, and they both fill in important gaps in the franchise's narratives. Both games were well-received, though they didn't receive the level of acclaim and attention as the mainline titles in the series.
Liberty City Stories takes place three years prior to the events of GTA 3, and it follows the exploits of Leone family mafioso Toni Cipriani as he returns to Liberty City after an extended leave. He soon finds himself wrapped up in chaotic gangland conflict, and the gameplay is incredibly similar to what players can experience in GTA: The Trilogy. Unlike the isometric GTA Advance (the portable GTA that had released prior), Liberty City Stories took advantage of the PSP's ability to handle a 3D experience, and it was ported to the PS2 soon after. Vice City Stories is set before Vice City, and the game's 1984 setting offered players more '80s nostalgia. It, too, was ported to the PS2 following the initial PSP release. Despite being limited by the PSP's constraints, the game actually improved on the combat of the series and added an empire-building feature that remains the closest the franchise has ever come to letting players create their own crime syndicate. The story centered around Lance Vance's brother, Victor, giving players an intimate look at an interesting character who barely appeared in Vice City.
While GTA: The Trilogy faced steep expectations due to the iconic status of its three games, this would be a great time to get to work on remastering the Stories spin-offs. Neither title is as embedded in the public consciousness as GTA's biggest games, which would give Rockstar more room to introduce new changes and alter gameplay elements for the better.
Liberty City And Vice City Stories Updated The GTA Formula
While the plots of both games can stand up to the narratives of more well-known GTA titles, the forward-thinking gameplay is the best reason for remastering Liberty City Stories and Vice City Stories. Liberty City Stories improved on GTA 3's gameplay by adding more side-missions, a more fully-featured Liberty City, and a varied vehicles list that included motorcycles. GTA 3's lack of bikes especially felt like an oversight, and Liberty City Stories' additions felt like needed improvements. Vice City Stories added better hand-to-hand combat, tweaked shooting mechanics, and the fun "Beach Patrol" side missions, but the aforementioned empire-building was the game's highlight that was sadly not revisited in later installments.
This feature involved the player taking over territories from rival gangs in order to open various businesses and make money off of racketeering, drugs, prostitution, and more. Because it was more in-depth than typical GTA side activities, like Vice City's "Pizza Boy" missions, empire-building was arguably the first time players could feel like they were genuinely taking control of a city. The PSP versions of each game included an online multiplayer mode, making Liberty City Stories the first GTA game to include official online multiplayer since GTA 2. Remasters could build on the groundwork set by these early multiplayer modes to create online experiences that add to replay value.
Despite these great features mixed with the classic GTA formula, the Stories games had issues with control limitations and some graphical setbacks. This is due to the prioritizing of a PSP release, and while the PS2 ports for each game added a layer of polish, an HD remaster could unlock the vast potential of both entries. New remasters could also let Rockstar improve on the quality of their remakes, as GTA: The Trilogy has received mixed reviews.
Remastered versions of the Stories games would bring some great gameplay ideas to a new generation of gamers. Players who recently rediscovered GTA 3 through GTA: The Trilogy - The Definitive Edition will appreciate being able to ride through a 1998 version of Liberty City on a motorcycle, and the unique empire-building elements of Vice City Stories still feel modern today. While the desire to revisit the biggest entries in the series is understandable, these excellent-yet-underrated GTA games would benefit the most from being remastered.