There's no denying the genius behind these story titles that Rockstar are knocking out for the PSP - and then later for the PS2. Not only does it give those handheld gamers a great reason to own a PSP, but Rockstar also get that crème from the PS2 customers a few months down the line. There are a few things wrong with this method, but for every wrong there's a right to try and counterbalance the weight of the wrongs. The heaviest wrong is that the graphics aren't improved from the PSP version, and yes, scaling up from a handheld game is never going to look nice on the big screen, and the bigger your TV the worse the punishment seems to be, because as you climb up those screen inches the result really does look like a stretched PSP game. However, the right to put on the other side of the weighing scale comes in the form of that beautiful Eighties soundtrack and the fact that it's only about £15 to pick up.

Vice City Stories takes place before Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, the game that had you play as that willing gangster with a lust for prostitutes and counterfeit money, Tommy Vercetti. In Vice City Stories you play as Vic Vance - brother of Lance Vance who fans of the original Vice City will recognise. Vic starts off as a new army recruit, but his commanding officer is one of those wrong uns that you and I should avoid. Vic, well, he takes orders off his commanding officer, orders that he doesn't necessarily want to submit to, but he wants the best for his family and his sick brother, so the life of crime clearly pays and works for Vic. However, don't expect to be playing a character nearly as entertaining as Tommy - Vic is a bit of a bore in comparison and you just can't have as much fun playing as a person who's good hearted inside - somebody who doesn't like this lifestyle.

No GTA game is complete without its quirky missions and moments of frustration - and Vice City Stories delivers on both fronts. Chauffeuring prostitutes, killing Mexicans and disposing of gang figureheads becomes something of the norm, all in a familiar city to those who played the original back in the day. And let's be honest, who hasn't played Vice City before? As it's my favourite GTA setting, I was in my element as I visited the hotel on the sea front and zipped through the recognisable back allies on the moped I'd just stolen from an OAP. The missions in Vice City Stories are generally a little bit longer than the missions found in Liberty City Stories, more on par with the original Vice City in fact. However, all the missions are brand new, as is the story and the main character and so on - so you can pay your money safe in the knowledge that everything is different except the city you've grown to love.

Rockstar are masters of story and sound, and the two compliment each other like bread and butter - or margarine if you believe the health risk baloney attached to butter. Spreads aside, Vice City Stories writes in plenty of brand new eccentric characters with their own back-stories and secrets to discover. The army commander, Jerry Martinez, who you meet at the start of the game is a complete nutcase and not somebody you'd typically find commanding an army - he's a crazy Mexican with sympathy for no man. In GTA tradition, as the game progresses you meet new people to work for, all with their own little persona. However, without such a talented sound team, the stories and people in Vice City Stories or any GTA game for that matter wouldn't be as believable as they are. The voice acting is superb, on par with blockbuster films, and the sound effects for every animated thing you see on screen - people, cars, police, firemen, or finer things like the slamming of doors and the reloading of guns - it's all here, all fine tuned and really does deserve full credit.

But of course, the sound effects and voice acting is just half of it, because we have a wonderful selection of radio stations for you to listen to - channels with hilarious chat hosts that take the piss out of just about every stereotype out there, or channels with authentic Eighties songs that will have you tapping your feet as you drive by and shoot people out of the window, or even better, receiving a 'seeing to' from a prostitute while listening to Easy Lover by Phil Collins! Maybe Tainted Love by Soft Cell might have been more fitting, but that song only features in the original Vice City. However, Sexual Healing would have been my second choice from the Vice City Stories soundtrack!

You can swim in Vice City Stories, which is a welcome addition from Vice City - but I couldn't climb fences, which is something I could have used from the San Andreas game while running away from the fuzz. Saves are still few and far between - the PSP version has the advantage because you could put your system on standby and resume when you wanted, while on the PS2 you'll find yourself doing a lot of running around to save your game - but GTA fans should be used to this way of life by now. You will need to save a hell of a lot; not only will you want to save after completing normal missions, but businesses that plague Vice City are ripe for taking over after having a gun fight with the boss inside, and throw in the fact that you can earn your crust from doing public service missions too - police chases and fire fighting missions - and you've got plenty to do, and plenty of reasons to keep saving your progress as well!

There are some things I don't like about Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories - mainly the graphics, which look absolutely abysmal on my nice sized HDTV - and the multiplayer modes from the PSP version are also missing, meaning that the Vice City Stories PS2 reiteration is actually worse off than its smaller sibling. With that said however, the PS2 version is cheap and cheerful, it's a lot easier to control than the PSP version and for those people who loved Vice City and want an excuse to go back, well, Stories is your reason. With a new soundtrack and a new main character, with plenty of charm to be found in the new story and loads of things to do in the way of missions, side earners and businesses to take over, a budget gamer can't go wrong with Vice City Stories for the PS2.

Reviewed by Dexter Pearson for AceGamez (All Rights Reserved).