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It's sun-drenched 1980s Miami. What're you waiting for? Ok, so Tommy can't swim. And sometimes cars will vanish if you turn your back on them for a second. So what? If you analyzed Van Gogh's "Sunflowers" you could probably find stuff to complain about there too. The point is that this game is possibly the crowning achievement of the relatively brief history of computer gaming, right up there with 1997's Total Annihilation. Vice City has everything: a huge "fun factor," a great soundtrack, a wide variety of vehicles to carjack, planes, helicopters, boats, a great sense of humor, excellent voice acting, a beautifully imagined 1980's Miami "feel," and an almost unlimited number of things to do: you can undertake the missions you receive from various members of the underworld; you can participate in dirtbike races; you can grab a helicopter or sportbike and just ride around the city; you can be a vigilante, ambulance driver, fireman, or pizza delivery boy to earn cash; you can buy businesses and collect revenue; you can just mug people on the street for money; you can collect money by finding "insane stunt" opportunities around the city... this is the most open-ended game I've ever seen. The genius of the game is in the details. The more you play Vice City, the more you realize how lovingly crafted it is. It's the synergy between the various gameplay elements that makes this game far more than the sum of its parts. You're a Liberty City (aka New York) thug named Tommy Vercetti, perfectly voiced by Ray Liotta, who ends up in Vice City (Miami) and slowly builds his criminal empire. But the plot here isn't central; it's just an excuse for some of the most fun-filled gameplay ever conceived. Not every mission is brilliant (the remote-controlled helicopter mission, for example, doesn't fit the "feel" of the game and becomes tedious quickly), but why quibble? You probably don't want your kids playing this, but otherwise you have no excuse not to get this game if you haven't yet, especially at this price. The most fun you'll have legally for twenty bucks.