Following up on last year's runaway success of "Grand Theft Auto 3" (GTA3), Rockstar Games has taken gaming a quantum leap forward with its follow up "Grand Theft Auto: Vice City."

Like its predecessor, "Vice City" features a non-linear storyline and a couple of possible endings to the game. Unlike "GTA3," however, "Vice City" has a more intense plotline. While "GTA3" had a nameless thug as the main character, "Vice City" centers around a recently released Mafioso named Tommy Vercetti who has just completed serving a 15-year prison sentence for the Forelli family. The Forellis, grateful for Vercetti's stoic silence about their activities send Vercetti away from their home base Liberty City to help open up the expanding cocaine trade in Florida.

But Vercetti's first deal goes awry and he is left short fifty kilos of coke and without any money. Vercetti must find who screwed up the deal and get the money and coke back before the Forellis come down for a visit.

The game should be familiar to fans of "GTA3:" steal cars, kill people, blow things up as you rise to power in the criminal underworld. But "Vice City" is more than just extra missions for "GTA3." Rockstar touched up its engine and included a number of new features. In fact, Vice City has double the polygon count of "GTA3," giving a much richer and less cartoonish feel.

Set in 1986 before the modern day "GTA3," "Vice City" features a completely new cityscape for the hedonistic felony-fest. Vice City itself is loosely modeled on Miami. "GTA3" veterans will find the environment a challenge to adapt to after the playing in New York-like Liberty City.

The gameplay has been adjusted to fit the '80s motif as well. The vehicles available in this game handle more roughly than in "GTA3." Cars crunch up much more easily in "Vice City," which is both a boon and a blessing; while it is easier to roll police cars onto their backs, it's also easier for them to stop you the same way. True aficionados will recognize a number of the vehicles as earlier models of cars in available in "GTA3."

Vercetti's personality gives a lot more depth to the game. Interaction with non-player characters is much more crucial to winning in "Vice City" than in "GTA3." In fact, Vercetti even receives a sort of unofficial partner, Lance Vance, to help him through the game.

As always, the criminal elements in the game have big and hysterical personalities.

While the basic lie, cheat and steal type strategy is still in play in "Vice City," there are tons of new ways to go about it. Most notably, "Vice City" allows Vercetti to enter buildings and even buy them if he should choose to. While most of the interiors are just eye candy, owning buildings like strip clubs, biker bars and adult movie studios is essential to establishing Vercetti as a crime boss.

One of the best new features in the game is the addition of motorcycles. "Vice City" has a number of different bikes to commandeer from mopeds to choppers. You can even steal a pizza delivery bike and earn money by winging pizzas to waiting customers. Because of the light weight of the motorcycles, even the slightest tap can send you flying, causing a loss in life and armor. They're not much use when running from the police but it adds a needed element for missions where moving fast and maneuvering is crucial. You can even steal boats and aircrafts to help in your life of crime.

Also added are number of new tricks Vercetti can use to evade police such as changing clothes, mostly into pastel leisure suits ala "Miami Vice," and the much needed jump out of a moving vehicle feature.

The police have gained a new bag of tricks too such as the ability to shoot out the tires of Vercetti's getaway cars. They also take cover much better than in "GTA3" where they sometimes ran around like lobotomized cannon fodder.

If Vercetti is really causing mayhem, the city will send the FBI, the vice squad and event he army after him. The vice squad will repel from helicopters to reach him if he's in a sniper position. Even so, that doesn't quite fix the bug that the police are unable to follow Vercetii if he runs up stairs or drives to the top of a parking garage.

There are a number of new weapons to be had in "Vice City" such as the machete and the Gatlin gun, but Rockstar limited Vercetti to being able to carry only one type of each at a time. At first this can seem annoying, but it does balance gameplay a bit more as you can run around with an unlimited arsenal.

One of gamers' favorite features of the Grand Theft Auto world, the radio, takes on whole new significance. While the radio in "GTA3" was fun to listen to, the music was made up to be funny and got annoying after playing the game for a while. Rockstar licensed a ton of '80s music for the seven music stations in "Vice City," featuring all-star artists like Michael Jackson, Herbie Hancock, Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five, Iron Maiden, The Clash, The Buggle, REO Speedwagon and the list goes on and on. In fact, Rockstar released a special seven-CD set of the radio tunes. Of course, the irreverent talk radio station made its way back into the game too as well as scathingly sarcastic commercial breaks.

"Grand Theft Auto: Vice City" is in homage to and a parody of the '80s. Complete with hoop earrings, designer jeans and pastel leisure suits, playing "Vice City" looks like watching an episode of "Miami Vice."

But while "GTA3" was criticized for being too violent and sexual for children, "Vice City" may be escape quite so much criticism as its and its predecessor's appeal indicate a shifting demographic of videogame players. No longer are videogames written exclusively for a pre-teen crowd. Now twenty-somethings want games that reflect more provoking subjects than brightly color cartoon characters in brightly colored cartoon worlds can provide.

Of course, "Vice City" isn't for everyone. Those who are easily offended by blood and gore, profanity or sexual content should stay far away from this game. But for those with a stronger stomach, "Vice City" a hands down must have. This game will be remembered as one of the best videogames ever.

Contact C. Spencer Beggs at beggs.3@nd.edu

• `Grand Theft Auto: Vice City'
  
• `Kingdom Hearts'