I finally started on the main storyline missions in Vice City, and it actually wasn’t too long before I’d unlocked the other islands anyway, unlike GTA3 where you didn’t unlock the third until fairly late. Out of the early missions, the most notable ones were one where I had to control an RC helicopter to plant bombs — the controls were extremely hard to get used to, so it took a good half-dozen tries. And in another one I got to play gunner in a helicopter while we strafed the hell out of a few gang-infested buildings. Along the way I also got a Tubbs-like partner named Lance, and a glitched, nearly indestructible car from one of the missions.

With the islands fully open, I could finally do the vigilante mission, too. My first try failed when I got busted trying to swap tanks, but the second one was successful, if chaotic. It’s hard to control a tank when it’s constantly getting slammed by police cars.

Eventually, Lance got captured trying to take revenge against the crime boss who killed his brother, so I had to go rescue him. In retaliation, we stormed the boss’s mansion (reminiscent of the one in Scarface) and took him out (in a scene also straight out of Scarface), so it’s mine now. There are some missions I can do for myself, but I went and finished off some other missions for a biker gang and a stereotypical British metal band first.