In addition to the traditional gameplay elements and side missions of the series, the game features a unique empire building system, in which players must expand their criminal syndicate from the ground-up by taking over businesses from rival organizations, and completing missions specific for each of them to increase their income and unlock additional rewards.
The story centres around Vic's attempts to build up a criminal empire alongside his brother Lance, coming into conflict with rival gangs, drug lords and other enemies. Set within the fictional Vice City (based on Miami) in 1984, the game is a prequel to 2002's Grand Theft Auto: Vice City (set in 1986) and follows the exploits of ex-soldier Victor 'Vic' Vance, a minor character originally featured in said game.
A PlayStation 2 port was released in March 2007. The tenth instalment in the Grand Theft Auto series, the game was initially released as a PlayStation Portable exclusive in October 2006. Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories is an action-adventure game developed in a collaboration between Rockstar Leeds and Rockstar North, and published by Rockstar Games.
