Games - Vice City

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	Games - Vice City

Vice City is a fictional city in the Grand Theft Auto
series that is loosely based on Miami, Florida. It is the setting of Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, and a level in the original Grand Theft Auto.

Vice City is geographically similar to Miami; located in the shorelines of Southeastern United States, Vice City enjoys a subtropical or near-tropical climate with year-long sunny weather, occasional strong winds and rainfall. It is also suggested in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City that the city is exposed to hurricanes, as is Miami. Early in the game, bridges were closed to the public as Hurricane Hermione was believed to be approaching the city.

Grand Theft Auto: Vice City rendition

Vice City, as depicted in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, is set in 1986, a reference to 1980s Miami, which was believed to have become a major trans-shipment point for cocaine from South America at the time. This is further reinforced with its theme of the drug business and crime, as well as the presence of new upper-class businesses and residents in the city, with some of them likely to be funded by the drug business. The city is also located on the same fictional earth as Liberty City and the state of San Andreas - the locations of Grand Theft Auto III and Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas.

Vice City consists of two major islands and five smaller islands; both main islands are separated by a large body of water similar to that of Biscayne Bay, which separates Miami Beach with mainland Miami in real-life. Each major island is divided into several districts. The population of Vice City is given at around 1.8 million.

The city has four hospitals (two in each major island) and four police stations (two in each major island) distributed evenly in the city; these facilities serve as respawn points after the player dies or is arrested, respectively. The city also has one fire station and a military base. Unlike Liberty City and the state of San Andreas, however, Vice City has no known railway or rapid transit systems, and all islands are connected by road or pedestrian bridges.

Vice Beach (Eastern island)

The eastern island of Vice City, referred to as "Vice Beach" on the game's roadsigns, is depicted as the more affluent and tourist-oriented side of the city, which is mostly dominated by upper and middle-wealth businesses, as well as residential condominiums, apartments and construction sites. The eastern island is also known for a wide beach, dubbed Washington Beach, on its east side, which makes up an estimated half of the island's landmass. The island also has a waterway on its west side, with neighboring Leaf Links forming several more of it. The eastern island is clearly based on Miami Beach, Florida.

Ocean Beach

Ocean Beach is an upper-class tourist district consisting of a few skyscrapers and many low rises, directly based on South Beach and located in the southeastern most of Vice City. The area is primarily occupied by seaside and beachside apartments, hotels and upper-class businesses. An Art Deco Historic District-like row of Art Deco and Modernist low rises are also present; the road stretched along the row mimics that of Ocean Drive, bearing much resemblance to their real life counterparts in architecture and layout, and includes a flora partition between the low rises and beach, similar to Lummus Park. The lighthouse located at the southeastern most point mimics the Cape Florida lighthouse, the oldest structure in Miami, located in Key Biscayne, and a popular beachside tourist destination.

Inland towards the west, Ocean Beach contains additional commercial and residential buildings, resembling southwestern Miami Beach, westward from Collins Avenue (In fact, the road in Vice City that separates the two sides of the Ocean Beach in the manner that Collins Avenue does to southern Ocean Beach, and would eventually run along several beachside apartment and condominiums in Vice Point, similar to northern Collins Avenue).

The district boasts a marina, Ocean Bay Marina, mimicking a large marina stretched along Alton Road in Ocean Beach and located at the west end of the district. A hospital is also situated on the northwest end of Ocean Beach, named "Ocean View Hospital", it is likely named for its locations affront the city bay. Two additional high-rise buildings located beside the hospital bear signage that claims that the tenants are the "Research and Development Department" of "The Ocean View Medical Foundation", suggesting that the buildings are related to the hospital.

Several other features may be noted in Ocean Beach. A park mimicking South Pointe Park is located on the southern end of Ocean Beach, and includes a seaside building with similar architecture designs, and an additional helipad. An open-air mall, Washington Mall, depicted at the north end of Ocean Beach, is possibly based on the Bal Harbour Shops mall at Bal Harbour.

[ Visit the complete Wikipedia entry for Vice City ]

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