Vice City
Vice City is a fictional city in the Grand Theft Auto series, based on Miami, Florida. Three versions of the city have appeared in different generations of the series:
The Grand Theft Auto 1 rendition featured Vice City only as a level of the game, which is dissimilar from the later versions of the city.
The Grand Theft Auto: Vice City and Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories renditions are geographically very similar to Miami. This incarnation of Vice City consists of two major islands (Vice Beach and the Mainland) and several smaller islands: Starfish Island, Prawn Island and Leaf Links. 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. This rendition of Vice City also draws significant inspiration from 1980s Miami culture, where pastels reign supreme, and, as quoted on a commercial in Wave 103, "rock-n-roll is dead, and pop is in!"
The name "Vice City" is a double entendre: on one hand, it is a direct reference to Michael Mann's 1980's police television series Miami Vice, but it also conveys the actual definition of the word, labelling Vice City a place of sin, greed and overindulgence; making it literally, a city of vice.
Located in the Florida Keys, Vice City enjoys a subtropical or near-tropical climate with year-long sunny weather, occasional strong winds and rainfall. It is also suggested in GTA: Vice City and GTA: Vice City Stories that the city is exposed to hurricanes, as is Miami. Early in the story in GTA: Vice City, bridges are closed to the public as Hurricane Hermione is believed to be approaching the city. Similarly, in GTA: Vice City Stories, Hurricane Gordy is believed to be approaching the city.