GTA: Vice City looks better than ever on iPhone and iPad Pro

Amazingly, it’s more than 16 years since the legendary Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas landed on PlayStation 2. (That’s the same length of time that had elapsed, on its launch in 2002, since the game’s 1986 setting.)

Almost two decades later, the game is as much fun as it ever was. And now, thanks to an iOS update, its iPhone and iPad port looks better than ever.

The game’s latest iOS update optimizes the title for full screen support in Apple’s new iPhones and iPad Pro models. Combine the edge-to-edge displays of Apple’s newest devices with their superior speakers (perfect for hearing the game’s killer soundtrack), and you’ve got one heck of a GTA experience.

Sure, it might look a bit dated to someone who has only played the later installments of the game, but it’s still surprisingly impressive on an iPhone screen. And, hey, a game is about more than just the way it looks! Either way, Vice City is an undisputed classic.

Going back to the past

It’s not clear why it took Rockstar quite as long as it did to make this update for Vice City. Last year, follow-up Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas received the same treatment. While San Andreas is definitely the more ambitious of the PS2-era GTA games, many people view Vice City as the highlight of that era.

Sadly, it seems that Rockstar Games has scaled back on its porting of the series to iOS. With the likes of Red Dead Redemption 2 to fill its time, it’s hard to criticize the studio for wasting its time. Nonetheless, it’s a shame that we haven’t (at least not so far) seen any of the later Grand Theft Auto installments make their way to the App Store.

Grand Theft Auto: Vice City is available in the App Store for $4.99. That’s superb value. What’s more, there are no in-app purchases in the game either.