Tom Brasfield

For me, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City will always be the best GTA ever made. No other game in the series has ever captured a vibe the way Vice City did. The whole 1980s Miami thing — the neon lights, the pastels, the palm trees, the Scarface-style mansions, the sunset over the ocean — it's just timeless. And the soundtrack alone puts it over every other GTA. When you're driving down Ocean Drive at night listening to Billie Jean, Self Control, or Out of Touch, nothing else in gaming comes close. Tommy Vercetti is also the best protagonist Rockstar ever wrote — he's not trying to be a good guy or torn about his choices like the later characters, he's just a stone-cold, business-minded gangster who takes over the whole city, and you respect that. Plus, the map is the perfect size. It's big enough to feel like a real city, but small enough that you actually know every street, every shortcut, every place to grab a bike or a helicopter. GTA IV was too depressing, V is too big and bloated, San Andreas is amazing but tries to do too much — Vice City is pure, focused, stylish fun from start to finish. It has soul.