Multiplayer Vice City

It's been exactly two years since DracoBlue released the first multiplayer mod for Vice City, beating the MTA team to it, who he had already rivalled in GTA3 development. A faster start didn't mean higher quality, though, as became clear when the first and then the following MTA versions became available for download.

Multi Theft Auto (http://mtavc.com)

The program is still only in beta, but it offers all the more fun. Depending on the server, up to 24 of us can go on a rampage in Vice City, using the whole repertoire of weapons (except the minigun and similar heavy weapons) and a huge number of playable characters. All this is rounded off by the use of air and land routes, even though water is still a deadly trap. Stunt mode is a favourite of many, especially since the latest developments have almost exclusively spiced up this one. The best players here score points (money) not by using the clumsy aiming, but by daredevil conquest of the vehicles. This is boosted by the recently released nitro, dodgems and the ramps generated with scm, as well as the rewards that were available anyway.

Deathmatch is usually about team fights, using the teams' unique weapons and the vehicles that appear at the spawn. To break the monotony, other game modes can run on the server, such as Manhunt, where the goal is to take out one player in a race-like chase.

GTA Tournament (http://gtat.org)

Its development for Vice City stopped with the release of San Andreas, but it's still worth mentioning, if only because of the work put into it. Although it's obviously less developed than MTA, it has a few good qualities. What I liked were the HUD with more information, the number of selectable characters and, thanks to a different approach, far more vehicles (including the tank). The console-style messages and the sound effects that kick in now and then give the whole thing a real tournament feel, but unfortunately the program would need much more development to be enjoyable in every respect.