GTA: VICE CITY
GTA: Vice City creates a magic musical moment
Look, it doesn’t matter how many times you shove those DNA results in our face. We can assure you young master Jean is not our offspring. To put it in less delicate terms… THE KID IS NOT MY SON! Ah, Michael Jackson’s Billie Jean. Is there a more instantly hummable tune that so perfectly embodies ’80s carefree excess? The answer is no. Primarily because Grand Theft Auto: Vice City says so.
The work that goes into GTA’s soundtracks is legendary. The Houser brothers aren’t just cinema savants, they also have an encyclopaedic musical knowledge. And more than any other entry in the series, it’s Vice City which proves just how adept Rockstar is at injecting the perfect song into a seemingly random moment.
Of course, when Tommy Vercetti enters his first vehicle in the game’s opening mission, there’s nothing in the slightest bit random about the track selection. Unbeknownst to the player, and regardless of the time of day or type of motor – be it a Faggio scooter or a sporty Banshee – Billie Jean is always the first tune to pop up as you take that initial cruise down Ocean Drive. Psst, it’s way better listened to on a bike. After all, it’s just not the same unless Tommy’s Hawaiian shirt is fluttering in the breeze.
That’s the real genius of hearing Billie Jean as your first Vice City song: its pre-plotted ‘randomness’ creates a perfect introduction to Vercetti’s sunkissed sandbox. Too bad it’s so bloody hard to recreate that moment today. The PS2 Classic port that’s now available on PS4 had Billie Jean removed due to licensing issues. Still, at least no-one will ever be able to identify that sprog’s pop.