In 2003, Rockstar Games followed up the industry-changing Grand Theft Auto III with a side-story set in the 1980s with Grand Theft Auto Vice City. The game addressed certain complaints of its predecessor with the addition of a fully voiced protagonist in Tommy Vercetti. With its depiction of organized crime during Reaganomics, there's no doubt that Vice City owes its existence to the 1983 Al Pacino classic — Scarface.

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Directed by Brian DePalma with a screenplay written by Oliver Stone, Scarface was met with polarized reviews in its initial release but has been reappraised as a masterpiece in later years. The two deal with similar subject matter, but still contain many deviations.

10 Same: Both Stories Deal With The Columbian Cartel

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When Tony and his friend Manny arrive to the States, they're sent to a refugee camp. However, they manage to get their green cards by killing someone on the orders of a drug lord named Frank Lopez. From there, they rise to the ranks and eventually become partners with the kingpin Alejandro Sosa.

When Tommy Vercetti is released from prison, his boss Sonny Forelli sends him to Vice City to oversee a drug deal that eventually goes wrong. Threatened by Forelli, Tommy brushes paths with the cartel to find out who set them up.

9 Different: Vice City Allows Its Audience To Interact With The World

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While Scarface has some very entertaining gunfights, audiences are only a passive enjoyer in those scenes. Vice City gives players the freedom to navigate the world of organized crime in the '80s. Should players get tired of the story, they can even deviate from it and do whatever they want in the sandbox.

It might not provide a narrative that's as rich as the 1983 Brian DePalma and Oliver Stone classic, but there's a lot of fun to be had driving around taking on jobs from a cast of oddballs.

8 Same: Both Courted Controversy With Their Depictions Of Violence

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Violence is inescapable from the crime-ridden lifestyle that both leads pursue. Spraying bullets, explosions, and excessive bloodshed permeated both Scarface and Vice City, much to the ire of watchdog groups and moral guardians everywhere. The MPAA attempted to give the film an X rating for its level of violence, but fortunately, the film managed to receive an R-rating.

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Similarly, the Grand Theft Auto series has always courted controversy, and Vice City was no exception. Jack Thompson, a disbarred attorney and activist, filmed a Best Buy employee selling the title to his ten-year-old son.

7 Different: Scarface's Tone Is Less Cartoonish

Scarface Elvira Leaves Tony Cropped

Grand Theft Auto games, including Vice City, are meant to provide players with a world to escape to. The people that populate the eponymous city are all basically cartoon characters. Players can enjoy the '80s setting and cause whatever mayhem they desire with the knowledge that no one in real life is getting hurt.

Scarface depicts some of the glamor of the criminal lifestyle, but doesn't shy away from its consequences. Tony gets high on his own product, lashes out at those closest to him, gets divorced, and tragically loses his sister when he becomes targeted by one of his associates.

6 Same: Both Explore The Nightlife In The '80s

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The bright lights and jovial sounds of the nightclubs juxtapose the grittier elements of the criminal lifestyle in both Scarface and Vice City. Sometimes they served as a break from all the death and destruction in the stories they told. Other times, they'd be used to lull the audience into a false sense of security.

In a scene from Scarface, an attempt is made on Tony's life inside the Babylon nightclub. While Octavio the clown gets blown away, Tony gets the upper hand and kills both hitmen. Vice City pays homage to the Babylon Club with the Malibu Club that Tommy buys.

5 Different: Tommy Was Less Temperamental Than Tony

Tommy and Ken in GTA Vice City

Tony may have pledged loyalty to those who helped him, but even that was no guarantee to be spared his wrath. In a fit of anger, Tony killed his best friend, who was there for him in the beginning and helped him rise in the ranks.

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While Tommy wasn't exactly the best judge of character, he at least had the good sense to retain his composure and avoid doing something that couldn't be undone. Although killing Vance when he proved to be a liability might've spared him a huge gunfight in the end, Tommy managed to avoid Tony's fate by not alienating or murdering those who were close to him.

4 Same: Tony and Tommy Are Both Hotheads

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Woe be upon anyone who earned the wrath of either Tony Montana or Tommy Vercetti. Both men had a hair-trigger and expressed no qualms when it came to violently dispatching their perceived enemies. Tony and Tommy both killed their respective bosses when they suspected them of betrayal and proceeded to take over their criminal empires.

While Tony would sometimes delegate some of the killings to his underlings, he managed to take out wave after wave of the hitmen sent by Sosa. Tommy was more hands-on (par for the course being a video game) and shared Tony's expertise in firearms.

3 Different: The Pitfalls Of Materialism Are Absent In Vice City

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Brian De Palma's Scarface is a chilling condemnation towards the blind pursuit of the American dream. When Manny tells Tony to be happy with what he has, Tony retorts that while that may be enough for Manny, he wants what's coming to him — "The world, Chico, and everything in it."

This obsession with power and wealth poisons Tony and everyone around him, culminating in his tragic downfall. While Vice City also deals with accumulating power and wealth, it does so in a more superficial manner. Tommy manages to take out all his rivals and suffers no consequences.

2 Same: Both Leads Professed Loyalty To Those Who Helped Them

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Both men fiercely professed their loyalty to those who helped them rise to the top. When accused of being a rat, Tony tells Sosa that he never betrayed anyone who didn't have it coming to them. He proceeds to say, "Do you wanna go on with me, you say it. You don't, then you make a move."

Even when associates such as Ken and Lance were suffering from their respective demons, Tommy found it in himself to look past their flaws and give them another chance. When it seemed that Vance was becoming more reckless and incompetent, Tommy still considered him his partner.

1 Different: Tony's Obsession With Power Doomed His Loved Ones

Tony Cradling Gina Scarface Cropped

Tony's constant need to control those in his life leads to them meeting unhappy ends. He constantly forbids his sister Gina to pursue any romantic relationships, possibly out of a secret lust for her. When Tony discovers that Gina's married Manny behind his back, he kills his best friend in a fit of rage. Shortly after, Tony's empire crumbles because of a botched hit on a journalist.

Conversely, Tommy's friends end up mostly okay by the end of Vice City. Despite Tommy's criminal lifestyle and his murderous tendencies, the only friends of his who end up dead are the ones who betray him.

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