
The PSP versions of each game included an online multiplayer mode, making Liberty City Stories the first GTA game to include official online multiplayer since GTA 2. Because it was more in-depth than typical GTA side activities, like Vice City's "Pizza Boy" missions, empire-building was arguably the first time players could feel like they were genuinely taking control of a city. This feature involved the player taking over territories from rival gangs in order to open various businesses and make money off of racketeering, drugs, prostitution, and more. The story centered around Lance Vance's brother, Victor, giving players an intimate look at an interesting character who barely appeared in Vice City. Despite being limited by the PSP's constraints, the game actually improved on the combat of the series and added an empire-building feature that remains the closest the franchise has ever come to letting players create their own crime syndicate. It, too, was ported to the PS2 following the initial PSP release. Vice City Stories is set before Vice City, and the game's 1984 setting offered players more '80s nostalgia.

Unlike the isometric GTA Advance (the portable GTA that had released prior), Liberty City Stories took advantage of the PSP's ability to handle a 3D experience, and it was ported to the PS2 soon after. He soon finds himself wrapped up in chaotic gangland conflict, and the gameplay is incredibly similar to what players can experience in GTA: The Trilogy.


Liberty City Stories takes place three years prior to the events of GTA 3, and it follows the exploits of Leone family mafioso Toni Cipriani as he returns to Liberty City after an extended leave.
