Does Tommy Vercetti as a character holds up to our modern expectations?

[KingAJ032304]

I just don't understand the love for Tommy Vercetti outside of his VO. He just comes off as simple, one dimensional, and almost a "carcus" for us to simply play as. Like a custom created character but without the customization. I can totally understand the love for him back in the day when stuff like that was still new and cool to experience, but to say till date that he's an "amazing character" is just that doesn't really make sense to me. But I REALLY DO want to understand people's mindset and reasons to these feelings as it's very much possible for me to be missing the whole point  but just so far I don't get it. I like his background and I like his "no nonsense", and how he handles and thinks smart about tough situations and all, but outside of that, really anyone could think of a character like Tommy to me personally. I feel EVERY character after him has more personality, even Toni C and that's saying something. So could you guys help enlighten me to what seems to be a 1.5 dimensional character to me.

[Guest]

1 hour ago, KingAJ032304 said:

I like his background and I like his "no nonsense", and how he handles and thinks smart about tough situations and all, but outside of that, really anyone could think of a character like Tommy to me personally

To be fair, don't those points you mentioned about Tommy's character make for an interesting personality already? He's got a cool backstory, he doesn't take sh*t from anyone and he's shown to be smart enough to think/force himself out of sticky situations, hey that's reason enough to like him! 

 

Seems like you just find him too one dimensional which is fine. I think calling him custom character lite is harsh though, apart from the already mentioned points he does have some interesting traits, I like how in the first half of the story, after the beginning of some missions he says a small comment on the situation, usually in his witty style which I thought was endearing. I like his dry humour too. He also pulls off that badass vibe better than even some of the modern GTA protagonists. And you gotta admit, the man's got style

 

His character may not be as nuanced as modern protagonists, but then I don't mind so much, it takes me back to a simpler time where you didn't need to have all these complex fleshed out characters, all you needed was a dude that was fun to play as, and while this is subjective I found Tommy a perfect fit for Vice City's power fantasy story and even just taking the 3D era to me he was more fun to play as than Salvatore's lapdog and conflicted about drugs dude (bit of a simplification of them but hope you get my point, also I disregarded Claude obviously) 

[KingAJ032304]

16 hours ago, Utopianthumbs said:

To be fair, don't those points you mentioned about Tommy's character make for an interesting personality already? He's got a cool backstory, he doesn't take sh*t from anyone and he's shown to be smart enough to think/force himself out of sticky situations, hey that's reason enough to like him! 

 

Seems like you just find him too one dimensional which is fine. I think calling him custom character lite is harsh though, apart from the already mentioned points he does have some interesting traits, I like how in the first half of the story, after the beginning of some missions he says a small comment on the situation, usually in his witty style which I thought was endearing. I like his dry humour too. He also pulls off that badass vibe better than even some of the modern GTA protagonists. And you gotta admit, the man's got style

 

His character may not be as nuanced as modern protagonists, but then I don't mind so much, it takes me back to a simpler time where you didn't need to have all these complex fleshed out characters, all you needed was a dude that was fun to play as, and while this is subjective I found Tommy a perfect fit for Vice City's power fantasy story and even just taking the 3D era to me he was more fun to play as than Salvatore's lapdog and conflicted about drugs dude (bit of a simplification of them but hope you get my point, also I disregarded Claude obviously) 

So it's the simpleness yet style of him you like most? (And the reason I say like a custom character is I've seen many customs with that same canvas state as Tommy but with more personality and background)

[Guest]

It's that combination of what I see as charisma and badassery that had young me hooked to his character when I first played, and it's stayed ever since. That he's got style also helps

 

Idk, I think Tommy is the most charismatic of the 3D era protagonists (sometimes effortlessly so imo) so I think he's beyond any custom character but we probably see things differently which is fine. Would I like Tommy as much if I played for the first time now? Idk. Does he feel like a caricature compared to our modern protagonists? Sure. But for me, he was the man back then, I'm currently on a playthrough now and he's not the chattiest but he's got a presence about him that some 3D protagonists don't, let alone a custom character; and the traits I  mentioned in the previous post make me like him further

 

Some of it may be nostalgia speaking yeah, but even now though he may not be as nuanced as some others I still find him a very fun character to play as, and in the end that's what counts more than anything else right? 

[Guest]

100% f*cking yesssssss!!!!

[Evil empire]

Tommy still holds to my expectations and I can cope with his enormous inconsistencies.

[LorshZontek]

Even if he is not the most interesting i still like him enough to enjoy vice city, also his voice actor did a great job voicing tommy

[Jeansowaty]

I personally like him because he fits the wacky setting of his game all the while remaining serious and it just works. He didn't do anything unlikeable and shady unlike other 3D era protagonists which I also appreciate. He's my third favorite protagonist of the 3D era (after Vic and Mike).

[Grotti Vigilante]

Having been playing Vice City again for a matter of weeks recently, I can say that Tommy Vercetti still holds up for me to this day. He has the necessary charisma and masculine qualities to make a great GTA protagonist while at the same time maintaining the necessary psychopathic tendencies such as his remorselessness in terms of killing, even though most people he kills are already trying to kill him or deserve it some way or another. He's a near perfect criminal who embraces the lifestyle and does whatever it takes to become the number one in Vice City. That plus the fact he's the most handsome low-quality texture man there is. 

[TheSantader25]

I mean we have had some sh*tty protagonists in the industry over the years and it hasn't gotten that better in modern games as well so yeah I'd say Tommy still holds up. He's a pretty damn decent protagonist even for now. 

[universetwisters]

He does for me. I don't want a protagonist with a moral compass and a story that contradicts what I do in the game, and that was Tommy's greatest feature, that and his ability to sprint at 30 mph