8-07-2008 ___
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'.___ ||___|| |'._______||___||___|'._______|
.---' | | '----.
|_______.' ___ '.___ | ___
.-' '----.| '---. .------. .--------..-' '----.
'_ ____|| || || ____|'_ ____|
| |.---.| || || || || '----. | |.---.
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'------' '---''---' '------' '---' '------'
______ ___ ___ ___ ______ _____ ______ ______
.' '.| || |.-' '----..' '. | || || |
|___'| || || |'_ ____|| .. | | ||_ _||_ _|
.----' || || | | |.---.| || | | | \ \ / /
| .. || || | | || || || | | | \ \/ /
| '' || '' | | '' || '' | | | \ /
'._______|'.______.' '.______.''.______.' |_____| \____/
FAQ/Walkthrough and ASCII art by ElectroSpecter
Version 1.73
CONTACT INFORMATION:
--------------------
THIS GUIDE'S YOUTUBE CHANNEL: http://youtube.com/user/TravelLibertyCity
PERSONAL YOUTUBE CHANNEL: http://youtube.com/user/IAmElectrospecter
EMAIL ADDRESS: ElectroSpecter26@hotmail.com
.-----------------------------------------------------------------------------.
| - Introduction - |
'-----------------------------------------------------------------------------'
The new version of the guide is being launched with video supplements featured
on the new YouTube channel (check above). Processing all these videos is pretty
labor intensive, so things like Body Armor, Weapons, Health, Flying Rats, and
Stunt Jumps will be updated slowly. Every other section of the guide should be
completed at a fast clip.
Also, CHECK OUT THE NEW AWESOME MAPS by Deymus! (Implemented in the Body Armor
section so far)
Also, please email me if you have any concerns with the guide, find any
mistakes (spelling, grammatical, or otherwise), or have a great strategy that
you feel works better / just as good / faster / is more interesting than mine.
.-----------------------------------------------------------------------------.
| - Contents - |
'-----------------------------------------------------------------------------'
- FAQs ....... [FQQS] [N/A%]
- General Strategies and Gameplay ....... [GSGP] [100%]
- Walkthrough ....... [WKTH] [100%]
- 100% Checklist ....... [100L] [100%]
- Stray Body Armor ....... [STBA] [100%]
- Stray First Aid Kits ....... [SFAK] [ 0%]
- Stray Weapons ....... [SWEP] [ 0%]
- Vigilante and Most Wanted ....... [VMWD] [100%]
- Drug Delivery Missions ....... [DDMS] [100%]
- Exotic Exports ....... [EXEX] [100%]
- Street Races ....... [STRC] [100%]
- Car Theft Missions ....... [CRTH] [100%]
- Assassin Missions ....... [ASSN] [100%]
- Random Characters ....... [RNDC] [100%]
- Flying Rat Locations ....... [FRLC] [ 14%]
- Unique Stunt Jump Locations ....... [USJL] [ 0%]
- Girlfriends / Friends ....... [GFFS] [100%]
- Phone Fun ....... [PHFN] [100%]
- Internet Interests ....... [ININ] [100%]
- Activities ....... [ACTV] [ 0%]
- Clothing ....... [CLTH] [100%]
- What Else? ....... [????] [100%]
- Multiplayer ....... [MLTI] [ 0%]
- XBox 360 Achievements ....... [360A] [100%]
- Credits ....... [CRDS] [N/A%]
- Version History ....... [VERH] [N/A%]
- Legal ....... [LEGL] [N/A%]
.============================================.
.---------------| |----------------.
| | FAQs [FQQS] | |
'---------------| |----------------'
'============================================'
Q. How do I get Dwayne to become my friend?
A. If Dwayne meets the criteria of becoming your friend (i.e. he's alive after
a certain specific mission), he'll have sent you an email. You'll have to
positively respond to it before he'll call you for your first friend
activity.
Q. Can I rob stores or banks in this game?
A. As it turns out (I was mistaken before), there are a few things you can do
to pick up some extra cash. From David G. "I've found when armoured cars are
hit with a rocket launcher they spill a lot of money out onto the street,
however, you must be quick about picking it up and flee the scene unless you
want to shoot up a bunch of cops.
Also, in the internet cafes, if you walk up to the unattended cash register
in the "dining" area of the cafe, a prompt will ask if you want to take the
money from the cash register by pushing L1 button. There's usually $40-$150
available, but get out of there because sometimes the cops will show up."
Q. Ambulance missions?
A. Nup. They took 'em out.
Q. Where are the garages in this game?
A. Well, you have parking spots located outside your safehouse(s). They are
marked by yellow lines, you can't really miss it. They function similar to
garages in previous games in the fact that they will "heal" your car if you
leave it parked there and save (though you have to go one step further and
actually reset the game after saving, I think).
Q. How many vehicles can I store in each space?
A. Two. Alsyon explains: "On the X360, your reserved parking spaces will "eat"
vehicles if more than two parked at any given safehouse. This includes any
vehicle that is sharing even a fraction of the parking space when you save.
I lost both the Comet from Brucie and the Infernus from Bernie this way in
Alderney. If there is a vehicle you're desperate to keep, be very careful
what's nearby when you save."
Q. How do I manually dial numbers on my cell phone?
A. After pressing up on the D-Pad to bring up the phone, press up again to
access the keypad. Type in the number you want, and then hit the green call
button. Simple as that!
Q. Are there Police Bribe pickups in this game?
A. Nope, they took them out. You can still visit the Pay 'N' Sprays located
around the city though.
Q. How do I get to the game's multiplayer option?
A. I was confused too at first, as it's not in the menu. You must first get a
cell phone (doesn't take too long, all you need to do is complete the second
mission, "It's Your Call"), bring up the cell phone with up on the
directional pad, press A to access the phone menu, and go down to
Multiplayer.
.============================================.
.---------------| |----------------.
| | General Strategies and Gameplay [GSGP] | |
'---------------| |----------------'
'============================================'
- SUBSECTIONS:
- GETTING AROUND THE CITY
- GPS
- VEHICLE DAMAGE
- HEALTH
- BODY ARMOR
- WEAPONS
- WANTED LEVELS
- FIGHTING
- GUNFIGHTING
- VEHICLE BATTLES AND CHASES
GETTING AROUND THE CITY
-----------------------
- On foot, Niko can walk, run, swim, and climb ledges and ladders.
- Niko can drive pretty much anything on wheels.
- You can steal cars by pressing Y.
- If you are jacking a car with a driver in it, you can usually get them to
stop by standing in front of them. But often times you will be hit, which
isn't too fun. After they are stopped, press Y to pull them out (or scare
them out if you have a gun equipped), and hop in. Some drivers will fight
back and attempt to pull you from their car. If you drive away fast enough,
they won't get this chance. They might even cling to the side as you speed
down the road!
- Parked cars tend to be locked, and Niko will break the window and unlock
the door. After he's in, he hotwires the car, a process that can be sped up
by pulling RT repeatedly.
- You can hail taxis, and they will take you to any destination, including any
waypoints you have set. Hold Y to enter a Taxi when it stops.
- If there is already a passenger in the Taxi, you can approach the door
nearest them and pull them out to get in (hold Y instead of pressing it to
do this).
- You can either wait out the ride, or skip it (for a tiny extra fee).
- From Brian via email: "...you can get out of paying a taxi fare if you just
start shooting. the cab driver freaks out and runs away and you don't have
to pay."
- In the same line of thinking, you can kill the cabbie after you pay and get
all your money back. Both of these tactics can cause problems with the
police, however.
- There are many train stops throughout the city. Trains are a good fast way of
getting around.
- If you need to get around in the water, boats are a good choice.
- Helicopters become available to you later on in the game, a good choice for
getting around safely and quickly, and also pretty fun.
GPS
---
- The in game GPS is used to get from point A to point B. During missions, a
GPS route will appear automatically. If you need a GPS to an arbitrary
destination, you can set one yourself in the menu screen on the map, and
the GPS will now help you.
VEHICLE DAMAGE
--------------
- No matter what vehicle you're in, driving fast into something solid will do
more harm than good. Typically, you will be able to tell when a vehicle is
getting damaged when parts fly off, there are massive dents, and smoke is
coming out of the engine.
- When driving in cars, your tires can catch on fire and be burned off, and
they can also be shot out. When this happens, steering becomes much more
difficult.
- Massive damage and disfiguration on one side of the car can disrupt the air
flow over the car, causing it to drift when you drive.
- Flipping a car no longer causes it to light on fire and explode, but once
the car is flipped, you'll have a hard time getting it back upright again.
- If your car IS on fire though, that means it will explode, so get out
immediately. You can jump out of a moving car with Y.
A great tip from timekiller 92: "i have found out on numerous occasions that
if you run over a fire hydrant and set the part of the car that's on fire
over it that it will put it out. If there is a fire truck near-by you can
also use that to put out the fire, if it's a car that you adore i wouldn't
exactly call for a firetruck because they could take forever to get
there...it's worth a shot though."
- If you hit something solid and immovable, Niko will fly out of the windshield
and smash into anything in his way, causing him to lose a lot of health.
- Cars won't always explode. Sometimes the engine will just stop working, and
Niko will attempt to start the car over and over. Normally, this means that
you'll need to find a new car, but you can actually call someone from your
contacts (or 911), hang up, and the car will work. I'm not sure if this is a
glitch or a secret. It's worth knowing though.
HEALTH
------
- Health is displayed as a green bar around the mini-map.
- Health can be restored by the following means:
- Restaurants.
- Street vendors (cheap and convenient).
- Soda machines (also nice).
- Sleeping at your safehouse.
- First Aid Kits (scattered around the city; see the Stray First Aid Kits
section).
- Calling 911 and dialing 2 for the Paramedics will cause an ambulance to
drive to your location, where the paramedics will heal you for a fee,
unless you scare them off.
- Entering an ambulance (refer to the previous tip for finding an ambulance)
- Paying a hooker for her services; get a suitable car (i.e. no police
vehicles), pull up beside a hooker, honk your horn, have her get in, drive
to someplace private, and pay her for her services; you will probably have
to search at night as well; you can kill her after for your money back...
if that's your style.
- Losing all your health will cause Niko to become wounded, and the screen will
fade as he's taken to the hospital. You lose a percent of your cash when this
happens, so dying when you have a lot of money isn't too recommended. Niko
will end up at the nearest hospital. Thanks again to timekiller92 for
reminding me that you keep all your weapons when this happens.
BODY ARMOR
----------
- When you get Body Armor, a blue bar will fill the other half of your
mini-map. When you are shot, the Body Armor bar will be depleted instead
of your health. Other types of injuries (e.g. falling, fire, getting hit
by a car, etc.) will bypass the Body Armor and deplete your health (makes
sense, right?)
- You can find Body Armor lying around the city (see the Stray Body Armor
section).
- Body Armor can be purchased from Gun Shops for $500 and from Little Jacob
for $300 (once you're friendly enough with him to unlock his ability).
WEAPONS
-------
- There are a variety of weapons that Niko can wield and use. Many are not
available to him at first, but as he progresses through the game, he can
use more and more.
- There are five main ways to obtain weapons and ammo:
- Finding the weapon lying about around the city (for weapon locations, head
to the Stray Weapons section [SWEP] of the guide). The weapons won't
exactly respawn fast, and don't come with a lot of ammo, so this is
the least efficient way of obtaining weapons and ammo, but it is the
cheapest, and it's fairly safe.
- Purchasing the weapon / ammo from a Gun Shop (which are first introduced in
the mission, "Do You Have Protection?"). This is also a safe method of
stocking up on guns and ammo, though it's expensive, and you won't be able
to buy much at first (more guns become available after completing certain
missions; availability and price are listed a tiny bit below). Also, you
can't enter the Gun Shop if you have a wanted level (for obvious reasons).
TIP: This is very important to remember, especially with things like the
RPG, which is expensive. When you run out of ammo, Niko will discard that
gun, meaning you'll have to buy it again. As long as you have at least one
bullet left, you can avoid spending the extra money on the weapon. So
always try to avoid expending that last bullet!
- Purchasing the weapon / ammo from Little Jacob. This option becomes
available once Little Jacob becomes your friend (after the mission,
"Shadow") and once you have participated in enough activities with him to
raise his friendship level to 75% or above. From this point, you can call
him and ask to see his weapons. He'll appear in an out of the way place,
and tell you to meet him there. (Most of) his wares are cheaper than the
Gun Shop, so definitely hang on to this option (I say "hang on" since you
can lose this option by ignoring Jacob when he calls and asks to hang out;
you can always earn it back, however).
- The fourth way to collect weapons and ammo, and by far the most common, is
to just kill enemies that have guns. Afterwards you can pick up any weapons
or ammo that they have dropped. Of course, this is the most dangerous
method, but you'll be facing tons of these enemies throughout the game, so
there's no way you will be able to avoid these situations. If you never get
busted, you may never have to rely on any other method of getting ammo
(well, that's a lie; you'll probably still have to buy grenades and RPGs,
as most enemies don't carry these weapons).
- Sometimes you'll just be given weapons from characters, usually during
missions. This doesn't happen all that often though.
- If you get busted, you will lose all your weapons. This would be a large blow
to your character, especially later in the game. Luckily, it's very hard to
get busted in this game.
- Here are various descriptions and stats of each weapon, including price (from
both the normal Gun Shop and Jacob's shop), availability, and brief tips
(availability for each weapon refers to when you can buy it in the shop;
it may be possible to collect these weapons before some of these points if
you find them on an enemy or lying around outside). Also listed is which
weapon "slot" the weapon is carried in, since you can only carry one out of
the two weapons that fit in each "slot" at any given time:
- KEY
- Slot - Refers to which "slot" Niko carries this weapon. You can only carry
one weapon in each slot.
- Availability - Refers to when this weapon becomes available for purchase.
If you are diligent, you can find weapons before these points by finding
them around the city, or on enemies.
- Gun Shop - The price to buy the weapon at the Gun Shop, follwed by how much
ammo costs for that weapon, using the format "Weapon Price / Ammo Price".
The number in parenthesis is how much ammo you'll recieve per purchase.
- Jacob - The price to buy the weapon from Jacob, follwed by how much ammo
costs for that weapon, using the format "Weapon Price / Ammo Price".
- FISTS
- Slot - 0
- Availability - N/A
- Gun Shop - N/A
- Jacob - N/A
- If you don't have any weapons, you can always just rely on your good old
fists, though this won't do you much good when you're in a gunfight. You
can do a few special things with your fists, such as disarming an opponant
or stun-punching them. See the fighting sub-section a bit later on in this
section for more details.
- KNIFE
- Slot - 1
- Availability - Whenever you unlock Jacob's ability.
- Gun Shop - --
- Jacob - $100
- The knife is useful early on in the game before battles become almost
exclusively about firearms. Pulling a knife on someone when you're in close
quarters will be both effective at draining their health very fast, and
also staggering them and lowering the chance they will attack back. It's a
very fast weapon, and you can tap the button repeatedly to swing it madly.
The knife is also useful for stealth (when a mission calls for it). Though
I don't think stealth kills were added into this game, at least you won't
be making noise with gunshots.
- BAT
- Slot - 1
- Availability - Complete "Do You Have Protection?"
- Gun Shop - $5
- Jacob - --
- The bat is the other melee weapon available to you early on (and also only
really useful early on). The baseball bat is similar to the knife in that
it will stagger the enemy when you use it on them (well, knock them to the
ground), at which point you can continue beating on them before they get a
chance to get up.
- PISTOL
- Slot - 2
- Availability - Complete "Do You Have Protection?"
- Gun Shop - $600 / $35 (17x)
- Jacob - $420 / $25 (17x)
- Probably the first weapon you'll pick up on your adventure. Each clip holds
17 bullets. It isn't the most powerful gun, but it will always work well in
a pinch. You can use it as a drive-by weapon as well. Finally, you can use
it for cinematic executions.
- COMBAT PISTOL
- Slot - 2
- Availability - Complete "Museum Piece"
- Gun Shop - $1500 / $100 (9x)
- Jacob - --
- There are a few main differences between this and the regular pistol. The
first is that it only holds 9 bullets per clip. Second, it is more powerful
than the pistol, and finally, you can't use the ammo you were using for the
pistol, so once you get the combat pistol, you'll have to build up your
cache of ammo again. The combat pistol can still be used for drive-bys and
cinematic executions.
- PUMP SHOTGUN
- Slot - 3
- Availability - Complete "Do You Have Protection?"
- Gun Shop - $1200 / $100 (8x)
- Jacob - --
- I don't really like using the shotguns in this game, mostly because it's
only useful in close quarters, and situations where you're the only one
shooting are very rare (if you're in a firefight using the shotgun, expect
to die in a matter of seconds when you finally get close enough to
effectively use the shotgun). Still, if you need to blow up a car and you
don't have explosives, whip out the shotgun and pump some shells into it.
- COMBAT SHOTGUN
- Slot - 3
- Availability - Complete "Blow Your Cover"
- Gun Shop - $2500 / $200 (10x)
- Jacob - $1500 / $100 (10x)
- If you are insistent on using a shotgun for whatever masochistic reason,
the combat shotgun is definitely an upgrade. It holds more shells (meaning
less reloads), shoots faster, and is more powerful.
- MICRO-SMG
- Slot - 4
- Availability - Complete "Do You Have Protection?"
- Gun Shop - $1200 / $100 (50x)
- Jacob - $840 / $20 (50x)
- This will pretty much become a mainstay weapon once you start to get into
the real firefights of the game, at least until the assault rifles become
available. The rapid fire will decimate enemies quickly, though the spread
can become bad if you hold down the trigger for too long. To mitigate this,
use short, controlled bursts when firing. This weapon can be used for
drive-bys, of course.
- SMG
- Slot - 4
- Availability - Complete "Luck of the Irish"
- Gun Shop - $2500 / $150 (30x)
- Jacob - $1750 / $20 (30x)
- This larger SMG will hold less ammo per clip, but is more powerful (much
like the combat pistol). It also seems to be a tiny bit more accurate. This
can still be used for drive-bys. Ammo is interchangable between the micro-
SMG and the SMG.
- ASSAULT RIFLE
- Slot - 5
- Availability - Complete "Deconstruction for Beginners"
- Gun Shop - $3500 / $80 (30x)
- Jacob - $2450 / $55 (30x)
- The assault rifle is a great weapon, beaten out only by the carbine rifle.
It's highly accurate, has an insane range, and will devistate anything you
shoot at. Ammo will be easy to come by later in the game as well, when
enemies start using assault rifles (which is a mixed blessing!).
- CARBINE RIFLE
- Slot - 5
- Availability - Complete "Three Leaf Clover"
- Gun Shop - $5000 / $100 (30x)
- Jacob - $3500 / $70 (30x)
- The best all-around weapon in the game, in my opinion, especially since, as
I mentioned, ammo will be easy to come by (it's interchangable with the
assault rifle). The difference between this and the assault rifle is added
damage.
- SNIPER RIFLE
- Slot - 6
- Availability - Complete "Luck of the Irish"
- Gun Shop - $6000 / $800 (5x)
- Jacob - --
- Sniper rifles are fun, though it's a disappointment you don't get to play
with them in the earlier missions. Once you do get one, you'll find it very
easy to pass certain missions, even if they don't call for stealth. To use
the rifle, you'll of course have to stop before shooting, and reload after
five shots. Use the rifle to great effect from remote places like bushes
off the road or rooftops. Each shot is very powerful, and if you don't kill
a target the first shot, chances are you will down them with a second.
- COMBAT SNIPER RIFLE
- Slot - 6
- Availability - Complete "Luck of the Irish"
- Gun Shop - $8500 / $500 (10x)
- Jacob - $5000 / $500 (10x)
- The combat rifle is much better than the sniper rifle with a faster
recovery rate between shots. Pick this up as early as possible.
- RPG
- Slot - 7
- Availability - Complete "Babysitting"
- Gun Shop - $15,000 / $5000 (1x)
- Jacob - --
- Ergh, this weapon is pricey. You're probably better off looking for the
few RPGs scattered around the city, especially since you will reach maximum
capacity for your rockets fairly quickly. As for its use, the RPG comes in
handy for missions when you need to take out a car / boat / helicopter.
Since a direct hit will blow up any of these vehicles, it's a good choice
when you find yourself in a tough mission. Be carful of using this in tight
quarters, however, as you can blow yourself up.
- MOLOTOVS
- Slot - 8
- Availability - Complete "The Master and the Molotov"
- Gun Shop - $500 (1x)
- Jacob - $350 (1x)
- Molotovs are a fun weapon, and you'll have access to them fairly early on
in the game. You chuck them like grenades, but they will explode on impact.
The firey explosion has a pretty wide spread, so this is a good weapon if
you're facing large clusters of enemies. Molotovs are quite effective on
cars as well. A well thrown molotov will light a car on fire, burn off one
or more of the tires, and eventually cause it to explode. If the driver is
too stubborn to get out the moment the molotov hits (such as in a chase),
the driver will eventually catch on fire too, making for an easy kill.
- GRENADES
- Slot - 8
- Availability - Complete "Deconstruction for Beginners"
- Gun Shop - $1000 (1x)
- Jacob - $700 (1x)
- Grenades are also quite fun, and it's a shame you can't carry these and
molotovs. The upside to having grenades is that you can blow up vehicles
faster with them, and you can also use them as a drive-by weapon by
dropping them out the window of whatever car you're in (works best if
you're in front of the enemy, which unfortunately isn't all that often in
car chases). You can "cook" grenades by holding down the button before you
release it again to throw it, but don't hold on to it for too long or it
will blow up in Niko's hand. You can tell it's time to throw the grenade
when a frantic beeping begins.
WANTED LEVELS
-------------
- Yes, there are still Police in this game, and yes, they get mad when you do
bad things. You should inherently know what these bad things are, but here
are a few things that could attract police attention:
- Stealing a vehicle.
- Discharging a firearm.
- Discharging a firearm into someone.
- Running over people.
- Fighting in public.
- Vandalism.
- Hitting a cop car.
- Resisting arrest.
- Entering restricted areas / islands.
- Driving drunk.
- Threatening people with weapons.
- You can earn up to a total of six wanted stars from participating in various
crimes. You usually get the stars in increments, but there are ways to jump
from no wanted level to a high wanted level, and pretty much anything in
between.
- When you have a wanted level, any cops and cop vehicles appear as blips on
the radar.
- The wanted circle plays a key part in the new wanted level system. It is the
circle that appears on your mini-map whenever you have a wanted level. While
you are in that circle, there is no chance of naturally losing your wanted
level. You need to escape the circle before the stars will fade. The circle
will more or less follow you around the map if any police can see you, but it
will pretty much stop moving once you are out of sight of any cops, making it
much easier to escape from the circle at this point. You will know if you are
out of sight if the wanted stars are grey, not white. The circle gets bigger
with each additional star tacked on to your wanted level, which, needless to
say, makes it harder and harder to escape.
- 1 STAR
- Any Police in the area will begin to pursue you, but none will actually
shoot at you. It is rare for more cruisers to arrive at this point. The
only danger you are really in at this point is if a cop on foot catches up
to you. He will point the gun at Niko, who stops and raises his hands in
the air. If you wait, Niko will eventually be arrested. You can still run
at this point, however, by hitting buttons. This will automatically bump
you up to two stars though, and you'll definitely be shot at least once.
- 2 STARS
- Cruisers will actively spawn and chase you now, and cops on foot will open
fire at any chance they get.
- 3 STARS
- One big difference here is the addition of a Police chopper. The helicopter
will make it both difficult to escape and to survive. Since the chopper
isn't restricted by roads, it will have a much easier time tracking you and
will make it harder for you to escape the wanted circle. Gunmen from the
chopper can also make your life difficult. Also, watch out for the police
Patriots, which will set up road blocks on all the major bridges. You can
plow through these blockades, but expect to take some damage, both to
player and / or vehicle. Police boats will also pursue you if you decide to
swim or boat away. You will also start experiencing the pain of the
shotgun.
- 4 STARS
- N.O.O.S.E. trucks will begin to appear, which are giant armored things that
can take a lot of punishment, aren't aren't exactly pleasant to slam in to.
Much like their vehicles, the N.O.O.S.E. officers themselves can take a
great deal of punishment, and also deal it out with their automatic
weapons. They wear Body Armor, so they take longer to take down. These new
N.O.O.S.E. vehicles also take the place of the Patriots at the road blocks,
making it tougher to bust through.
- 5 STARS
- Annihilator helicopters make five star wanted level a major pain. The cops
in these helicopters carry assault rifles, which can decimate you or your
vehicle in moments.
- 6 STARS
- You're pretty much screwed at this point, unless you're really lucky or
really good at hiding. This is pretty much a more intense version of five
stars.
- Once you escape from a wanted level, you'll usually have a probationary
period where your stars will still be there blinking, but there will be no
wanted circle. This doesn't last very long, and all you have to do is behave
for its duration. If you get caught doing something again, you'll have your
stars back in full force, wasting the effort of losing the level in the first
place.
- There are a few different ways to lose wanted levels. The most obvious is
just by escaping the wanted circle. I usually divide escaping into three
steps:
1. Drive FAST to escape the view of any helicopter (if applicable), or
alternately, change up your route as much as possible if you're around
tall buildings.
2. Duck down streets to lose any vehciles following you. It's nice to drive
for a while to get them to "clump up," because then you can slam on your
brakes at an intersection that they're all bound to crash at, and they
will have a hard time following you when you take your new route.
3. Escape the wanted circle. If you have followed the above two steps, there
should be no one following you anymore. Police can still pop up on the
map though, so instead of trying to get out of the circle as quickly as
possible, play it smart and take it sort of slow so you can pick streets
that lead out of the circle, but have no cops.
- Pay 'N' Sprays are still around, and function the exact same way. You go in,
they paint your car, and your wanted level disappears. However, you'll still
have to behave for a moment after you leave the garage, since you'll still
have a blinking wanted level. Pay 'N' Sprays appear as spray paint cans on
the map. Also, you'll have to be sneaky about entering them. If a cop sees
you enter, you won't be fooling anyone (see steps 1 and 2 above to lose
pursuit).
- There are a couple people in Liberty City that have the power to get rid of
a pursuit with just a simple phone call. The first is Francis McReary, and
you earn the ability to call off a police pursuit if you complete the mission
"Blood Brothers" [M090] a certain way. There are spoilers in that section of
the walkthrough though, so be warned. Once you use this ability once, you may
not use it again, ever.
- The other person that can take care of a wanted level for you is Kiki, a
woman you can meet through an online dating service. Once you unlock her
ability, she can take away up to three stars from your wanted level if you
call her. You can use this ability three times before you need to go on a
date with her, at which point you can use the ability again. See the
Girlfriends / Friends section after the walkthrough for more information on
how to date Kiki [GFFS].
- Sleeping in a safe house will get rid of any wanted level.
- There are no police "bribes" like in the previous games (pickups that you
could walk or drive through to decrement your wanted level by one star).
FIGHTING
--------
- You won't be doing much of this at all. In fact, you can avoid it entirely
by getting a melee weapon as soon as you start the game. Regardless, I will
vaguely explain the fighting mechanics in the game, despite having avoided
it myself.
- You can dodge attacks aimed at you and follow up with a counter move. Press
A at the correct time to dodge, and then hit X or Y to counter.
- You can hold A to block.
- SuperGoop writes in: "To easily dodge and counter, rapidly press the "A"
button repeatedly. You may get hit a few times, but mostly, you will either
block or dodge. As soon as you see the dodge animation, quickly hit X, Y to
execute a counter-attack (a 1-2 punch followed by a reverse side-kick that
knocks the enemy down and usually out)."
- It's often possible to shake off attackers without getting your hands dirty.
If you run into the line of sight of a cop without fighting back, the cop
will arrest your attacker without bothering you. Also, you can use a random
person on the street for cover from your opponent's blows. The attacker will
hit the random person rather than you. Sometimes this will make the person
run off screaming, but if you're lucky, they will get angry and start
attacking your attacker, drawing any attention off of you!
GUNFIGHTING
-----------
- Cover. You will almost never find yourself in a gun battle without some sort
of cover available, even if you're not on a mission for some reason. Pretty
much anything can be used for cover, from walls to car doors to trees. Press
R1 when you're near most anything, and Niko will duck behind it.
- If you are running towards something that you want to take cover behind and
you press R1, Niko will more than likely make a diving roll to get into
cover.
- You can quickly switch positions in cover by pressing the direction of the
new object you want to hide behind, and hitting R1. For example, if you're
taking cover behind a wall, and there's a gap in the wall, you can dart
across the gap to the other part of the wall by holding in the direction of
the gap and pressing R1.
- You can still shoot whilst in cover. You can even auto aim at enemies. It's
very easy to kill enemies this way. You can even switch which enemies you
want to aim for this way. It's good to do this anyway, as the auto-targeting
feature will pick up on enemies that you may not have noticed while you're
still safe in cover.
- After targeting an enemy, hold down the trigger to shoot. Niko will pop out
of cover automatically and begin shooting. He will duck back down when you
release the trigger. To kill enemies more effectively, aim a tiny bit up so
that Niko's first shot is more likely to be a head shot.
- If you find yourself without nearby cover, it's wise to keep as much distance
as possible. If, for some insane reason, there's no cover around, you're
probably screwed, but you can try rolling around to avoid gunfire. Press X
while locked on to an enemy and strafing to perform one of these rolls.
- Crouching increases accuracy.
- Sometimes it's possible to approach the site of a gun battle from a distance
and take out many of the enemies preemptively with a Sniper Rifle. This will
greatly help later on.
- For enemies that tend to cluster, throw a grenade! This is an extremely
effective way to get rid of opposition quickly. You can throw grenades from
cover too.
- You'll mostly just be using the pistol in the early parts of the game, the
SMG soon after (and for a while after that), and finally the assault rifle
for the remainder of the gun battles. These weapons are deadly, fast,
effective, and it's easy to refill their ammo, as your enemies usually will
be fighting back with the same weapons!
- Always look for environmental hazards. Cars and red barrels can typically
explode, especially when they're in the midst of a heated gun battle. Try to
use these types of items to your advantage and to avoid them when they would
be detrimental to you. In other words, don't crouch behind a vehicle for too
long!
- Some surfaces can be shot through / broken. This is helpful when there are
enemies in cover that you can't get to without running up to them to shoot
them. Look for surfaces like concrete pillars and crappy wooden walls that
you can shoot through.
- Sometimes you won't see your targets on the radar, and auto-aim sometimes
doesn't pick up on certain enemies that are too well hidden. Try to use your
intuition. Usually something will change or feel different about a mission
when there are no more enemies to kill in the immediate area. If you can't
get an enemy to come out from cover, and you know he's there, you may have
no choice but to run up and shoot him before he knows what's happening. More
often than not, this tends to work.
- Always check the radar if the enemies appear on it. You can tell if an enemy
is below you or above you by looking at the direction of the arrow on their
blip (unless you have a tiny TV, sorry).
- Cops shoot bad guys too. If you hold off on shooting when you're in an area
with plenty of traffic, sooner or later a cop will come by and notice the
commotion. If he doesn't catch you shooting, he'll start shooting your
enemies. Soon more police will arrive and possibly take care of everyone for
you!
VEHICLE BATTLES AND CHASES
--------------------------
- Most vehicle chases in missions are very scripted. Usually, you won't be able
to get in front of the enemy car, no matter how fast you're going, and any
gunshots will do no damage to the car. It's best during these chases to stay
at a low speed (without going so slow as to lose the target) and focus
entirely on keeping up.
- When you do have a chance to do damage to a vehicle, you have several
options:
- Ramming into the vehicle will cause damage (to your car as well, most
likely).
- Shooting out tires, especially on only one side, will cause the target to
swerve and most likely crash, making the chase easier.
- Shooting certain parts of the car will do damage to it as well. For maximum
damage, shoot into either the back or front of the car. After all, shooting
a car door isn't going to be as effective as shooting the engine.
- I guess the programmers did add in gas tanks, though there is no real
indication as to where they are. HBK619 writes in on the matter: "While I
can't confirm that gas tanks can be shot during a chase, I do know for a
fact that cars in general have them. They are on the left hand side of most
cars I've tested, and if you shoot them, especially from about a foot away
with a shotgun once or twice, Niko will first catch fire, then after a
second, the entire car will explode."
- You CAN, however, shoot the engines on the backs of motorboats to blow them
up.
- A direct hit from a rocket will end a vehicle immediately.
- Grenade blasts will light a car on fire, causing it to explode soon after.
- Molotovs can light cars on fire, melting away the tires.
- The specifics of weapons used from a vehicle:
- Press LB to bust any window that may be in your way.
- Hold LB to aim your weapon.
- You can use SMGs, Pistols, and Grenades from a car. Press X to cycle
through your choices.
- Press RT to shoot when aiming.
- If you are using grenades, hold LB to pull the pin, and then let go of LB
to drop it out the window. This is most effective when you are a couple car
distances in front of a target, so it can't always be used well.
- Non scripted chases will usually end when you do enough damage to the target
vehicle. At this point, the target(s) usually get out and flee, and you can
finish them off however you'd like.
- If you light a car on fire, the targets will run out of the car on fire and
die shortly thereafter, saving you the trouble of chasing them down.
- If your aim is good, you can end a chase early by shooting the driver in the
head. This is the quickest way to end a chase, and can sometimes happen if
you just crazily shoot in the general direction of the driver.
.============================================.
.---------------| |----------------.
| | Walkthrough [WKTH] | |
'---------------| |----------------'
'============================================'
The way I wrote this walkthrough was in a more linear fashion than the game
actually requires you to play through. I decided to do it this way simply
because this is what I would be looking for in a guide if I needed to find one
myself.
That being said, you can actually just skip around to whatever mission you want
to by reading the contents. There are a few missions I'll have written
strategies for that will assume that you've done some things before the
mission, but for the most part, you can use the walkthrough as a case-by-case
mission reference as well.
Each mission description has three parts: The basics, an overview of the
different stages of the mission, and a detailed walkthrough.
.=============================================================================.
| 1. THE COUSINS BELLIC [M001] |
'============================================================================='
Chain: Roman
Prereq: Start the game!
Starts: East Hook, by the ship
Ends: Hove Beach, Roman's Place
Rewards: Safe House (Roman's Place)
$25
Off The Boat - 5G (X360 Achievement)
Unlocks: It's Your Call
Overview:
1. Follow the GPS to Roman's Place while learning about the game's controls
(and well endowed women). Just don't blow the car up or kill Roman!
This intro mission starts as soon as the opening cutscenes end. Your cousin
Roman is a bit too much over the line to drive, and so Niko takes the wheel.
There are a lot of things going on at first (drunken chatter, the game's
control tutorial), but you can take some time while you're not on the roads to
practice driving. When you're ready, follow the yellow GPS line on the mini-map
(in the bottom left corner) to reach Roman's Place.
When you get inside, you'll be introduced to the game's saving and auto-save
features. Take a moment to peruse the menus and familiarize yourself with
everything. When you exit the house, you'll also be taught about the game's
"garage" system (similar to the garage system for saving cars in the previous
GTA games, minus the actual garages) and how to heal by eating food from a
stand.
And guess what? A lot of the game has already opened up to you, so go ahead and
run around if you want. Roman can wait, and there's plenty to do around the
city.
If you're playing the XBox360 version of the game, you'll have gotten the "Off
The Boat" Achievement (5G).
When you are ready though, head to the R icon on the map. You can either sweat
it out on foot, or just nab a car and head over. Look around first if you
decide to jack a car though, since there are sometimes police milling around.
This will be good practice for later.
.=============================================================================.
| 2. IT'S YOUR CALL [M002] |
'============================================================================='
Chain: Roman
Prereq: The Cousins Bellic
Starts: Hove Beach, Cab Office
Ends: Hove Beach, Cab Office
Rewards: Cell Phone
Roman as a cell phone contact
$30
Unlocks: Brian (Random Character)
Three's a Crowd
Overview:
1. Drive Roman to the hardware store.
2. Roman gives you a cell phone and heads in. After a while, loan sharks pull
up and start to head into the building (don't attack or scare them!). Use
your phone to call Roman before they get into the building.
3. They begin to chase you. Quickly follow the GPS back to the Cab office to
lose them.
The mission begins similar to the first one; you're in Roman's taxi driving him
somewhere. This time, it's to a hardware store, but this mission has nothing to
do with tools. Instead, Roman is gambling and trying to make up some lost
money. So just head to the hardware store.
When you arrive, you can just park in the spot out front, but to make things
easier later on, head PAST the parking spot, turn around, and park facing the
other way (assuming you were following the GPS). Roman gives you his old cell
phone before heading inside.
As you're waiting, use the right analog stick to look around. Roman will call
you after a bit, and you can answer if you'd like. Soon after that, the
Albanian loan sharks will pull up on the other side of the street (Niko will
spot them, even if you don't, and drop an audio clue). At this point, press up
on the d-pad to pull up the cell phone menu. Press A to enter the phone book
and call Roman before the loan sharks enter the building (or else the mission
will end).
Roman books it out of the building and hops in the car. If you parked facing
the other way like I mentioned, you can just drive straight and follow the
yellow line. Otherwise, you can either drive past the loan sharks and double
back to the GPS route, or spin the car around quickly. Either way it's not
really that hard, although they will begin shooting at you if you get too close.
When you reach the cab office, the mission will end.
Roman will have a new mission for you, but not immediately. You can just run
around the block a few times until the R appears though.
.=============================================================================.
| 3. THREE'S A CROWD [M003] |
'============================================================================='
Chain: Roman
Prereq: It's Your Call
Starts: Hove Beach, Cab Office
Ends: Hove Beach, Russian Shop
Rewards: Michelle as a cell phone contact and potential girlfriend
Some free clothes
Unlocks: First Date
Bleed Out
Overview:
1. Drive to the subway station to pick up Mallorie and Michelle (use your horn
to get their attention).
2. Drive to Michelle's apartment to drop them off.
3. Roman suggests buying some new clothes to better impress the ladies. Drive
there and buy at least one article of clothing (the first one will be free).
Another simple mission. Head over to the subway station to pick up Mallorie and
her friend Michelle. Mallorie will more or less set you up with Michelle, and
she gets added to your contacts list on your phone when you drive them back to
Michelle's apartment.
Niko now speaks to Roman on the cell phone, and Roman suggests getting some new
clothes at a Russian Shop in Hove Beach. Head there now, and head inside. You
can try on most of the clothes and accessories that you see here, and you'll
need to buy at least one article of clothing to complete the mission. Find
something you like, and purchase it. This first piece will be on the house, but
any additional clothes you want will have to come out of your own funds. This
ends the mission.
There's a tiny branch in missions now. You can call Michelle and ask her out on
a date, or wait for her to call you. Either way, the phone call will end in a
date for Niko, and an M/Heart icon will appear on the mini-map.
Before we do that, however, there's someone new we can meet. If you open up
your map and look about a block east from the Platypus (the ship Niko shipped
in on), you should see a blue "person" icon. Basically, he's right near Roman's
Cab Office. This is Brian, and he appeared when we finished Mission 2. Head
there now.
.=============================================================================.
| 4. BRIAN: ENCOUNTER #1 [M004] |
'============================================================================='
Chain: Brian
Prereq: It's Your Call
Starts: Hove Beach, Cab Office
Ends: Hove Beach, Cab Office
Rewards: $100
Unlocks: Brian: Encounter #2
Approach Brian to trigger an exchange. You'll make a quick $100. It's a shame
there aren't more rich young cokeheads around, eh?
Before you start the next mission, I suggest you arm yourself (a baseball bat
will do fine), so let's go find one. First, head back to your safehouse and
save if you want. When you exit the house, head straight across the street,
into the alley, and straight into the alcove in the building in front of you.
There should be a baseball bat sitting in the tall grass.
To continue, head north towards Michelle's icon. When you get near her house,
Roman will call you and ask for help. You can ignore him and go on your date
with Michelle, but Roman will be sent to the hospital, and you'll have to pick
him up and drive him home before attempting his mission. If you want to skip
this step, snub Michelle for now and rush to Roman's aid.
.=============================================================================.
| 5. BLEED OUT [M005] |
'============================================================================='
Chain: Roman
Prereq: Three's a Crowd
Starts: Firefly Projects, Basketball Court
Ends: Hove Beach, Cab Office
Rewards: $50
Unlocks: Easy Fare (1 of 2 mission prerequisites)
Overview:
Conditional: If you are doing this mission after First Date, you'll have to
drive Roman home from the hospital first.
1. Drive to the basketball court in the Firefly Projects.
2. Beat up Bledar and Kalem. Darden is here too and takes off in his car. Hop
in Roman's car and give chase.
3. Darden will jump out of his car at some point and proceed on foot. Chase him
and finish him off.
4. Drive Roman back to the cab office.
When you reach the basketball court, head over towards the vicinity of Roman to
trigger a cutscene. Afterwards, the game will give you a tutorial while Bledar
attempts to fight. You can follow the tutorial if you'd like, but it's actually
kind of dangerous to get low on health before the mission is over. If you
picked up the bat, as I suggested, just beat Bledar a few times to drop him,
and then focus your efforts on Kalem.
When they're down, Roman will spot Darden, who jets off when he's spotted.
Follow Roman out of the court to his waiting cab and give chase. By the time
you make it out of the court and Roman gets in the car, Darden will have had
quite a head start. Follow him on the radar (use down on the d-pad to zoom out
if you'd like), and you should catch up with him shortly.
He'll speed up the moment you draw close to him, and it's very difficult to
catch up to him. Concentrate on driving at a speed that isn't too fast, but
don't lose sight of Darden. It is worse to drive too fast and hit tons of stuff
than driving a bit slower.
There are a few scripted cars and trucks that will be in your way during the
chase. Specifically, watch out for the garbage truck. When you see it, get
ready to take a quick left turn to follow Darden. Soon after this, he will hop
out of his car. Run after him up all the flights of stairs, where you will
corner him in a room.
Darden wields a knife, and so it's important that you either have a bit of
health remaining or brought the baseball bat. The bat will make short work of
him, and you can pick up the knife after if you want. If you don't have the
bat, your best bet is to remain on the defensive, tap A to dodge his attack
when he strikes, and tap one of the other melee buttons to disarm him. If you
manage to wrest the knife from him, the fight gets a lot easier.
There's an easter egg you can get here. Being very offensive will back Darden
up to the windows. If you manage to hit him while he's close to one, you'll
get an extra cutscene and comment from Niko!
After he's down, hop in Roman's car and head back to the cab depot to end the
mission.
Now head to Michelle's icon for the next mission.
.=============================================================================.
| 6. FIRST DATE [M006] |
'============================================================================='
Chain: Michelle
Prereq: Three's a Crowd
Starts: Rotterdam Hill, Michelle's Apartment
Ends: Rotterdam Hill, Michelle's Apartment
Rewards: Gobble Gobble - 10G (X360 Achievement) - 3 strikes in a row (Turkey)
Unlocks: Easy Fare (1 of 2 mission prerequisites)
Overview:
1. Watch the tutorial on girlfriends and friends.
2. Watch the slightly awkward conversation between Niko and Michelle.
3. Drive to the carnival and take Michelle bowling.
4. Drive Michelle home.
Michelle will hop in the car with you after you go and get her. Depending on
whether you're doing this mission before or after Bleed Out, you'll have a
different conversation with Michelle on the drive over to the boardwalk.
When you get there, get out of the car, head up the steps in front of you to
the actual boardwalk, and head left. You'll see the rather suggestive bowling
alley sign off in the distance, so walk there with Michelle (or run, she
doesn't mind).
You'll get a free game when you're inside, so pick a lane to begin playing. Pay
attention to the controls, since you can't just wave the controller around like
a madman like on other consoles (even though Wii bowling is a lot of fun).
If you bowl three strikes in a row, you can earn the "Gobble Gobble"
Achievement (10G), but it's definitely not necessary to do this now. Practice
for now, and if you don't get the Achievement, you can always just try later.
For more details on this achievement (including a somewhat cheap way to get
it), please refer to the Achievements section after the walkthrough.
Michelle will ask you to drive her home after, so do so.
.=============================================================================.
| 7. EASY FARE [M007] |
'============================================================================='
Chain: Roman
Prereqs: Bleed Out
First Date
Starts: Hove Beach, Cab Office
Ends: Outlook, Pay 'n' Spray
Rewards: $100
Unlocks: Jamaican Heat
Overview:
1. Pick up Jermaine.
2. Drive him to his garage.
3. Outrun the cops. First drive away from them to escape the flashing circle on
the radar. Then stay out of the circle and out of trouble until your stars
go away.
4. Drive to Gibson Street.
The mission starts out simple enough. Pick up Jermaine and drive him to his
garage. He notices that the garage is open, which means that something isn't
right. Indeed, the police arrive soon after, and you'll have to make a quick
getaway.
Immediately start driving away from the cops and try to find a nice open
straightaway. Remember that driving carefully is probably better than being a
speed demon but hitting a lot of stuff, especially if the cops run up and grab
you out of the car while you're stopped. You can look on the mini-map for roads
that are wider than others and head to those. Your best bet is to head more or
less north, since it's difficult to escape the police circle by heading east or
west.
When you've escaped the circle, hold tight a moment while your wanted level
fades. When the heat is gone, you'll be cued to drive Jermaine to the Pay 'n'
Spray on Gibson Street.
If you aren't familiar with Pay 'n' Sprays, you'll learn what they do here.
Head back to the cab office for another mission.
.=============================================================================.
| 8. JAMAICAN HEAT [M008] |
'============================================================================='
Chain: Roman
Prereqs: Easy Fare
Starts: Hove Beach, Cab Office
Ends: Beechwood City, Homebrew Cafe
Rewards: Pistol
Little Jacob as a cell phone contact
$150
Unlocks: Bull in a China Shop
Concrete Jungle
Overview:
1. Pick up Little Jacob.
2. Drive him to his meeting.
3. Protect Little Jacob during the exchange. Make sure to pick up the ammo
afterwards.
4. Drive Little Jacob to the Homebrew Cafe.
Pick up Little Jacob and drive him to the meeting place (I'm not going to waste
time or space with details about these easy beginning parts of the missions
anymore, as the GPS will take care of that work for you). During the drive,
Little Jacob will give you a pistol.
Head up the steps that Little Jacob indicates, and crouch in the marker for a
good lookout position. During the exchange, three thugs will appear and open
fire on Little Jacob. Use the pistol's auto aim feature to target and shoot
them before they gun down Little Jacob. Make sure you remain crouched, as this
will increase your accuracy.
Don't immediately jump down when you're done gunning down the first three guys,
as someone will emerge onto a second story landing and start shooting. Gun him
down, and hop down yourself. Take some time to pick up the various weapons that
the thugs dropped, and head back to the car with Little Jacob in tow.
Drop him off at the Homebrew Cafe to end the mission.
No new missions make themselves apparent at the moment, so drive around until
you get a phone call from an unknown caller. Answer it. It's Vlad, and he wants
you to come visit him.
You should also get a call from Little Jacob. If you answer, he asks you to
swing by, and an LJ icon will appear on the map.
Finally, if you call Roman, he will tell you that he has some Taxi missions for
you to do. These are similar to previous taxi missions, wherein you drive the
customer to their desired location and get money based on how fast and well you
do it, but the difference is that the Taxi missions don't add to your final %
score. Basically, you can do them for some extra cash when you need it.
Let's help out Little Jacob first.
.=============================================================================.
| 9. CONCRETE JUNGLE [M009] |
'============================================================================='
Chain: Little Jacob
Prereq: Jamaican Heat
Starts: Schottler, Little Jacob's Place
Ends: Beechwood City, Homebrew Cafe
Rewards: $200
Unlocks: Shadow (1 of 2 mission prerequisites)
Overview:
1. Pick up Little Jacob from his apartment, and drive him to a drug deal.
2. Run over the dealers that jet out the back of the building.
3. Drive to another drug deal, and ice the dealers there, while learning about
the game's cover system.
4. Drive Little Jacob to the Homebrew Cafe.
It seems we're still not out of the tutorial missions yet! Yet more gameplay
mechanic is introduced later in this mission.
For now, drive Little Jacob to his deal. He asks you to pull around back into
the alley and park there. Do so, and he will almost immediately call you,
confirming his suspicions about the sour deal. He says the guys are running out
the back, and sure enough, three of them come high-tailing it out. Since you
should be pointed at them, hit them with your car until they die. Otherwise,
you'll be in for a firefight if you step out and start shooting.
When that's done, pick up Little Jacob, and drive him to a town house in
Meadows Park. When you arrive, follow Little Jacob up to the front door. Use
the onscreen tutorial to back up against the wall. Little Jacob will break open
the door, and a firefight will immediately begin. Keep paying attention to the
tutorial, and aim before coming out of cover to shoot. Taking cover like this
gives you a good opportunity to land a head shot.
When the first dealer goes down, shimmy to the left (Niko's right) to the
window, and use the same tactics to cap the shotgun toting dealer. Little
Jacob has you follow him in the house after.
Two more dealers are left. Run into the room to your left, stay to the right of
Little Jacob, and use the cover button to stay behind the couch. From here, you
should be able to kill off the last two dealers. One of them may be hiding
behind the wall. The walls in this house break apart when you shoot them, so
don't be afraid to auto target him and unload on him anyway.
After all of these fun and games, pick up any extra ammo and cash, as well as
the first aid kit, if you need it, and head back out to the car with Little
Jacob. Drive him to the Homebrew Cafe, where the mission will end.
Head over to Vlad's bar for a new mission.
.=============================================================================.
| 10. BULL IN A CHINA SHOP [M010] |
'============================================================================='
Chain: Vlad
Prereqs: Jamaican Heat
Starts: Hove Beach, near Roman's Place
Ends: Hove Beach, near Roman's Place
Rewards: $50
Unlocks: Hung Out to Dry
Overview:
1. Either take a cab or walk or drive or whatever to the china shop.
2. Talk to the owner.
3. Find a brick.
4. Throw it through the window.
5. Get the money and return it to Vlad.
The game introduces you to the fact that you can hail cabs and use them to get
to your destination. Do this if you wish, but either way, head to the china
shop.
When you get there, the owner doesn't seem to intimidated, and the game prompts
you to find something to throw through the window. The green dot on your mini-
map clues you in to where you can find a bunch of bricks. Head over there and
grab one, and then run back to the china shop (red dot). Hurl the brick through
the window (pay attention to the throwing controls too!) and you'll finally
scare the owner. He pays up.
You can also just shoot the window, and not even bother with the brick.
The mission ends when you return the money to Vlad.
Drive around until you get a text message from Vlad. He has another mission for
you.
.=============================================================================.
| 11. HUNG OUT TO DRY [M011] |
'============================================================================='
Chain: Vlad
Prereqs: Bull in a China Shop
Starts: Hove Beach, near Roman's Place
Ends: Wherever you manage to corner the shop owner
Rewards: $100
Unlocks: Clean Getaway
Overview:
1. Drive to the laundromat and speak with the owner.
2. Chase him out the back, and grab a car.
3. Ram him off the road and collect the money.
Grab a car and drive over to the laundromat. The owner is inside, and he jets
as soon as you mention Vlad. Run out the back after him, and break into one of
the vehicles (you'll have to wait through the breaking in animation after
pressing Y to let Niko break into the car). Use the mini-map (or the menu map)
to find where the owner went, and start chasing him.
When you reach him, follow him until you have a good chance to start ramming
his car. If you can make him fishtail into a wall, all the better. This gives
you a few free hits. When you've rammed him enough, a cutscene will play where
we get a first look at Niko's more brutal side, and the mission will end.
.=============================================================================.
| 12. FREEFORM FUN [M012] |
'============================================================================='
If you've been following this guide, you probably haven't done too much on your
own. Drive around for a bit, and if Roman hasn't called you to hang out by now,
he should at this point. Any activities you do with him will change his
attitude towards you for the worse or better, and can be tracked in the menu.
Try taking him out drinking; it costs $50, but ensuing madness trying to walk
and drive him home drunk is pretty fun.
Roman should call you sometime after, offering to let you use his Taxis for
free anytime you call him. If you are playing on the XBox 360, you will get an
Achievement for this: Driving Mr. Bellic (10G).
If you want to make back that $50, you could try some Taxi missions!
Also, if you've been ignoring Michelle, maybe it's time to take her on another
date.
You can start hunting for flying rats too. Check the section at the end for
more details.
Hunt around for weapons and body armor. It can never hurt to be armed and
protected.
Most of all, just explore and have fun, create havoc, visit different venues,
games, events, strip clubs, whatever!
Now is also a good time to look for Brian again. Check out the map of the
island. In the bottom left, look at the main (brighter white) streets. There's
a main road that curves to the north and east. From the curve, head east until
you see the blue "person" marker. In short, he's along the southernmost street
in Hove Beach. This is Brian again.
.=============================================================================.
| 13. BRIAN: ENCOUNTER #2 [M013] |
'============================================================================='
Chain: Brian
Prereq: Brian: Encounter #1, wait a while
Starts: Hove Beach, southwesternish corner, near hardware store
Ends: Hove Beach, Brian's "Place"
Rewards: $200
Unlocks: Brian: Encounter #3
Overview:
1. Pick up Brian.
2. Drive him to the deal.
3. Drive him "home".
Brain is tweaking out pretty bad when you approach him, but he offers you a
chance to make a quick buck. Find a car (you probably have one) and pick him
up. All you need to do for this mission is drive him to the Deal, and then
bring him home. Afterwards, you'll get quite a nice reward.
.=============================================================================.
| 14. CLEAN GETAWAY [M014] |
'============================================================================='
Chain: Vlad
Prereq: Hung Out to Dry
Starts: Hove Beach, near Roman's Place
Ends: Hove Beach, Vlad's Garage
Rewards: $200
Unlocks: Ivan the Not So Terrible
Overview:
1. Board the train and ride it to your destination.
2. Stun punch Jimmy and steal his Blista. You don't have to kill him, but you
can.
3. Drive the car to the car wash and clean it up.
4. Park the car in Vlad's garage.
From Vlad's car, head around the block towards the yellow dot on the mini-map.
When you reach it, head up the steps to the train platform, which should arrive
just as you do. Press Y to enter, and you're on your merry way.
From where it drops you off, head over to Jimmy (a distance easy to travel on
foot) to trigger an interaction. You have a few choices: you can stun punch
him, grab the car without hurting him, or kill him (the only thing you change
with this choice is the conversation with Vlad in a moment, as far as I know).
Any way you do it, Jimmy shouldn't give you too much of a problem.
Niko calls Vlad and lets him in on the condition of the car. Niko must now take
the car to the car wash. So just follow the new GPS line to the car wash, get
it washed, and bring it back to Vlad's Garage. Simple mission really.
Before you head to the next mission, pick out a car that won't flip over
easily, and is fairly fast. If you can't find a sports car, try to find a
Blista or something else that doesn't move too slow (try to avoid SUVs or other
top heavy cars). There's always a Turismo parked outside Faustin's house, if
you want to look there (if you don't know what I'm talking about, head to the
southeastern neighborhood of rich houses, where the roads aren't in grid
format; you'll find the car with minimal amounts of searching).
When you're ready, park outside Vlad's bar for the next mission.
.=============================================================================.
| 15. IVAN THE NOT SO TERRIBLE [M015] |
'============================================================================='
Chain: Vlad
Prereq: Clean Getaway
Starts: Hove Beach, near Roman's Place
Ends: Hove Beach, rooftops
Rewards: $200
Unlocks: Uncle Vlad
Overview:
1. Head to the cab office where Ivan will take off.
2. Chase Ivan until he gets out of his car and runs off.
3. Chase him on foot up a bunch of buildings.
4. Make a decision: save Ivan, or send him to his death.
Head towards the cab office with the car you picked out. Before you even reach
the destination, Ivan will jet off. Follow him at a decent speed, but focus
mostly on avoiding crashing into any walls. A tricky spot is when you head
through the traffic circle. You can head straight through like Ivan does, but
don't hit the little posts, as they will stop you dead. He turns left right
after the circle too, so don't blow through it TOO fast.
Soon after that, he'll come across a traffic jam and head out on foot. Jump out
of your car too, and head to his dot. At this point, he should still be
climbing the ladder, so you shouldn't have a problem finding the ladder
yourself. Head up and chase him up some more ladders, and he will jump across a
gap in buildings. You need to do this yourself by running and jumping at the
right time (the timing for this isn't too hard).
Do this a few more times until Ivan slips and clings to the edge. From here,
you can make a choice. Press LB to lift Ivan up onto the edge, or X to kick him
off. From what I understand, saving him has more benefits than killing him,
though I don't know the details of either choice as of yet (send me an email if
you have a nice little description of either choice!).
Also, the couple times I've played through this mission, I've fallen off the
building and died, because I'm an idiot. Just be careful when the mission ends,
and make your way down slowly.
Grab another halfway decent car, and head to Romans cab office for an important
new mission.
.=============================================================================.
| 16. UNCLE VLAD [M016] |
'============================================================================='
Chain: Roman
Prereq: Ivan the Not So Terrible
Starts: Hove Beach, cab office
Ends: BOABO, under the Algonquin Bridge
Rewards: Fed The Fish - 5G (X360 Achievement)
Unlocks: Crime and Punishment
Overview:
1. Drive Roman over to Vlad's bar, and head inside to talk to him.
2. Chas Vlad out of the bar, hop in your car, and give chase.
3. Eventually he will crash. Get out and approach him on foot. After the
cutscene, follow the onscreen tutorial and execute Vlad.
Head over to Vlad's bar with Roman to trigger a cutscene. Vlad sets his two
goons on you while he makes an escape. Don't even bother with the two guys, and
head out either door (the back door will let you escape from the thugs easier,
but Vlad gets more of a head start; the front door should lead you right to
your car, but the thugs may give you trouble, especially if you need to wait
for Roman to get in; it's your call).
The chase itself is easier and shorter than the one Ivan just gave you, so it
won't be so much of a major issue in this mission. Vlad will crash his car
eventually, so run out and approach him. After the cutscene, aim your pistol at
Vlad, and the targeting reticle should turn red. Pull the trigger to perform an
execution and start a pretty brutal cutscene.
If you're playing the XBox 360 version, you'll get an Achievement at this
point: Fed The Fish (5G).
After this mission, the game suggests that you call Roman. Calling him will
cause his icon to appear. Or you can just wait for him to call you.
.=============================================================================.
| 17. CRIME AND PUNISHMENT [M017] |
'============================================================================='
Chain: Roman
Prereq: Uncle Vlad
Starts: Hove Beach, street corner
Ends: East Island City, near a parking garage
Rewards: $200
Dimitri and Faustin as cell phone contacts
Unlocks: Do You Have Protection?
Overview:
1. Steal a Police Car.
2. Pull over the three vans driving around southern Broker before they reach
their destinations.
3. When you find the right van, steal it and drive it to the garage in East
Island City.
When the mission begins, start running north up the road. There should be a
police car coming straight down the road at you. Watch the cop get out and
enter a house, a perfect time to nab the car and be on your merry way with the
mission.
After a phone call to Faustin, blue blips will appear on the radar, denoting
the locations of the vans. Open up the main map and look for the closest one.
Either mentally plan a route to it, or use the GPS. By the time you reach where
the van WAS, it shouldn't be too far from you, and you should be able to cover
the rest of the distance with the mini-map. Anyway, when you catch up to the
van, turn on the police car's sirens (press in the left stick) and stay close
to the van. When it pulls over, park the police car, get out, and approach the
window. Niko will interrogate the driver, and ask him to open up the back.
You'll need to do this to all three vans (I think) before actually finding the
correct one with the TVs. When this happens, be ready to duck for cover, since
the passenger of the van will jump out and start shooting you. Either that or
immediately jump into the van, which is the next objective of the mission.
Once you make a clean getaway, drive the van to the garage indicated in East
Island City.
Roman will call you soon after, triggering the appearance of the next mission
marker.
.=============================================================================.
| 18. DO YOU HAVE PROTECTION? [M018] |
'============================================================================='
Chain: Faustin
Prereq: Crime And Punishment
Starts: Beachgate, Faustin's Place
Ends: Beachgate, Faustin's Place
Rewards: Free Micro SMG
$400
Unlocks: Shadow (1 of 2 mission prerequisites)
Final Destination
Overview:
1. Pick up Dimitri and drive him to the sex shop.
2. Intimidate the three "businessmen" in the back room with your pistol. The
game will walk you through how to do this.
3. Drive to the gun store where you will be able to buy a Micro SMG courtesy
of Mr. Faustin.
4. Drive Dimitri back to Faustin's Place in Beachgate.
This is a fairly easy mission, another "tutorial" mission. Pick Dimitri up and
head to the sex shop. Once there, you'll enter the back room, and are told to
intimidate the shop employees. Target the first guy with the red arrow over
him, and then target the guy next to him. When the game prompts you to do so,
shoot him in the leg (hold the LT halfway and aim with the right stick).
After a few more scenes, you'll be told to head to a gun shop. Head there now,
and Dimitri will let you buy a Micro SMG with Faustin's money. While you're
here, you can buy some extra ammo and body armor, though the armor is
expensive, and there are places around the city where you can find it for free.
After this, bring Dimitri back to Faustin's and the mission will end.
If you've already completed Little Jacob's mission Concrete Jungle, he will
text you now with a request to come visit him. Why don't we go see how old
Brian is holding up first though? To trigger his appearance, you apparently
must have completed at least one Vigilante mission using the police computer
(choose View Current Crimes from the database and complete one of these
missions). Thanks goes to David K. for pointing this out!
You know that gun shop you were just at? Well, it's still marked on the map.
Head there and head north out of the alley to the street corner. A blue person
icon should appear on the radar. This is Brian again, and this is the last time
we'll deal with him.
.=============================================================================.
| 19. BRIAN: ENCOUNTER #3 [M019] |
'============================================================================='
Chain: Brian
Prereq: Brian: Encounter #2
Do at least 1 Vigilante mission (Current Crimes)
Starts: Downtown, north of the Weapons Shop in the alley
Ends: Hove Beach, Brian's Place
Rewards: $500
Unlocks: --
Overview:
1. Pick up Brian and drive him to a couple of dealers.
2. Scare off or kill the dealers attacking Brian.
3. Drive Brian home.
Brian seems a bit... different. In fact, he's cleaned up his act and gotten
engaged. As a part of his ongoing recovery, he wants to make amends with those
he hurt, which includes paying back money he owes to some of his dealers. Get
in a car with him, and drive to the destination.
The exchange doesn't unfold too well, and Brian is downed by a thug with a bat.
Hop out of the car and open fire on the two thugs, who will run off (you can
kill them if you'd like). After, hop back in the car, and drive Brian back
home, where he'll generously hand you $500. A happy ending for everyone.
Let's go help out Little Jacob now.
TIP (don't read this if you want to try the mission yourself beforehand; it's a
nice touch): Turn off the ringer on your cell phone before you start the next
mission.
.=============================================================================.
| 20. SHADOW [M020] |
'============================================================================='
Chain: Little Jacob
Prereqs: Concrete Jungle
Do You Have Protection?
Starts: Schottler, Little Jacob's Place
Ends: South Bohan, Apartment Complex
Rewards: $250
Unlocks: Little Jacob as a friend
Drug Delivery missions
Badman (Random Character)
Overview:
1. Find the dealer that Little Jacob and Badman mention.
2. Trail the dealer to his apartment.
3. Take out the dealers inside.
When the mission begins, you have a long haul to Bohan. When you reach the
marker, park there and watch the deal unfold. The dealer is heading back to his
apartment to pick up more product. At this point, you must begin tailing him on
foot. Maintain a safe distance (about 100 feet) so that he doesn't spot you. If
your cell phone ringer is on, Roman will call you at this point, and spook the
dealer (if you answer the phone, you'll hear a funny exchange though). If you
turned off the phone before the mission, this won't happen. If you do spook
him, you can still chase after him, but he and his fellow dealers will be
alerted to your presence.
Keep following the dealer through an apartment building, over a fence, and
finally into another building. Follow him up a few stories (the details during
during this ascent are astounding) until you reach his place. Open the door,
and they will all go on the offensive. Use cover from the wall to take them all
out (not a terribly difficult task), and the mission will end.
Niko will call Little Jacob afterwards and give him the good news. A little bit
after this, Little Jacob will call you and let you know that he has work for
you to do. These are the drug dealing missions, and are detailed in the
appropriate section after the walkthrough.
Little Jacob will call a third time after a while, at which point you can
engage in friend activities with him. It is recommended that you hang out with
him as much as possible to unlock his friend ability. When unlocked, you can
call him to come see you anywhere with his stash of weapons. Which also happen
to be cheaper than gun shop weapons.
If you've played darts with any of your friends yet, there should be a darts
icon on the map to the north, in Steinway. Head here and proceed east down an
alley where you should see Badman's blue person icon.
.=============================================================================.
| 21. BADMAN [M021] |
'============================================================================='
Chain: Badman
Prereqs: Shadow
Starts: East Island City, east of where you can play darts in Steinway
Ends: Willis, in an alley
Rewards: $500
Unlocks: --
Overview:
1. Pick up Badman and drive him to the hangout of the Russians.
2. Methodically kill them all.
When you reach Badman, he (basically) tells Niko that he wants to get rid of
some Russians that have been pushing him around. Niko suggests that it happens
now, so you're both on your merry way.
When you reach the destination, park the car and approach the alley carefully.
There are plenty of dumpsters and walls in the area, and so you should be able
to use the game's cover feature to pick off all the Russians fairly easily.
Just watch the mini-map closely, because they move around, and the alley DOES
have a split in it.
When there's one left, he will make a run for it. If you have auto-targeting
on, this shouldn't present a problem, as you can just run out from behind cover
and gun him down.
Some tidbits from Alyson Young:
"There is also around $500 worth of cash drops from the Russians, although all
their loot disappears after the ending cutscene so it's best to grab the loot
as you go. When there is only one Russian left, he runs away which is a good
time to grab the drops. Oh, and be careful not to let Badman step in front of
you, because if you shoot him in the back, he dies and you fail. ;P"
This is the only Badman mission.
Before heading to the Perestroika in Hove Beach, it might be nice to pick up
some Body Armor. There's a nasty little surprise in the next mission, and it
never hurts to have protection. You can either do that now, or on the way to
your destination during the mission. There are some free ones lying around, and
you can always just buy some. (Sorry, I'll have the maps for the Body Armor and
Weapons up soon, I swear).
.=============================================================================.
| 22. FINAL DESTINATION [M022] |
'============================================================================='
Chain: Faustin
Prereqs: Do You Have Protection?
Starts: Hove Beach, Perestroika
Ends: Varies
Rewards: $500
Unlocks: No Love Lost
Logging On
Overview:
1. Travel to the train station in South Bohan and find Lenny.
2. Chase him and kill him.
Locating Lenny is the easy part of the mission. He's at a train station in
South Bohan, and he doesn't move around. The only thing you'll have to look out
for is the tolls. You can either slow down to pay them, or bust right through
and attempt to escape your wanted level.
When you reach the train station, you'll see that Lenny is above you. Pull out
some sort of weapon before heading up the stairs. When you do go up, a cutscene
will play where Lenny runs off, and his friend opens up on you with an SMG
(this is why I suggested Body Armor). Immediately kill him, and focus then on
Lenny. If you're quick, he shouldn't have gotten far. You can even run down the
steps on the opposite side and kill him then and there.
If you aren't fast enough, however, you're in for a car chase. It gets tough at
this point, especially if you don't have a car handy, so don't let this
scenario unfold.
Niko will call Dimitri after, and it's learned that he's just made a major
booboo. Roman will also text Niko at this point, asking him to come to the Cab
Depot. We will head there now. If Lenny's Banshee is still in good condition,
grab that! It's a nice ride.
.=============================================================================.
| 23. LOGGING ON [M023] |
'============================================================================='
Chain: Roman
Prereqs: Final Destination
Starts: Hove Beach, Cab Depot
Ends: Outlook, Tw@ internet cafe
Rewards: Brucie as a cell phone contact
Unlocks: Rigged to Blow (1 of 2 mission prerequisites)
Exotic Export Missions
Overview:
1. Drive to Tw@.
2. Log onto a computer, sign up for an email account, etc.
3. Leave.
This is a bit of a breather mission. Roman will introduce you to Brucie, who
will become an important character. He then tells you to go to the internet
cafe and sign up for an email account.
When you get there, talk to the assistant who sets you up on a computer.
Follow the instructions to set up an email account. When you are done, you can
browse the internet if you'd like. See the Internet Interests section for more
details, if you'd like.
Afterwards, Niko will call Roman and let him know he's online, which ends the
mission. Moments later, Roman will call Niko, letting him know that Brucie has
some "business propositions" for him, and that he should check his emails.
Indeed, if you go and check them, you'll have some emails from Brucie. You can
start the Exotic Export missions for him now (for more information, check the
Exotic Export section after the walkthrough).
Before starting the next mission for Faustin, you'll want at least full health,
if not full body armor as well.
.=============================================================================.
| 24. NO LOVE LOST [M024] |
'============================================================================='
Chain: Faustin
Prereqs: Final Destination
Starts: Beachgate, Faustin's Place
Ends: Meadows Park
Rewards: $600
Unlocks: Rigged to Blow (1 of 2 mission prerequisites)
Overview:
1. Check on Faustin's Daughter, Anna.
2. Chase her boyfriend all over town until the biker gang shows up.
3. Kill the entire bike gang... Carefully!
Another routine drive to a destination begins this mission. When you arrive,
you'll meet Anna and her boyfriend. Her boyfriend will then jet off, promising
pain on Niko. You are given a PCJ 600 for this chase.
It's possible to kill the biker immediately! Thanks to backblow for the tip:
"you can kill the biker without even getting on a bike. As soon as you get
control run forward and turn right towards the main street then run leftish
across the street you are currently on then face east down the main street and
lock on to the biker with the SMG. You should be able to kill him before he
gets away."
___________________________________________________________
Main street run here x
_____________________________ ______________
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |_____________
| x - given control here
| _____________
| |
| |
| |
Focus on driving well and following the biker close until you are around the
richer looking neighborhood. The rest of the biker gang will hook up with him
at this point, and you are charged with the task of taking them all out. It's
tempting to start shooting immediately, but do so with caution. Shooting a
biker off his bike usually doesn't kill him, so slow down when you knock one
off, and make sure you finish him off.
Speed isn't an issue at this point, as the bikers will only travel a bit more
into Meadows Park. Most of them have pistols, so this mission isn't
particularly dangerous, but you must be careful. Use rolls to better dodge
gunfire (X and a direction when aiming). Use trees for cover. Strategically
take out all the bikers. You should face the boyfriend last. Be careful, as
he wields a shotgun! Try to take him out from a distance.
Alternately, if you have any, try Molotoving any clusters of bikers!
.=============================================================================.
| 25. RIGGED TO BLOW [M025] |
'============================================================================='
Chain: Faustin
Prereqs: No Love Lost
Logging On
Starts: Beachgate, Faustin's Place
Ends: Around South Bohan
Rewards: $700
Unlocks: The Master and the Molotov
Search and Delete
Overview:
1. Drive to the truck and get in.
2. CAREFULLY drive the truck all the way to the garage in South Bohan.
3. Trigger the bomb and get the hell out of there.
The first part of the mission is routine, as always. Drive to the truck parked
Downtown and get in. Niko will call Faustin, who delivers some exciting news:
the truck is packed with explosives! Niko must carefully drive it to the garage
in South Bohan (can I call it SoBo?).
It's not a particularly long drive, but the truck moves slow. This is probably
a good thing, however; if the truck takes too much damage, a blinking light
will appear on the tail end. This is basically a health gauge for the
explosives. The more damage you take, the faster it blinks. Needless to say,
you don't want to take too much damage, or you'll be on the fast track to the
hospital.
Anyway, take it easy (there's no time limit) and you should reach the
destination without much trouble. Also, you'll definitely want to pay the toll.
Not doing so would cause way too many complications for a mission of this type.
Enjoy the call from Roman too.
When you reach the garage, you still have some work to do. Pull the truck in
slowly (you can still trigger the bomb!) and park on the marker. Use LB to
trigger the bomb, and Niko will automatically run from the explosion.
The game tells you to jet after the explosion, but there's no harm in sticking
around to hear what the owner of the business has to say (he's sitting in front
of the wreck on his cell phone). Afterwards, just run down the street to
complete the mission (you can get a two star wanted level if you stick around
too long; this will disappear as soon as you get far enough away from the
garage though).
After a phone call to Faustin, Roman will call and let you know that Brucie has
some extra work. Dimitri will also text you, saying, "We need to talk." Which
is never good news.
.=============================================================================.
| 26. SEARCH AND DELETE [M026] |
'============================================================================='
Chain: Brucie
Prereqs: Rigged to Blow
Starts: East Hook, Brucie's Garage
Ends: Varies
Rewards: $3,500
Unlocks: Easy As Can Be
Overview:
1. Grab a Police Car (call 911 if you can't find one).
2. Jack it and lose your wanted level, if you get one.
3. Call Brucie and get the target's information from him, and put it into the
police computer.
4. Head to Rivas' house and approach him.
5. Hop in a car and chase and kill him.
Brucie has a business proposition for you, and he says he pays well. He means
it too, you'll start making a lot more money from here on out.
The first order of business is to grab a Police Car. If you see one in front of
you when you leave the garage, you can fire some shots into the air to get
their attention, at which point you give the cops a wide berth and grab the
car. Alternately, you can call 911 and grab the car that way, which is safer
since the doors to the cruiser will be unlocked, and you won't have the one
star wanted level from firing into the air.
Either way, escape your one-star wanted level with relative ease, and Niko will
give Brucie a call. The guy's name is Lyle Rivas, and you can access the police
computer with LB. Choose to search the police records, and then to search by
name. Type in Lyle Rivas and hit enter. When his mug shot appears, press A to
set a waypoint on his house.
You might as well keep the police car, since they are decently fast (unless you
somehow trashed it during the escape from the wanted level). Head over there
now, and leave your car in a good position out front.
Lyle will jump out the window when Niko gives away his arrival, so run back out
to your car and hop in. If you still have the police car, try putting the
sirens on (press the left analog stick in) so that cars get out of your way
during the following chase. This also helps if you head through any tolls with
your sirens on; you won't get in trouble.
A few times during the chase, Lyle will bump into trucks carrying logs and
barrels, causing them to roll off in your way. Whenever you see a truck
carrying cargo like this, assume that Lyle will bump into it, and be ready to
dodge anything that falls off. The hardest part about these obstacles though
is the truck itself. After being bumped, the trucks will swerve out of control,
and it's difficult to anticipate where they will swerve to.
When you reach South Bohan, Lyle will finally slow down and get out of the car.
At this point, it should be an easy kill.
Brucie will text you soon after, telling you to come to his house in BOABO.
.=============================================================================.
| 27. EASY AS CAN BE [M027] |
'============================================================================='
Chain: Brucie
Prereqs: Search and Delete
Starts: BOABO, Brucie's Place
Ends: East Hook, Brucie's Garage
Rewards: $3,500
Unlocks: Out Of the Closet... (1 of 2 mission prerequisites)
Overview:
1. Drive to the target car at Yorktown Ave. and grab it.
2. Kill the thugs that appear, or outrun them to the garage. It's probably
safest to kill them.
A short but dangerous mission. Brucie wants you to pick up Lyle's car, telling
you that there shouldn't be any problems doing so.
Drive to the marker on the map, where the game will tell you to get in the car
in the alley on the other side of the road. When you get in, three cars will
pull up, each with two of Lyle's friends. From here, you have a few choices.
You can try to shoot them all from the car, you can get out of the car and
shoot them, or you can just try to run.
The thugs are fast and relentless though, and if you do try to run, they will
make your life a pain as they follow you expertly and shoot at you.
A good way of dealing with them, I've found, is to immediately get out of your
car and run for cover. The first thugs appear behind you, so hop out and run to
the nearest corner, where they can't shoot you. Kill them from here, and focus
next on the car parked at the end of the alley that runs east. They will
probably still just be sitting there, so start shooting at the car to get their
attention. Duck for cover, and when they get really close, pop out and try to
shoot the passenger (the one shooting). The driver should then hop out and
stand there stupidly, waiting to be shot. Repeat the process for the third car
at the north end of the alley.
Afterwards, grab your car and head back to Brucie's garage. And I told you
Brucie pays well, didn't I?
Before starting the next mission, find some place to restore your health. Your
safehouse is right by the next mission marker, so you might as well go there.
Don't worry about body armor, it's supplied during the mission.
.=============================================================================.
| 28. THE MASTER AND THE MOLOTOV [M028] |
'============================================================================='
Chain: Dimitri
Prereqs: Rigged to Blow
Starts: Firefly Island, Park Bench
Ends: Hove Beach, Perestroika
Rewards: --
Unlocks: Russian Revolution
Overview:
1. Head to the Perestroika and pick up some Body Armor left by Dimitri.
2. Head inside and begin a firefight with Faustin and his cronies.
3. Chase Faustin out the back and down the alley, killing henchmen as you go.
4. Chase Faustin up the fire escapes to the roof, and execute him.
After you pull up in front of the Perestroika, you'll see Faustin enter with a
couple of other guys. You'll get a text from Dimitri as well, telling you that
he left some body armor around the side of the building (marked by a blue dot).
Grab that, pull out your weapon of choice, and head inside.
After the cutscene, pop the two guys in front of you, and turn around. There
are two more cronies, one next to Faustin, and one behind the bar. Use rolls to
dodge the gunfire better as you get a better position. When the next two guys
fall, Faustin will jet out the back. He won't get far, so instead of running
after him, walk calmly towards the back door. You'll be glad you did, as more
thugs will come out firing. So be ready. When you reach the door, be ready to
shoot even more of them to the right. When they're gone, head up the steps and
through the doors to the alley.
In the alley, there should be three henchmen remaining, so be ready to turn to
the right and shoot them. Keep following the alley in this direction, and
you'll see the fire escape that Faustin used to get to the roof. When you
approach him, he'll drop his weapon and start ranting. Listen to the
conversation if you want, and then execute him.
After the deed is done, Niko will call Dimitri to let him know it's over. After
a while, the game lets you know that you can call Dimitri to see how things
went with Petrovic. Do so, and Dimitri asks you to meet him in a warehouse in
Downtown Broker... alone.
.=============================================================================.
| 29. RUSSIAN REVOLUTION [M029] |
'============================================================================='
Chain: Dimitri
Prereqs: The Master and the Molotov
Starts: Varies
Ends: Beechwood City, Homebrew Cafe
Rewards: --
Unlocks: Roman's Sorrow
Overview:
1. Call Dimitri to begin the mission.
2. Take a call from Little Jacob.
3. Meet Dimitri in the warehouse.
4. Kill most of the henchmen in the warehouse.
5. Steal a cop car with Little Jacob and lose your wanted level.
The mission actually will begin when you call Dimitri. After that phone call,
Little Jacob will call you and tell you to be careful. He's worried enough, in
fact, to come along with you as backup. Drive the rest of the way to the
warehouse to meet Little Jacob and trigger a cutscene.
After that, you'll find yourself in the middle of a giant firefight. Little
Jacob will be beside you helping, and you'll have to take out most of the
cronies strewn around the warehouse. Read the tutorial tips for information on
how to blind fire and such.
When you kill the first wave of dudes, Jacob will tell you to move forward.
Grab the body armor behind the second row of metal things (the ones you can
use for cover) and begin shooting again. At this point, you'll have to make
sure to kill any guys that are shooting from above; these guys can shoot Little
Jacob from their vantage point, and he'll let you know too if he's getting
shot. Focus on killing these guys first, as you'll fail the mission if Jacob
dies.
When you've killed almost all of the henchmen, Dimitri and Bulgarin will run
away, and cops will arrive at the doors to the warehouse as you get a two star
wanted level. Before you do anything, pick off any remaining gunmen, and check
the room to the right for a first aid kit on the wall. Also, it's ok to run
around and collect any cash or weapons.
When you're ready, head to the doors and run to either a police car or a parked
car. Hop in and get ready to drive as soon as Jacob hops in with you.
Now you'll be fighting the police in an attempt to escape a two star wanted
level. You'll have to do some decent maneuvering to escape the police circle.
Remember, speed isn't the key here. Zigzag your way out of the circle, avoiding
streets with police cars. This way, the circle won't follow you. After you're
out of the circle, lay low somewhere, and you should have successfully shaken
the heat!
After all the mania has died down, take Little Jacob back to the Homebrew Cafe
to end the mission.
.=============================================================================.
| 30. ROMAN'S SORROW [M030] |
'============================================================================='
Chain: Roman
Prereqs: Russian Revolution
Starts: Varies
Ends: South Bohan, new safehouse
Rewards: Lowest Point - 5G (X360 Achievement)
Unlocks: Escuela of the Streets
Out of the Closet... (1 of 2 mission prerequisites)
Overview:
1. Call Roman to start the mission.
2. Head to Roman in an alley in East Island City.
3. Drive to Roman's Place.
4. Drive to Roman's Cab Depot.
5. Drive to Mallorie's cousin's house in Bohan.
This mission is another "breather" type mission. Just drive around to the
various points until the mission ends. You'll get the "Lowest Point"
Achievement (5G) if you're playing on the XBox 360.
Don't you just love doing missions for Brucie? I do. So let's do one now!
.=============================================================================.
| 31. OUT OF THE CLOSET [M031] |
'============================================================================='
Chain: Brucie
Prereqs: Easy As Can Be
Roman's Sorrow
Starts: BOABO, Brucie's Place
Ends: Varies, most likely Hove Beach, 69th Street Diner
Rewards: $6750
Unlocks: Internet Dating
No. 1
Overview:
1. Head to the internet cafe. Go to www.love-meet.net and set up a date with
French Tom.
2. Wait a bit, and check your email again. Respond positively to French Tom's
email.
3. Wait until the scheduled time and meet French Tom at the 69th Street Diner.
4. Have a conversation with French Tom, and eventually kill him.
When you arrive at the internet cafe, grab a computer and go to the website
www.love-meet.net (also check your emails if you haven't been; you should have
some new ones from family).
Once on the site, take a moment to check Niko's profile (SweetBellic!) for some
laughs. After, find French Tom and check his profile (you'll discover that
Niko's profile isn't entirely a joke). Click date at the bottom and log off the
computer. The mission "ends" here, but it's not really over. You'll have to
wait for a response from Tom to continue, so just go do whatever until you get
the email back (surf the web, hunt flying rats or unique stunt jumps, stock up
on weapons, etc.). If you don't feel like waiting, hop a cab to your new
safehouse, take a nap, and hop a cab back. You should get a text from Roman
soon after telling you to check your email.
When you check the email, respond positively to French Tom to continue with the
mission. At this point, you'll have to wait again until the scheduled time to
meet French Tom (check your phone for the date time).
Around the time of the date, a heart will appear on the map. Head here (the
timing doesn't have to be spot on, you have a couple of in-game hours to make
it), and head in.
During the following conversation, you can press LB any time to stand up and
shoot French Tom. You can listen to the whole conversation if you want, but
this may give French Tom a head start out the door when he realizes what's
going on. Anyway, he's not too hard to kill. Pistol works.
Brucie calls and lets Niko know that his profile is still up on love-meet, and
that he should use it to find some dates. You can actually start doing this
now if you'd like! Information pertaining to these new girlfriends will appear
in a later version of this guide in the Girlfriends / Friends section. Brucie
has another mission for us too!
.=============================================================================.
| 32. NO. 1 [M032] |
'============================================================================='
Chain: Brucie
Prereqs: Out of the Closet
Starts: East Hook, Brucie's garage
Ends: BOABO, Brucie's Place
Rewards: The racecar, if you want it
Unlocks: Street races
Brucie as a friend
Overview:
1. Drive to Willis to pick up Steve's racecar.
2. Drive to the race's start.
3. Win the race without destroying your car or killing the other drivers.
4. Bring Brucie back to his apartment.
Another routine mission beginning. Head to Steve's racecar, marked on the map
by a blue blip (you can take a taxi if you want). From there, grab the car and
head to the race's start, a few blocks down.
The race itself is the hard part of the mission. The trick here is to be
aggressive, but not overly fast at first. Do as much as you can to get in front
of the other drivers, and once you have, it's a good time to focus on speed
(and careful cornering of course). If you leave the other drivers in front of
you for too long, they get sloppy when you enter high traffic areas, and will
cause you many problems as they crash and send themselves and other drivers all
over the road.
Again, once you are ahead of them, focus on pure speed on the straightaways and
careful cornering (I found that lightly using the regular brakes works well in
this car rather than the handbrake), and make sure you pay attention to where
the checkpoints crop up too.
Another note: don't try to kill the other drivers, and try to avoid flipping
your car at all costs.
After the race, Brucie asks you to take him home. Niko lets him know that he's
uncomfortable being Brucie's business partner, but that he's still interested
in hanging out, so we won't be doing any mission for Brucie anymore.
After a bit, you'll get a text message from Brucie letting you know that there
are more street races available. There are three for each island, so you can
compete in three of them now. See the Street Races section after the
walkthrough for more information on these races.
If you wait even longer, Brucie will call and ask Niko to come and give him a
ride. Once you've completed the ride, Brucie will now be available to call for
friend activities.
By now you're probably curious as to who exactly the M is on the map, so we
should try that mission out now.
.=============================================================================.
| 33. ESCUELA OF THE STREETS [M033] |
'============================================================================='
Chain: Manny
Prereqs: Roman's Sorrow
Starts: South Bohan, Community Center
Ends: South Bohan, Drug Dealer warehouse
Rewards: $1000
Unlocks: Mel (random character)
Street Sweeper
Overview:
1. Get in a car and drive to the dealer's place with Manny.
2. Slowly follow the dealer across Bohan. Keep your distance or you'll fail the
mission.
3. Park a safe distance behind him and enter the warehouse.
4. Kill everyone inside.
Grab a car with Manny and head for the yellow marker on the radar. When you
reach it, park behind the dealer and wait until he takes off. At this point,
you must slowly follow him at a safe distance. Niko will let you know the
proper distance (two car lengths) through the use of one of a couple statements
he has for this part of the mission.
Other than getting too close, you can also spook the dealer by honking your
horn or getting a wanted level. This means that when you stop at a stop light
because the dealer has, you could even accidentally overdo it on the brakes,
head into reverse for a split second and barely tap a police car, causing you
to fail the mission (if you can't tell, this has happened to me, and it pissed
me off). Best stick to your handbrake primarily.
I'm making a big deal about the next part of the mission, because I failed it
this way too: Manny will tell you to park behind the dealer when he stops at
his warehouse, but you should wait a tiny bit for the yellow marker to appear,
and park there. I immediately sped up and parked right behind the dealer, which
made me fail the mission.
Anyway, now that you've made it this far, you need to head inside the warehouse
and take care of all the dealers. Manny will not be there to help you. To get
inside, head to the southern wall of the warehouse, where you'll find an alley
with stairs leading to the roof of the next building over. Head up there, and
walk across the planks to the warehouse roof. You should see an open skylight.
From your excellent position, take out as many dealers as you can, and then
drop in (you should be able to take out three or so). Drop down next to the
stone pillar and take cover with RB. There should be about 7 or so left, so
methodically take them out, and move up past the boxes when you need to kill
the last few. Grab the extra weapons and ammo after the fight, grab a soda from
the machine if you need it, and exit the warehouse (you'll have to shoot out
the door).
We could continue with missions for Manny, but here's something you may not
notice: a new random character has appeared in southern Broker! If you head
north up the street from where your first safehouse was (north of the clothing
store), you should see a blue character icon.
.=============================================================================.
| 34. MEL [M034] |
'============================================================================='
Chain: Mel
Prereqs: Escuela of the Streets
Starts: Hove Beach, north of the Russian Shop
Ends: Hove Beach, north of the Russian Shop
Rewards: $500
Unlocks: --
Overview:
1. Pick up Mel in a car and drive him to some loan sharks that he owes money
to.
2. Kill the loan sharks.
3. Drive Mel back home.
This is a straightforward mission, but you may want to pick up some body armor
before hand. Still, you shouldn't really need it if you play smart. Pick up Mel
in a car, and drive him to the alley where he's to meet the loan sharks.
The loan sharks want more than money, however. When you can control Niko again,
hop behind one of the cars and use the cover button. From here, take out the
three loan sharks (standing in the open and shooting them may not be a great
idea).
Afterwards, pick Mel up and drive him back home.
.=============================================================================.
| 35. STREET SWEEPER [M035] |
'============================================================================='
Chain: Manny
Prereqs: Escuela of the Streets
Starts: South Bohan, Community Center
Ends: Varies
Rewards: $1100
Unlocks: Luck of the Irish
Overview:
1. Drive to the dealer's hangout and kill the ones there on foot.
2. Chase the other two in the car and kill them.
This mission is a pain in the butt for several reasons. Your first real problem
is that all of the dealers have SMGs and plenty of cover. Your second problem
is that, when you arrive, two of the five dealers will drive off. Third, you
have a pretty good chance of attracting police attention (usually around two
stars, but sometimes none).
To make this mission easier, drive to the hangout and get out of the car from
a distance. Start by picking off one of the dealers that's on foot, and
approach cautiously from there, killing two more (ignore the car that drives
off, it wanders aimlessly, and you probably won't "lose" it). When they're
gone, hop in your car and chase after the remaining two dealers. You can either
try to shoot and kill them while they are in the car, shoot the car until it
lights on fire and they run out, or try to tip it over with your own car. I
find that tipping it over is probably the best way if you want to save some
ammo.
Alternately, you can drive up to the garage fast and block in the getaway car
before it has a chance to leave. This also gives you a good shot at the driver,
but the other three dealers will make your life a pain while you sit out here
in the open. And if you try to drive around the pillars to shoot them, they
will always stay on the opposite side of the pillar. Infuriating, to say the
least.
From backblow: "jack a Cavalcade or other SUV (gives you better view of driver)
and drive into the front of the vehicle waiting in the garage then machine gun
the driver - once he is dead jump out of the vehicle and run around finishing
off the others." This method might prove tough to pull off, but is worth it.
Afterwards, Mallorie calls you and lets you in on a new Bohan contact.
.=============================================================================.
| 36. LUCK OF THE IRISH [M036] |
'============================================================================='
Chain: Elizabeta
Prereqs: Street Sweeper
Starts: South Bohan, western apartments
Ends: South Bohan, building roof
Rewards: $1500
Unlocks: Blow Your Cover
Overview:
1. Drive to the target building.
2. Climb to the roof and grab the sniper rifle.
3. Protect Packie during the deal. Kill two waves of bad guys to pass the
mission.
This is a short and safe mission where you must protect Packie during a deal.
It's easy because you'll be sniping from a rooftop, where the enemy can't see
you.
Head over to the apartment building at the beginning of the mission. Head
inside, and climb the stairs to the roof. When you emerge back outside, grab
the rifle and head for the indicated vantage point. At this point, Packie will
show up, and the other guys will show up for the deal. Nothing will happen for
a bit, so pay attention to the instructions on how to use it (nothing really
new other than the zoom).
Suddenly, gunfire will break out, and you'll notice a bunch of targets down the
alley. If you are very careful with your bullets, you can end this mission with
whatever ammo you have left over. Don't take too much time though, or Packie
can get into grappling wars with the other thugs. If this happens, quickly
locate Packie and shoot the guy he's grappling with. After you kill the first
wave of dudes, be ready to take out a second wave. The mission will end when
they are all dead, and you'll get more work from Elizabeta.
.=============================================================================.
| 37. BLOW YOUR COVER [M037] |
'============================================================================='
Chain: Elizabeta
Prereqs: Luck of the Irish
Starts: South Bohan, western apartments
Ends: Northwood, Playboy's Place
Rewards: $2000
Unlocks: The Puerto Rican Connection
Deconstruction for Beginners
Overview:
1. Drive Playboy to the apartment where the deal is going down.
2. Take out the N.O.O.S.E. members as you head up to the roof.
3. Kill even more of them as you fight your way back down the opposite
building.
4. Drive Playboy back to his house.
After another standard drive-to-your-destination, you'll be at the apartment
where the deal is taking place. But it turns out to be no deal at all! You'll
have to deal with N.O.O.S.E. personnel as you battle your way to the roof (as
Playboy suggests).
From your cover, you should easily be able to kill the first two guys in the
room you were just in. It should be noted that the N.O.O.S.E. members all
have body armor--if you want to conserve ammo, aim for the head.
There are two more guys waiting for you in the next room, and you won't really
be able to shoot them from decent cover. Instead, try rolling through the door
and re-aiming to target one of them, shoot them in the head, and roll back
through the door. Repeat for the second one (or just run up and shoot him...
for N.O.O.S.E. officers, they aren't too aggressive).
As you head upstairs, you'll fight more and more of them, but you should have
some fairly decent cover for these ones. Just be careful of one that rolls out
at the top of one of the stairs.
When you reach the roof, you are immediately given a first aid kit, right in
front of you. Don't let that distract you from the couple of N.O.O.S.E. members
up here on the roof! Kill them and keep following Playboy. You'll run across
some body armor and the last of the officers on the roof. Kill them, and head
into the other building. There are two more enemy personnel left on a couple
different floors, so be careful when heading down.
When you reach the ground floor, you'll need to find a vehicle to escape in.
When you do, you'll need to lose your wanted level (of course). You should have
practice losing a two star by now, so use the familiar street zig zag to avoid
newly spawning cops and escape the circle.
After that ordeal is over, you'll have to drive Playboy home. If you look at
the map, that's on Algonquin! Finally making some major progress, eh?
(Incidentally, that's a good milestone for me, writing this guide :p ).
You'll engage in a few phone interactions soon after. Elizabeta says she has
more deals to make (though Manny will be our next mission contact), Roman says
he's put his insurance money into a new Cab Depot (meaning you can use his
friend ability again, to call for a cab whenever), and Playboy will text you,
letting you know he has work for you (shows up as an X).
.=============================================================================.
| 38. THE PUERTO RICAN CONNECTION [M038] |
'============================================================================='
Chain: Manny
Prereqs: Blow Your Cover
Starts: South Bohan, Community Center
Ends: South Slopes train station
Rewards: $1500
Unlocks: Call and Collect
Ilyena Faustin (random character)
Sara (random character)
Hossan (random character)
Pathos (random character)
Snow Storm
Overview:
1. Drive to the Algonquin Bridge.
2. Follow the train from here, and don't lose it!
3. Take out the three targets that get off.
Drive to the marker on the map, near the Algonquin Bridge. You'll see a train
driving onto the island, and you'll need to follow it until the targets get
off. Following the train is a simple matter, and you can usually stay right
under the tracks, or close to it (I ignored the tip about using B to zoom in
on the train; it seems cool, but doesn't really work in practice).
The only tough part is after the train makes it around the southern loop and
starts heading north again. You'll have to pay attention to where you're
driving now, as you can't stay directly under the tracks for a bit. When you
reach the playground, make sure you stick to the street and don't cut through.
When you reach James Street, don't continue straight, or you'll enter a dead
end alley. Take a right and head up to Ringo Street, and take a left to get
back on track.
Soon after this, the train will stop, and you should stop too. You should see
stairs up to the platform on either side of you, so run up. The three targets
will be up here milling around, and are panicky and easy to gun down. The
mission will be over when you kill the last one.
You'll get a text message after from an unknown contact soon thereafter. It
appears as a ? icon on your map. Elizabeta will also call you eventually,
asking for your help in understanding Jacob (another mission, in other words).
We've also unlocked a bunch of new random characters, and I'll get to most of
them when I get into detail with missions concerning the second island. There
is one random character in south Broker, however. We'll go see her now. Head
towards the big pier at the southern end of the island. She's on the boardwalk
east of where the pier begins.
.=============================================================================.
| 39. ILYENA FAUSTIN [M039] |
'============================================================================='
Chain: Ilyena Faustin
Prereqs: The Puerto Rican Connection
Starts: Hove Beach, near the big southern pier
Ends: Most likely Schottler, where you find him
Rewards: --
Unlocks: --
Overview:
1. Find Anna's new boyfriend and beat him up.
After an awkward reunion with Ilyena, Niko agrees to help her out by scaring
off Anna's new sleazy boyfriend. Drive to his location in Schottler, where
you'll see him hanging around and smoking a butt.
When you get out, Niko will talk to him and he'll run away. Chase after him,
and he'll eventually stop running and start fighting. This mission is a pain
because cops will be able to see your violence and may start shooting at you.
In an attempt to avoid this scenario, try hitting him while he's running
down the alley.
After you do enough damage to him, a cutscene will play where Niko will tell
him to stay away from Anna--and he agrees. With that, the mission will end.
Before starting the next, somewhat challenging, mission, you may want to pick
up a few rounds of sniper ammo if you're running low. Jacob's sniper ammo runs
the same as the shop for some reason, so don't bother calling Jacob if you're
near a Gun Shop.
.=============================================================================.
| 40. SNOW STORM [M040] |
'============================================================================='
Chain: Elizabeta
Prereqs: The Puerto Rican Connection
Starts: South Bohan, western apartments
Ends: Chase Point, alley
Rewards: $2,500
Unlocks: Have a Heart
Wrong is Right (1 of 2 mission prerequisites)
Overview:
1. Head to the abandoned hospital.
2. Battle your way inside and grab the coke.
3. Battle your way out through the N.O.O.S.E. forces.
4. Lose your wanted level.
5. Meet Little Jacob.
There are a couple ways to do this mission. My original strategy is first,
followed by a killer strategy sent in by Talidan. Use his strategy for the
easiest way to complete this mission.
As usual, head to the start point by either driving there yourself, or grabbing
a taxi. Hide out by the brick wall that you arrive near, and zoom in on the car
in the distance using your sniper rifle. Kill the guys by the car (once you
fire the first shot, you'll have to wait for the other guy to pop up again),
and proceed towards the b