The critically and commercially successful Grand Theft Auto franchise has stood the test of time. Gamers worldwide have fallen in love with open-world action-adventure games for close to 30 years, beginning with Rockstar Games’ Grand Theft Auto released in 1997. While fans prepare to cause an onslaught of mayhem in the modern streets of Vice City in part VI, here’s a look back at the most iconic missions across all sixteen past titles. For those who may have somehow missed out on some of these games, the following list will contain some spoilers.
#6: “Sindacco Sabotage” (Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories)
Video from Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories, courtesy of GTA Series Videos
In Liberty City Stories, gamers play as Toni Cipriani- a known associate of the Leone crime family based in Liberty City. After assisting the Leone family with taking care of a made man sometime in 1998, Toni returns to his old stomping ground and pays Leone family figurehead Salvatore (Frank Vincent) a visit. The two exchange some pleasantries, and Sal offers him his own place and his personal assistant, Vincenzo, to get him settled with some stable work.
In “Sindacco Sabotage”, players come to the rescue of Leone men who are in an all out gang war with members of the Sindacco families in Hepburn Heights. Life bars of both crime families show the Leones as the underdogs so players must race through the city to lend their support in the nick of time to lay waste to the rival gang.
One of the most immersive features in Grand Theft Auto was the inclusion of gang wars pioneered in San Andreas so bringing back the feature was a smart move. Maneuvering Toni behind the Sentinels is enthralling as panic is raised through the streets with all the gunfire. The high-octane action gets the player’s adrenaline pumping. The action throughout felt akin to a modern Valentine’s Day Massacre or a scene out of a Guy Ritchie movie. Players receive $1500 for their efforts.
#5: “Bomb Da Base: Act II” (Grand Theft Auto III)
Video from Grand Theft Auto III, courtesy of GTA Series Videos
In Grand Theft Auto III, players control the character Claude, the game’s closest thing to a playable NPC. He has no dialogue throughout all of his appearances, with occasional grunts and reaction sounds credited to noted voice actor Hunter Platin. Claude is a recently incarcerated gentleman who was tied romantically with the volatile Catalina, a notorious criminal who at one point worked with and ran the Columbian cartel. She ends up betraying Claude during a bank robbery and leaves him for the police to arrest him.
At the start of the game, the Columbian cartel ambushes the Liberty City police to retrieve an older Asian man who’s in the police convoy with him and an explosives expert named 8-Ball. Once they secure the old man, 8-Ball and Claude get the upper hand on the two unsuspecting officers. As the two prisoners exit the police van, a bomb goes off in front of them- killing the two officers and demolishing a portion of the Portland Island bridge.
8-Ball escorts Claude to his new safehouse, where he’s able to change out of his orange jumpsuit and into more regular clothes. The two soon after become fast friends similar to Vincenzo, as he starts to also find steady work for the mute man. Players return to 8-Ball after quite some time for another of Salvatore’s missions in an enthralling two-for-one mission.
Claude, with 8-Ball’s help, heads into Portland Harbor to take down a shipment of a local drug named Spank that the Columbian cartel has manufactured and distributed through the city. Just before 8’s bomb can go off, players must snipe multiple cartel men to ensure it stays on the freighter. The sniping requires precise precision as 8-Ball runs on board and hides from the Columbians.
The mission is a nice change of pace as it allows for more methodical gaming. Gamers have to take their time disposing of each cartel member to ensure 8-Ball’s safety. Once all rival gang members are killed, players are shown 8 working his magic as the cutscene shows him running like a bat out of hell off the ship as explosions go off within seconds and the large shipment sinks into the ocean. Players receive $150,000 in cash as their reward.
#4: “Three Leaf Clover”(Grand Theft Auto IV)
Video from Grand Theft Auto IV, courtesy of GTA Series Videos
In Grand Theft Auto IV, players control and are introduced to Niko Bellic – a Yugoslavian war veteran who’s moved to Liberty City and takes up work as a hired gun. While getting settled and finding odd jobs to make ends meet, he ingratiates himself with Patrick McReary of the McReary crime family. Patrick recruits him alongside his brothers to rob a local bank.
Everything seems to go smoothly as the hostages are frightened, and the police are nowhere in sight. Suddenly, a small spat breaks out between Patrick and his brother, Derrick. As the two become too distracted to notice, one of their hostages withdraws their gun and shoots their brother Michael point blank. The two are distraught and shower the assailant with bullets. They plant a bomb they planted on the bank’s vault, and Niko goes to retrieve as much money as possible.
If “Sindacco Sabotage” was like playing a Guy Ritchie movie, this mission is like playing Michael Mann’s Heat. Players take control of Niko, strapped with a bag of cash, as a swarm of Liberty City authorities are waiting outside. Squad cars surround Niko, and the McRearies attempt to dispose of the cops in their path.
The gunfight leads into Chinatown as a chopper spots Niko and the Irishmen. A nearby subway station now leads to wave after wave of cops waiting behind cover to catch players off guard, including innumerable SWAT teams. Players fortunately find a van to escape them and take home $250,000 for their troubles.
#3: “Amphibious Assault”(Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas)
Video from Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, courtesy of GTA Series Videos
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas broke new ground for the franchise through multiple features: playing as a black protagonist, being able to bet on horse races, and having control of a character that can swim. It was a breath of fresh air when players wound up in the nearest body of water in San Andreas and did not have to immediately fear the worst for Carl.
Up until the release of the game’s sixth installment, Claude and Tommy Vercetti were the game’s only protagonists and both weren’t given this unique feature as they died if they so much as stepped foot in water. So, gamers could swim for hours on end in San Andreas (while burning fat at the same time) to explore the underwater mechanics of GTA.
Players controlled Carl Johnson, a known Grove Street family member and another hired gun known in certain circles within Liberty City. Carl also did some past work alongside Salvatore’s own son, Joey Leone. In the groundbreaking game, Johnson returns to his roots of Los Santos as his brother Sweet informs him of their mother’s passing.
Upon Carl’s return to his hometown, he becomes something of a public figure as old friends, fellow gang members, and acquaintances assign him tasks to improve the neighborhood or further their own agendas. He soon catches the attention of Wu Zi Mu or Woozie, a blind leader of the San Fierro Triad syndicate known as the Mountain Cloud Boys after the two compete in a street race.
After impressing Woozie with his skillset, the blind crime figure employs Carl for a mission set for someone more akin to James Bond. Players must swim undetected by nearby armed guards for multiple yards to a ship in the San Fierro Bay and attach an electronic bug onto it. Once that’s done, gamers must also dispose of the guards onboard to escape successfully. Once all is said and done, players receive nothing more than an absurd boost to their respect level, but his friendship will prove to be very valuable in Carl’s future.
#2: “Publicity Tour”(Grand Theft Auto: Vice City)
Video from Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, courtesy of GTA Series Videos
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City puts gamers in control of Tommy Vercetti, a formerly incarcerated affiliate of the Forelli crime family played by the late great Ray Liotta. Vercetti served a decade and a half in prison on counts of murder in Liberty City after a drug deal went south. Soon after his release, he is set to work with the Haitian and Cuban crime families, along with a slew of other notable individuals.
One such notable individual is Kent Paul, acting band manager of the British rock band Love Fist. While tasked with escorting Kent and the British band, it’s revealed that a disturbed man infatuated with Love Fist has planted a bomb on their way to a show set for later that night.
His instructions to survive are the same as Dennis Hopper’s in the classic ‘90s crime thriller Speed; if their car slows down at any point during the drive, the bomb will explode and kill everyone. So, players must continue to drive at a high speed while the bandmates attempt to pull a McGuyer and disarm the bomb themselves.
The game developers litter the streets with cars which overwhelm players. The mission is equal parts immersive and arduous as it requires a calm mind to navigate the road safely while the detonation meter oscillates consistently. At the same rate that it becomes stressful, the bandmates have such a solid chemistry so it’s a back and forth multiple jokes are made while they attempt to work toward disarming the car bomb. Players are thanked for their driving skills and receive $8000.
#1: “Wrong Side of the Tracks” (GTA: San Andreas)
Video from Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, courtesy of GTA Series Videos
This is the mission that has frustrated countless gamers. It gave birth to multiple memes. The phrase “All you had to was follow the damn train” is stuck in the minds of everyone once they even see the name “San Andreas”. This mission needs no introduction but for those that missed out, here’s a recap.
One of Carl Johnson’s longtime friends is a fellow Grove Street gang member who goes by the name Big Smoke. As Carl gets settled into Los Santos and catches up with all of his surviving family members and friends, he starts doing missions for them including Big Smoke.
Smoke tasks CJ with driving to the local train station as he alleges that a couple of Vagos members, a rival gang prominent in Los Santos, are cutting a deal with another gang- the San Fierro Rifa. As the two Spanish gangs hop on board the train, the players and Smoke hop on a nearby Sanchez to take care of them. The difficulty comes as Smoke’s aiming is amateur at best.
The mission is known to be so difficult that years after its release, players have uploaded guides on the various alternative methods to complete the mission. These include sniping the Vagos members from afar, driving the bike on top on the train to get Smoke up in front of them, and jumping on top of the train without the bike to kill them yourself. What do players get after their hours of frustration and crash-outs? The petty bump to your respect level, of course.
Closing Remarks
These are just a few of the most memorable missions Grand Theft Auto has had over its storied history. Plenty of players may agree or disagree on the ones featured, but the fact that cannot be denied is the lasting legacy of the titles put forth by the creative geniuses at Rockstar Games. Hopefully, Grand Theft Auto VI, rumored to drop sometime this fall, is an installment worthy to stand among its highly regarded predecessors.
