Grand Theft Auto III is a landmark game that caused as much controversy as it changed the way that games are made. The open world design and realistic underworld marked a dramatic change in the way that games were produced cinematically, technically and creatively. The game is also known for its controversy, the seedy and dangerous world of organized crime was detailed intensively and upset many decency groups for the graphic nature of its missions and storylines.
You control Claude, a career criminal that’s as iconic as he is stoically mute. Claude was betrayed by his girlfriend Catalina and her cohorts while they were robbing a bank in Liberty City. You are betrayed and sent up the river. You did the crime, you weren’t innocent, but you could have gotten away if it weren’t for your femme fatale.
There are many advantages to having an open world game but it’s not so easy for people who try to track the missions in order. Today, I am going to give you the storyline missions in one lump sum and you can do the additional missions detailed at the bottom. These are communicated to you through payphones at various locations throughout Liberty City. Since the game never really ends and you can go back to Liberty whenever you want, you can finish the story missions and then do the side missions but of course the beauty of open world games is that you can do it however you want.
Storyline Missions
Mission 1 – Give Me Liberty
Enjoy the opening movie that depicts your betrayal at the hands of Catalina, your lover and partner, your arrest and eventual escape from prison with your buddy 8-ball. The game begins moments after your escape from prison.
The first thing you should do is drive around for a bit and get a feel for the car and the controls, because it is going to be vitally important that you become a good driver. Follow the tutorial and the radar and find your way to the Red Light District and change your clothes. Track the radar again to Luigi’s for the start of the game and the rebirth of your life of crime.
Mission 2 – Luigi’s Girls
8-Ball goes into the back of Luigi’s building for you and Luigi, a pimp and higher-up in the Salvatore crime family, charges you with the task of getting Misty, one of Luigi’s hookers, from the clinic and bringing her back. Use the car you already have to go look for her, follow the radar and be careful to not hit anyone or her while you pick her up. Another thing to remember is that all cars take damage in this game, so if you bounce off the walls your car is going to get messed up and you are going to have to start the mission over again because more than likely Misty will die in the car explosion.
Mission 3 – Don’t SPANK Ma Bitch Up
Once Misty is back, Luigi gives you another mission. It turns out a new drug called “SPANK” has been messing with Luigi’s girls. Find a car and head down to the Portland Docks, use the same car to kill a drug dealing punk and take his car. Your car will now have a police star on it because of the murder and theft, but it’s ok, just follow the radar and get the car repainted. Once that’s done, the star goes away and you’re in the clear and you can head back to Luigi’s and give him the car.
Mission 4 – Drive Misty for Me
This mission is another escort mission for everyone’s favorite hooker, Misty. Go get her at Hepburn Heights and take her to see her regular customer, Joey the mechanic at Joey’s Auto Paint. This is important so don’t mess this up! Follow the radar as usual to find her and pick her up and take her to Joey’s. Once you get Misty safe and sound, you can open up the Joey missions.
Welcome to your first “crossroads!” You now have the chance to either continue doing Luigi’s missions or do some work for Joey. I am a purist and I prefer to finish a mission set before moving on to another set of missions, so let’s continue on with Luigi and see how many more doors we can open up.
Mission 5 – Pump-Action Pimp
Yay! We get to kill someone! A rival gang called the Diablos have been peddling their dirt ball prostitutes in Luigi’s turf. Go get a gun from AmmuNation and take care of these skuzzy would be thugs. You can spot a Diablo gang members by their cars that are covered in flames, go figure, right? The car that you need to take out is right around the area where AmmuNation is located, so just drive around for a bit and look for the car with the blue arrow on top of it, then kill the Diablos inside and move on.
Mission 6 – The Fuzz Ball
Turns out everyone sucks in this game. Look for a car that can seat four people or more inside. Why? Turns out the Policeman’s Ball is looking for some strange and unfamiliar sex with friendly hookers from Luigi’s stockpile of ladies. Get as many girls as you can to the event. You only have five minutes to get this mission done, so drive fast and be careful. Collect as many girls as you can at one time and take them in. Don’t do one at a time or you will be wasting time and energy. And for the love of all that is holy, don’t hit any of them with your car! If you have the nerve or the means to get it, grab a police car and use it, the sirens and fear generated by the cops will keep you safer than most of the other cars.
Mission 7 – Mike Lips Last Lunch
With Luigi’s missions over we can now move on to Joey’s missions. Joey is a mechanic and the son of Don Salvatore. The head of the crime family and his classy whore Misty will greet you because Joey has a mission for you and this one is a bang! Grab a car and head down to 8-Ball’s shop where he’ll fit it with a car bomb for Lips Forelli, a member of a rival Mafia crime family. Get the car and head to the restaurant where Lips is eating. You need Lips’ car in good condition so don’t hit it! Steal your own wheels, steal Lips’ car, strap the bomb at 8-Ball’s shop and drive it back to the restaurant and make sure it’s not damaged. Once it’s parked run away and enjoy the view as Lips get his life blown away.
Mission 8 – Farewell ‘Chunky’ Lee Chong
This is another assassin mission. Your target is a local boy named Chunky who has been selling the drug SPANK. Grab a gun from the back of AmmuNation, go to China Town and kill him.
Mission 9 – Armored Van Heist
Like most of Joey’s tasks, this one is fairly straightforward. Get a car that has some power behind it because it will need to damage the armored van badly enough to get the guard out of there, so get something strong, a tiny sedan isn’t going to cut it. Keep your eyes out for the police and be aware that this is an armored van so if you get some stars, that’s typical, you are ramming an armored vehicle and the cops don’t appreciate it so they will come after you, just deal with it. If you try to eliminate them with power ups you are going to waste time. If you’re good enough, try to get a cop car and use that. They are always good and you can use the siren to help clear traffic.
Mission 10 – Cipriani’s Chauffeur
This isn’t too hard. You just have to drive carefully and get Cipriani to his Momma’s place safe and sound and with the car completely intact. It needs to be cherry. Did I say it was easy and the car needed to be cherry? I lied. Joey was going to kill some Triads and now you need to drive like the wind and get him the hell out of there. The car doesn’t need to be cherry! It just needs to be running so no explosions or it’s mission over. Congratulations! You have more missions now! Toni Cipriani, Don Salvatore’s right hand man, has some jobs for you! So ignore Joey for now and get made, man.
Mission 11 – Taking Out the Laundry
Now we are getting into the rival gang’s territory. For this mission, you need to take out Triad laundry vans and any Triad “gimps” that get in your way. If you need a weapon, head to 8-Ball, but if not, let’s go hunting! Explore the town a bit and look for the blue arrows, get a Patriot car or a truck if you can, and let’s take out some of our favorite Chinese rivals, the Triads!
Mission 12 – The Pick up
Anyone else smell a set up? Me too! When you go to pick up the money, you’re going to have a group of Triads come after you. Make sure that you have an automatic weapon and lay waste to the would-be killers. Take the money back to Toni and collect payment. (Yes it’s Toni with an I, I know it’s girly, but Toni’s a made man, don’t insult him.)
Mission 13 – Salvatore’s Called a Meeting
This is a driving mission, so if you are having trouble driving, get used to it before you do this one. This is an important one! Don Salvatore has called a meeting and you are charged with getting Joey, Luigi and Toni and taking them to the Don’s house in a limo you get from Joey. Get a car, go to Joey’s and pick up the men and take them to the meeting. Be careful! Those Triads are looking to cause some trouble so do yourself a favor and drive cautiously. And when the Triads do attack, drive aggressively but don’t get out of the car. Just drive like the madman that you are and you can make it out alive!
Mission 14 – Chaperone
You have a new set of missions, charged by the Don himself. The first task is to take his coke head wife to get more blow. Aren’t you the lucky one? Head to the China Town waterfront and get the Don’s wife her drugs. From there, you go to a party that you’re not invited to. Guess what? The party is being raided! Get Maria out of there and back home where she can do her drugs in peace. Once you get away, the mission is over. How you do that is entirely up to you but I would suggest killing a few cops and clearing the way a bit before you start to drive away, they shoot to kill!
Mission 15 – Triads and Tribulations
Turns out the Triads don’t roll over. We’re at war now! It’s time to kill the lot of them at the warehouse outside China Town. Kill some Triads on your way to the location. When you get there, be careful! They are armed and will shoot you dead right quick. Be cautious and smart and you can make it out alive. Once the guys are dead you’ll need a Triad fish van to enter the warehouse. Once you have it, head out in it and kill them all.
Mission 16 – Dead Skunk in the Trunk
Once your last mission is done, you head to Joey’s Garage and learn that you need to get rid of a body. Easy enough, right? Sort of. When you go to pick up the car that has the body in it, you are attacked by the Forelli brothers’ good guys, a local mob rival that wants to control the town like every other organized crime syndicate. Kill them and then take the car over to 8-Ball, who will take care of the rest. There is no easy way to take out this car on the ground. But if you can get on top of the restaurant, where the car is, you can take out the car easily from up above.
Mission 17 – Blow Fish
Are you ready for the most sensitive driving mission ever? Toni is asking you to deliver a trash truck to the Triads. Take the trash car and drive so carefully that it’s almost annoying to the marker on the radar. Park it. You’re on a timer so be quick and careful. And one last thing: when you plant the truck, you are going to be shot at, so get out alive or else it’s Driving Miss Daisy all over again.
Mission 18 – Cutting the Grass
Get a car and follow Curly Bob, an underling and muscle head to the Salvatore family, to his meeting place being sure to not spook him on the meter. Once you get to the docks, a cut scene shows that Salvatore is getting paranoid because of people like Curly Bob, the SPANK-head. Once the cut scene is over, kill Curly Joe with your car.
Mission 19 – Bomb Da Base
The Cartel is kicking your boss’s butt. You need to take out the large amounts of SPANK that is cooking on the ship that Curly dragged you to. Get $100,000 and head to 8-Ball. Once he gives you the massive amount of explosions, head over to the ship and blow the thing sky high! You’re providing cover for 8-Ball, who can’t hold a gun but can draft a massive incendiary device. Find a good vantage point and provide cover for 8-Ball as he runs inside the boat and sets the charge. Once he’s in and the bomb is set, enjoy the fireworks.
Mission 20 – The Getaway
You’re now the driver for a bank job. Grab a car and pick up Joey’s friends and get them to the bank and wait to make the escape. You have to find a place to change the car’s color and then the stars will be gone. Simple as that!
Mission 21 – Last Requests
This is a simple one. Take the car that has brains in it to the cleaners. Well OK, it’s not so simple. While in transit you get a message on your beeper that it’s a setup and you’re driving a marked car. You’re dead if you drive it all the way to the cleaners. Head to the docks and escape Portland. It turns out that Maria has lied, claiming that you and she are an item and the Don wants you dead for stealing his wife. Fair enough! Drive the boat at the docks to Staunton Island and continue your life of crime!
Mission 22 – Sayonara Salvatore
Asuka, the Japanese Mafia Yakuza queen, sexual deviant and Maria’s play partner, demands that you prove your loyalty for her because she risked her own neck to save you and Maria by sneaking you to Portland on a ship. Time to kill the Godfather. Go back to Salvatore and kill him before he gets to his house and cripple the Mafia that betrayed you because Maria is a psycho. Head to Portland fully armored and well-equipped and get ready to assassinate Salvatore, the best way to do this is to go to Luigi’s club and go across the street with a sniper rifle and take him out when he’s walking out, or hit him with a car.
Mission 23 – Under Surveillance
Asuka is proud of his new toy, that new toy being you and his reward is more murder. The FBI is in town and they need to be dealt with within six minutes time, look around the island and kill them. After all, how dare they do their job of protecting this country? You’ll be able to spot these guys because of their automatic weapons and the blue arrows when you look up into the skyline. Find them all with enough time left and you will be rewarded with some cold hard cash.
Mission 24 – Kansu Bust-Out
The Yakuza is looking for some help in breaking their man Kansu out. Steal a police car. Yes, steal the car and find a way to reduce the number of stars. Once you have the bomb, as indicated by the radar, go to the police station and plant the car. The bomb goes off, you make your escape with Kansu, and you rise higher as a gaijin at the Yakuza.
Mission 25 – Grand Theft Auto
Hey, look, it’s… an unoriginal but appropriately titled mission! You are helping Asuka’s brother Kenji reclaim some honor. Steal some cars to help him pay a debt. Please be careful, these are gifts! Also, do it in a timely fashion. His honor depends on it! Grab a Stinger, Infernos and a Cheetah to complete the mission.
Mission 26 – Paparazzi Purge
Turns out a pain in the ass journalist has been taking photos of Asuka and Maria. They don’t tell you what kind of photos they are, but given their relationship they could be compromising. Find a boat and sink it. Get a police boat, they are awesome and they have guns. Take him out and collect payment from Asuka for killing the journalist who snapped the photos.
Mission 27 – Pay Day for Ray
There’s a crooked cop who needs his kick back. Go to the pay phone and get a set of instructions to pay off the cop. Once you give the bent cop his money you can open missions with him now.
Mission 28 – Two-Faced Tanner
Asuka has asked you to kill a cop with a car by ramming him off the road. Good luck! The second you touch this guy’s car you get four stars and keep them until it’s over and you make your escape.
Mission 29 – Deal Steal
That damn Cartel is adding insult to injury with the local Yakuza, go find a Yardie car and take down the Cartel member who has a meeting with the Jamaicans. Go pick up a Cartel man and take him to the meeting place, once you’re there, kill everyone. When everyone is good and dead take the briefcase full of cash back to the Yakuza.
Mission 30 – Shim
Today is collection day for the Yakuza protecting their business investments, go collect money for the Yakuza by any means necessary (hint, hint). One of the businesses that the Yakuza was supposed to be protecting was robbed, go make those punks pay! Get your money back from the local street gang that stole the money and go back to Kenji’s casino to deliver the protection money.
Mission 31 – Smack Down
This time it’s personal. Kenji is pissed and he’s pissed at you. It’s time to go kill us some Jamaicans. They need to be taught a lesson about dishonoring a Yakuza made man. Kill as many Yardies as you can.
Mission 32 – Silence the Sneak
Head back to the bathrooms and get a mission from your favorite bent cop Ray. He tells you that some rat has been talking. Now it’s your turn to be the merchant of death and take him out with a grenade in the window. No joke. Grenade in the window. Once you get the window blown up, you have to kill the guys that brought you there because they are running away like cowards.
Mission 33 – Arms Shortage
This is a way for you to get discounted guns. You are running point for a one armed vet named Mr. Philip Cassidy. He has some problems with the Cartel, and they are coming for him and taking his guns. If you can defend him, you get discounted guns from here on in at his compound. You need a heavy piece of artillery? Guess what? You’ve got a place to get it on the cheap.
Mission 34 – Evidence Dash
There’s another pervert who needs your help. The evidence is high on this guy, and your job is to get it back. By doing so you’ll get some cash and a good laugh. To accomplish this mission, grab a car and ram the evidence truck to collect what you need, gather all the evidence and burn the car. Mission over.
Mission 35 – Gone Fishing
Your friend Ray, the dirty cop has a clean partner?! He’s requested you take this guy out while he goes fishing, (insert Godfather reference here). Grab a boat and look for our honest cop and send him to a watery grave.
Mission 36 – Plaster Blaster
Turns out you didn’t kill Ray’s partner. You just really messed him up. Now the good cop is going to rat and you need to take care of him and his ambulance. He’s wearing a full body cast because he’s at death’s door. Knock him out of the ambulance and take him out with some of those new fancy guns you got from the vet. The bigger the better! That’s a tough body cast!
Mission 37 – Liberator
The perverted man you stole evidence for is named Donald Love, and he needs help from a man like yourself. Go find a Columbine car, and save a friend of his. You can find one of these cars in Portland. Go find out and kill all the guards around his friend. Just don’t kill Mr. Love’s friend. Return him to Donald Love, the necrophiliac.
Mission 38 – Wake Bashir Wipeout
A bit of bad news. If you liked Kenji, sorry, you have to kill him. Donald Love is capitalizing on the turf war between the Colombian Cartel and the Yakuza that you were working for. Find a Colombian car (it looks like a blue and white SUV) and kill Kenji with a drive by. Don’t get out or the mission is over.
Mission 39 – A Drop in the Ocean
Love is asking you in a flowery way to collect some packages for him from the bay where a small airplane is going to drop them in the water. Collect these packages before anyone else does and take them back to Love.
Mission 40 – Grand Theft Aero
Love is a pain. It turns out he was setting up a decoy for what was on the plane itself. Now you have to steal the plane. Go down to the airport on the last remaining island Shoreside Vale. Obtain the packages and kill the Colombians who are there trying to also get in the plane. With the Colombians dead you now have to track down the package! It’s in a building that is being built by the Pan Lantic Construction Company. Look for the building that they are constructing and bust your way in, you see, Catalina… The woman who shot you in the face at the beginning of the game. Killing Kenji helped motivate the Yakuza to war. Now Asuka shows up and is ready to start inflicting some revenge on the Colombians being run by your old flame. Once the cut scene is over head back to Love with the package.
Mission 41 – Escort Service
Here’s an easy one. Sort of. You have to keep the van ahead of you safe from damage while people chase you, ram it and shoot it. Keep your eyes open for all of that and you will make yourself richer with this delivery.
Mission 42 – Decoy
You once again need to provide cover for someone; this time Love needs you to distract the SWAT teams that have his package and his old Asian friend under surveillance. Distract them, get away and go get your money.
Mission 43 – Love’s Disappearance
When you go back to Mr. Love for another mission, you see that the fruity rooftop garden is empty, and Claude walks away no worse for wear. Easiest mission ever!
Mission 44 – Marked Man
The CIA is coming after SPANK and the Cartel think Ray is not a cop but undercover CIA. Your job is to take him to the airport safe and sound while avoiding Cartel hit men. Once he’s gone, you have to go get Ray’s stash from lockup in, a car that you can easily access in the back of the police station.
Mission 45 – Bait
Are you prepared to take revenge on Catalina for shooting you and sending you to jail? Thought so! Let’s go lure some fish to the net, grab a car and look for the death squads that are out looking for you. Lure them to the Yakuza hiding ground at Pike Creek to finish them off. Kill all three squads and collect payment.
Mission 46 – Espresso 2-Go
Turns out Catalina has been selling drugs through coffeehouses. You have to go take out these nine drug front stores with a rocket launcher. Aren’t you lucky? Complete these missions in the time allowed and watch the pyrotechnics.
Mission 47 – S.A.M. And Ransom
This is simple enough. You just have to shoot down a plane while it’s in midair. Not too hard, right? Well, first you have to get to the island where the plane is landing, kill the boys protecting it, shoot the plane down and move out of the way before it kills you. Once that is done, you then have to escape with four stars worth of police coming after you. Easy right? Well, for your reward you find out that Maria has been kidnapped and Catalina is holding her hostage for $500,000. It’s time to go save her!
Final Mission – The Exchange
Go give that evil harpy Catalina her money but remember she shot you down before and she can do it again. Head to Cedar Grove in order to pay Catalina, who of course is ready to kill you. Once you kill the men who are shooting at you, you have to chase Catalina’s helicopter down to the epic showdown at the dam. Once you fight your way through the entire population of Columbia, you can blow Catalina up with a rocket launcher and save Maria! It turns out Maria is really annoying, so the ending has led me to believe that you have to shoot her to get her to shut up. But in all honesty Rockstar isn’t talking so don’t go looking for it on the Internet. I can’t find anything official.
There you have it sports fans, t he storyline is complete and now you own this town. Sort of. If you followed the storyline and didn’t do any the side missions, fear not! I have come to your aid with this handy mini strategy guide to beating these side missions!
Marty’s Missions
Mission 1 – The Crook
Look for a ringing phone near Joey’s place in the Trenton District and talk to a guy named Marty Chonks, a guy who apparently owns a dog food factory downtown. His bank manager has been stealing money from him. Go pick him up and deliver him to Chonks, where he and not you, will kill him.
Mission 2 – The Thieves
Marty needs some help. It turns out he was trying to scam some insurance people by having some low rent thieves steal stuff from his apartment and claim it on the insurance. Now those little bastards want a cut! This won’t do! Go get them and take them to Marty and let him chop them up and serve them to the dogs. Use your getaway vehicle to get the car recolored and cleaned up, and drive back to the factory.
Mission 3 – The Wife
Turns out dear old Marty needs his wife killed for the insurance money. Do yourself and him a favor and kill this annoying woman! Take her to the factory, dump the car in the ocean, and move on.
Mission 4 – Her Lover
This Marty guy is gross! He can’t stop putting people in his food! This time it’s his wife’s lover who turns out to be one of the guys he owes money to. Go pick him up, and take him to Chonks who will have him killed in the factory and watch him kill the wife’s adulterous lover. Once he’s done, you’re done with Marty. If you want, you can kill him. I hear he isn’t a nice guy.
El Burro’s Missions
Mission 1 – Turismo
Are you a good driver? Test it! Look for a pay phone that is marked with a blue indicator on your radar in the Hepburn Heights area of Portland. Head over there and earn some quick cash. It’s a car race, so look for a fast car and win the race and collect $10,000. Follow the checkpoints and drive through them all and win.
Mission 2 – I Scream, You Scream
It’s time for a double cross! Go answer the phone at the same place that you play the Turismo mission. This time, you pick up a suitcase of boom and waste some people who are expecting that money. Get an ice cream van and head down to the suitcase’s location, then head to the meeting place where you then turn on the ice cream van’s music to lure people out. This makes the van explode to complete the mission.
Mission 3 – Trial By Fire
For this one you are seeking revenge for a sign of disrespect for the pervert El Burro of the Diablos. Head downtown and kill the lot of them. It’s pretty straight forward. Look for an automatic weapon or the flamethrower, and kill 25 Triads and make sure you’re near a car because you will have to run after they die.
Mission 4 – Big n Veiny
This time you are saving El Burro’s newest set of publications; a SPANK-head has taken his van and left the door open. Collect the piles of pornography within 20 seconds each time and follow this loser to his place. Once you collect the porn, kill the guy and return the van to the Red Light District you’re done!
King Courtney’s Missions
Mission 31 – Bling-Bling Scramble
King Courtney, the leader of a local Jamaican Yardie street gang is calling you. This is another set of public phone-themed missions. Find the phone and take on the mission as a driver and show some “hot moves” in another car race. Similar to Turismo, it’s a good test of your abilities as a driver. Make sure it’s a fast car and go kick some butt!
Mission 32 – Uzi Rider
After you win for King Courtney you are charged with waiting for his boys to come and get you. Once you’re in the car start unloading on some Diablo scum. You are the driver but you get to shoot too. Get ready for some drive by action, and waste some of the Diablos!
Mission 41 – Gangcar Round-Up
King Courtney is a callin’! Answer the phone and earn the right to collect cars of the rival gangs for the Jamaicans to increase their power. You need a Mafia Sentinel which can be found on Portland Island where Don Salvatore used to live, Yakuza Stinger is located in the parking lot of the building where you get the Asuka missions, and Diablo Stallion in Hepburn Heights on Portland Island.
Mission 42 – Kingdom Come
King Courtney needs a stash from the back of an old car now! Go get it! Once inside you get a taste of SPANK yourself, and then a SPANK-ed out SPANK-head and his van of suicide bombers comes to kill you! Take them out from a distance and get out of there!
D-Ice’s Missions
Mission 57 – Uzi Money
These missions are helping out the Red Jacks gang leader D-Ice, look for the last pay phone set of missions this time in Wichita Gardens. It’s a simple ghetto turf war. Pull a drive by on some purple colored young men and watch the money flow in!
Mission 58 – Toyminator
Head back to your pay phone mission where your new job is to drive RC cars underneath an armored car to make it explode, by doing this you are supplying more money for the man known as D-Ice by creatively robbing this armored van with a toy car.
Mission 59 – Rigged to Blow
D-Ice tells Claude over the phone that his Infernus has been rigged with a timed explosive. He instructs Claude to drive the car to a garage in Saint Mark’s, Portland, to defuse the bomb.
Mission 60 – Bullion Run
Turns out a plane crashed at the airport and scattered platinum bullion around Pike Creek. D-Ice wants 30 minimum, so he can look good, son!
Mission 61 – Rumble
The last mission and the final coffin nails are going to be pounded in deep by you and the Red Jacks. Get a baseball bat and go wipe out the last of the Purple Nines, the Red Jacks rival gang.
Exhausted yet? Well hopefully you’re not! There are still taxi driver missions, ambulance missions, vigilante missions and random violence to commit, all for that elusive 100 percent completion. I have faith in you geeks! Get it done and make us here at Hardcore Droid proud.
Vice City coming soon…
by Eric Miller
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