Grand Theft Auto:San Andreas

[Ragone]

It's certainly becoming a expensive month to be a gamer..

I love this game.. i got it/Ninja Gaiden/Fight Night at toys r us during the buy 2 get one free deal..

With the new Metal Gear solid and Halo 2 coming out.. + Football Manager + a possible Total pro basketball purchase.... i'm running out of time to fit it all in :)


With regards to gta.. it's clearly a worthy successor to the series.. and quite well.. involved and long. However its also clearly the most vulgar of the series.. while the other two games rival it in violence.. gta:sa has language galore, while it adds to the realism of being in a ghetto,gang enviorment, its clearly not for kids.

[tucker rocky]

Yes, I have it. I like the ability to SWIM now, instead of drowning.
I'm still exploring, done a few missions(about 4), collected oysters and gang tags(a new feature, just different names). I have noticed that if you get a wanted level of 4, when you save and come back, it goes away. I experimented last night, did mayhem to up wanted level, police on motorbikes come guns-ablazing, saved, came back to have policebikes waiting for me to use with no problems.

This time around, the character has to worry about eating, working out, looking good, and stuff. I'm sure you can do "pick-ups", but not early on with low sex appeal and respect.

I also like the new addition of riding bicycles, cool feature. CJ(which is the characters name), can also climb almost anything within reach now.

There are still some corny stuff in the game, but its been like that for ALL the games in the GTA series.

[hukarez]

I've been doing pretty well at this game, I believe I have two missions left before I can leave Los Santos. I like the swimming part for sure - though, the targeting stuff is something I'll need to get better at. For some reason, when I try to cycle through targets, I seemingly having to hit R1 all over again, before getting a chance to cycle through.

The gang territory thing strikes me as being something that can be a bit of a pain defending overtime - especially if you've taken over a lot of ground. It's pretty random, I think...but still, nothing too bad. The girlfriend bit is rather hilarious, especially the banter CJ and his lady go through while on a date.

I'm liking this game very much, that's for sure.

[MikeVic]

The girlfriend bit is rather hilarious, especially the banter CJ and his lady go through while on a date.

I'm liking this game very much, that's for sure.


I played it at a friend's, and I loved the co-op play involving the guy and his girlfriend. If only you could use two separate vehicles. :)

[hukarez]

I played it at a friend's, and I loved the co-op play involving the guy and his girlfriend. If only you could use two separate vehicles. :)
That's right, I completely forgot about that two player co-op thing. Who knows? Maybe this is just an early stage for a future GTA involving online play?

Oy, the possibilities...!

[hukarez]

Not sure if anyone bought the official guidebook for this (bradygames), but apparently there's an update to it via .PDF files:

http://www.bradygames.com

I forgot which board I was reading where this was posted, but if I had a nice printer, I'll probably stick it inside the cover or what not.

[tucker rocky]

Not sure if anyone bought the official guidebook for this (bradygames), but apparently there's an update to it via .PDF files:

http://www.bradygames.com

I forgot which board I was reading where this was posted, but if I had a nice printer, I'll probably stick it inside the cover or what not.

Adobe reader, saved to PC, will print later.
Thanks for the info.

[General Mike 2]

GTA San Andreas is the best game ever. That is all.

[Chubby]

Just rented it so I'm looking forward to playing tonight :)

[Cringer]

rented this last weekend, love the game and hope to buy it soon. I love all the new things, like eating, working out, customizing a low rider, getting a mohawk.... :D

[Qwikshot]

When does it come to computers?

[hukarez]

No idea, really. How long was it for Vice City to come out on the PC after it's release in '02? :confused:

[Bee]

Very entertaining like the previous versions. I keep finding new sections of city and countryside that are interesting which surprises me a little. With the massive size, I figured there would be a lot of the same crap all over the place and that's not been my experience so far.

And the best new thing...swimming. Nothing like killing a motorcycle cop, jumping on his ride and taking it off the end of the dock. :)

[General Mike]

No idea, really. How long was it for Vice City to come out on the PC after it's release in '02? :confused:

I think around 6 months later or so.

[hukarez]

Hmm...IGN apparently lists GTA: SA as "TBA 2005". Guess it's probably coming out to the PC as well. Out of curiousity, was GTA 3 released on the PC too? For some reason, I keep thinking it was only Vice City...

[Radii]

Hopefully none of this is actually a spoiler... a conversation overheard at the poker table Saturday night.

"yeah I'm beating people down with the dildo." .. "you're supposed to give it to your girlfriend" .. "I try but every time I go into her house we just have sex." ... "are you wearing the gimp suit when you go? If you're wearing the gimp suit you always have sex with her. You need to change clothes"

I'm not getting the game til Christmas, but just based on this conversation alone, this must be the greatest game ever.

[spleen1015]

Highlight below for spoiler:

In the Los Santos Police Station showers, there is a double-headed, 3 foot, purple dildo that you can use as a weapon.

I couldn't believe it when I saw it.

[hukarez]

I still can't believe it. :eek:

[tucker rocky]

The strategy guide does mention "other" things to find to give to girlfriend.

[tucker rocky]

originally posted by Balldog

in another thread

Make sure you go into the shower at the police station and get the weapon! It is a must have! LOL

[DeToxRox]

i beat the game. storyline purposes so far. total completion is at like 70%

it took me roughly 12 days of 3 to 4 hours to just beat the storyline.

i love college

[SuburbanPimp]

DAMNIT, HIS BRAIN IS LEAKING!!

Am I the only one that will constantly listen to WCTR, despite the fact I've heard each sketch 10-11 times each?

[DeToxRox]

DAMNIT, HIS BRAIN IS LEAKING!!

Am I the only one that will constantly listen to WCTR, despite the fact I've heard each sketch 10-11 times each?

lol WCTR does rule.

Have you hear Axl Rose as a DJ yet? I forgot the station but it's great.

[tucker rocky]

i beat the game. storyline purposes so far. total completion is at like 70%

it took me roughly 12 days of 3 to 4 hours to just beat the storyline.

i love college

I'm still in first city :(, work leaves little time for me to play.
I'll try to get along a little further tonight, hopefully.
Missions are simple enough, just finding time to do them.

[hukarez]

I've managed to get to San Fierro and all...and the cameos from GTA 3 were a nice touch. I think I've gone farther in this GTA than any of the other ones. Ironically, my driving/bike/cycling skills are still very much under par. Maybe I need to drive around a whole lot more...

[SuburbanPimp]

I'm a little behind everyone else, just got out of Los Santos and I'm now in the Badlands. It's okay though, because I got a teaser of what is to come, in the form of my favorite GTA character (who called into "Lonely Hearts")...

FERNANDO MARTINEZ~~~~~~~~~!

Come see his 8 foot protrusion as he pollinates on everyone!!

[RebelMan]

I'm still stuck at the OG Loc "Lifes a Beach" mission in the first city. I easily passed the Lowrider mission however I'm experiencing a bit of trouble in the OG Loc mission. I manage to get 3150-3600 scores now so I'm still working at that. I guess I'll just get a save from a friend or something. Despite this, its still a great game.

[hukarez]

I'm still stuck at the OG Loc "Lifes a Beach" mission in the first city. I easily passed the Lowrider mission however I'm experiencing a bit of trouble in the OG Loc mission. I manage to get 3150-3600 scores now so I'm still working at that. I guess I'll just get a save from a friend or something. Despite this, its still a great game.
The 'dancing' bit with the DJ? Had to try a few times (never played DDR). Guess I was doing things a bit "too early", as it's supposed to be 'exactly' within the circle or something. I got used to it, had to slow down or what not to do so.

[RebelMan]

The 'dancing' bit with the DJ? Had to try a few times (never played DDR). Guess I was doing things a bit "too early", as it's supposed to be 'exactly' within the circle or something. I got used to it, had to slow down or what not to do so.

I finally got through it just today. Hooray! :D

[tucker rocky]

I finally got through it just today. Hooray! :D

Hey, hey, hey, ... hollywood swingin'! :D

[tucker rocky]

Find the sweeper, a cool little ride.

Its in downtown Los Santos under an overpass.
To bad the sweepers aren't operational. :(

[hukarez]

Find the sweeper, a cool little ride.

Its in downtown Los Santos under an overpass.
To bad the sweepers aren't operational. :(
I wondered about this myself - tried hitting R3 and L3 and all sorts of buttons to see if it'd actually sweep. One thing I haven't even done in the game, was get a car wash. I think there was one in Los Santos, but I hadn't even bothered trying. Anyone do this yet?

[hukarez]

FYI - Zero's missions (save for his last one) are a royal pain in the ass.

If I wasn't patient, I'd probably have given up and just moved on. I believe I've actually accumulated 20 retries for those alone. http://dynamic2.gamespy.com/%7Efof/forums/images/smilies/mad.gif

[spleen1015]

FYI - Zero's missions (save for his last one) are a royal pain in the ass.

If I wasn't patient, I'd probably have given up and just moved on. I believe I've actually accumulated 20 retries for those alone. http://dynamic2.gamespy.com/%7Efof/forums/images/smilies/mad.gif

It took me a few times to get Zero's 2nd one.

There are some later missions that almost made me quit playing the game. They're very frustrating.

[SuburbanPimp]

http://store.yahoo.com/rockstarwarehouse/clothing.html

Finally, Rockstar has decided to produce some GTA gear. I would get a San Andreas shirt, but they're too small for a "portly gentleman" such as myself. So, I jumped on the SA cap. Now I can look like a snitch! :)

[STK]

Maybe it's just me but I bought San Andreas along with a PS2 a while back and ended up returning the system the same day and cutting my losses on the game. I like GTA but compared to X-BOX, PS2 graphics are atrocious.

Unplayable for me.

[Cringer]

After renting this game for a weekend when it came out, I finally got it last weekend. On vacation now, I am finally able to get some playing time. Unfortunetly for me, when I start to play my 5 yr old girl comes along and wants to take over.

She loves to just walk around, eat, climb things and swim. Although she did find a boat for me when I didn't even know I could get one of those yet. I will get some playing time soon I hope.

[hukarez]

In all honesty - I've never really completed GTA 3, or Vice City. I probably should, but this iteration of the series compels me to attempt to finish the game at the least. Don't know why...probably because of the whole ability to swim factor. I think that was definately one of the things that irritated me about the past 3D versions of the GTA series that turned me off.

[Critch]

I like GTA but compared to X-BOX, PS2 graphics are atrocious.

I'm with you on that. Bought my PS2 specifically for GTA:SA six months early. All it's really done so far is got me wishing the PC version would hurry up and get here.

[Bee]

I can't believe people are complaining about graphics of the PS2 ON A TEXT SIM BOARD!

:D

hehe...sorry, just find it amusing in my own little weird way.

[tucker rocky]

Get the jet-pack, gets you around very nicely. :)

[SuburbanPimp]

I have loved this game...until now.

I HATE THE FLYING SCHOOL.

For the life of me, I cannot get past the "circle airstrip & land" test. I have attempted this AT LEAST 20 times, and even after I get through the rings and land, I get something like a 61-65% (you need 70% or better to pass).

I'm seriously thinking about abandoning this game due to unecessary aggrevation.

ARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGH!!!!!

[hukarez]

I felt the same way with Zero's missions. Heck, I tried the driving school and got stumped at a particular part.

[Karlifornia]

The "city slickin'" test at the driving school got the better of me for a couple of days. I eventually figured out that going very, very slowly around corners worked out, as they give you enough time to make it to the finish.

[Eaglesfan27]

The Zero missions had me stumped for a long time as well... took me several hours to get past those 3 missions (particularly the 2nd one)

[hukarez]

The "city slickin'" test at the driving school got the better of me for a couple of days. I eventually figured out that going very, very slowly around corners worked out, as they give you enough time to make it to the finish.
Ironically, that's the test that I'm presently stumped on. I'll give the "slow down on the corners" bit a try, and see if that gets me through this school. Though, now I'm leery of future "school" missions - more specifically, the 'flight' one. Seems I can't get into the airport without passing the 'flight' school or what not.

[hukarez]

The Zero missions had me stumped for a long time as well... took me several hours to get past those 3 missions (particularly the 2nd one)
I, for the life of me, could simply not hit a target until a bomb was released. Don't know how I ended up passing it, I think I was down to 1 last tower. Or wait...was that the RC plane one? I always ran out of gas on that one. Either way - they were both a pain in the ass for me. :mad:

[illinifan999]

Ironically, that's the test that I'm presently stumped on. I'll give the "slow down on the corners" bit a try, and see if that gets me through this school. Though, now I'm leery of future "school" missions - more specifically, the 'flight' one. Seems I can't get into the airport without passing the 'flight' school or what not.
Not only can you not get into the airport, you won't be able to continue the game until you pass the entire flight school. Though if you want the airport unlocked and dont want to wait until flight school, there is a brick wall near the Los Santos Airport. Get a car, jump up, and jump over the fence and find the airplane. Just fly until you're flying skill improves enough that you get the license. You'll still have to do the flight school later on, but you'll be able to unlock the airports before.

[tucker rocky]

Any suggestions on the "Just Business" mission, my bike always goes up in flames when the car-carrier comes over the bridge. My weapon skill is maxed, I guess I'll have to try for better aim at the gunmen, bikes, and vehicles.

[hukarez]

Any suggestions on the "Just Business" mission, my bike always goes up in flames when the car-carrier comes over the bridge. My weapon skill is maxed, I guess I'll have to try for better aim at the gunmen, bikes, and vehicles.I aim for the tires - and the guys inside the vehicles and on the bikes. Easier to kill the drivers and passengers, than to blow them up. If I recall correctly, I always try to go for the drivers first...been awhile since I played that one out.

EDIT: Oh yeah, that's right. Try not to blow up the vehicles if they'er too close to you - the explosion will cause some damage. And, if you get a chance, shoot those barrels around the corners, and don't bother trying to take out that car carrier. I think that it doesn't last long in the mission regardless, so you can just focus on the rest.

[tucker rocky]

Any suggestions on the "Just Business" mission, my bike always goes up in flames when the car-carrier comes over the bridge. My weapon skill is maxed, I guess I'll have to try for better aim at the gunmen, bikes, and vehicles.

I did try a little harder, and passed. :)
I did go for better aim, and go after the closest bikes, then the others.
I almost forgot about the ones following in the sewer tunnel, but disposed of them with barrel explosions.

[Eilim]

You mean there are missions in this game? ;)

I've only completed the mission sets of Sweets and Ryder, along with a couple of Big Smokes. I'm having too much fun driving/walking around being a criminal/serial killer at this point. I love having the police helicopter chasing me while I'm running through yards and hopping fences.

I suppose once I memorize the neighborhoods I'll do some more missions to open up more of the map then rinse and repeat. I just wish when you recruited other gang members to go cause carnage with you that they might be able to hit the broad side of a barn once in a while. They do make decent meat shields when your getting swarmed though. :)

[tucker rocky]

Later missions in the first city will allow you to take over gang territory.
Right now I can recruit up to 6 members for my small army, better than going it alone. ;)

I suppose once I memorize the neighborhoods

I use the Los Santos Forum as a landmark, as first safe house is not far away.
Doing missions also will help in learning the 'hood.
Getting to the "Robbery" missions will help fund your way along, guns, clothes, buying property(which is better than trekking back across the city to Ganton).
Some of the missions are fairly simple, although you will have to do multiple tries at the missions to pass.

[tucker rocky]

dola,

To also add, you get money for taking over, and defending gang territory.

[Eilim]

Heh, I know. Just taking my time and savoring the game. I've owned every GTA including the original top-downs and expansions. Heck, I still play them all.

I'm just hoping the mini-coop is a hint at the future of the series. The many GTAs have been a staple of the "Video-game night" I throw with my brother-in-law and cousins for a few years now. If they ever add a true co-op mode to the series I think the rest of the games we play will fall by the wasteside.

Our current competition is to see how many kills we can get using only the knife before the cops brings us down. :)

[damnMikeBrown]

I started playing this game over Thanksgiving break. I am having some trouble, as I seem to be a lousy driver. My car just turns to junk after a few minutes.

I maxed machine pistols and pistol, but can't get any fun new weapons. Found a desert eagle by the beach, but without any extra ammo, it's not so fun. Grab shotguns from police cars all the time, but usually die before I use 'em up.

It's a fun game though. I was at the stoplight a couple days ago, and the car in front of me wasn't moving..I thought "There's room on the sidewalk...I think I can dodge the light pole." Bad, bad, bad.

[hukarez]

The girlfriend portions of the game seem to be interesting. If you've maxed out your girlfriend level with Katie Zahn and that Michelle chick, you get to retain your weapons and cash if you're wasted or busted. Not too shabby!

Katie's in San Fierro, of course. Michelle being in the badlands, I think. Forgot the other perks of being hooked up with other girlfriends - that is, I haven't completely obtained 100% with any yet.

[Eilim]

I thought "There's room on the sidewalk...I think I can dodge the light pole." Bad, bad, bad.


Your too nice.. Thats when I go and drag them out of their car and proceed to give them a beat down.

Its also fun to just walk through town and bump into people... If they act scared or say one of the compliments they get to live. If they talk smack, I bust a cap in their ass. Grove St. Family for life, biyatch... ;)

[damnMikeBrown]

I've been moving along in this game. I'm now actively taking over and defending my gang territory.

I've maxed pistol, smg, shotgun, and the kalishnikov. The AK is my absolute favorite weapon for gang land take overs. It's very powerful, and has an extended range. I try to initiate take overs on an overpass..that way they can only spawn from two directions. They can hardly enter my range before they're dead. Sometimes I bring along a couple bangers just to absorb some rounds in case I get sloppy.

I love the police station. I grab body armor & the shotgun nearly every time I pass by. Hint...don't go in empty handed. Grab the dildo first. If you walk in there and grab the shotgun, it'll outmatically be equipped, and you'll be in a shower with 20 cops trying to kill you. It's actually a great way to max shotgun if you don't mind eventually being wasted :)

[Radii]

I've been moving along in this game. I'm now actively taking over and defending my gang territory.


How far along are you in the storyline? I'm in San Fierro, but I don't know(I have tried to limit my spoiler/FAQ reading so far) when I can start taking gang territory back over again back in Los Santos.

[damnMikeBrown]

I'm still in Los Santos. I also am not doing spoilers.

I want to take over the whole town first. Then buy all the property for sale...all the while working on my pimping missions and looking for more tags to paint.

I'm not moving forward hardly at all with the main story line missions.

[Radii]

ahhh, gotcha.

this game is so great. If I want to screw around with side missions when I play, I can, or I can advance the storyline, or I can just go on killing sprees. All of the 3 are equally entertaining.

[damnMikeBrown]

I've run into a big road-block in Los Santos.

I wanted to take over every gang territory in the city before I moved on with the missions. It turns out, I took all the Vados's turf(yellow), but the Ballas(Purple) still have 1 outstanding territory that I can not see on the map.

Is this a magic territory that I'll just not be able to take over, just so that I can't wipe out the rival gangs in the 1st city?

[DeToxRox]

I've run into a big road-block in Los Santos.

I wanted to take over every gang territory in the city before I moved on with the missions. It turns out, I took all the Vados's turf(yellow), but the Ballas(Purple) still have 1 outstanding territory that I can not see on the map.

Is this a magic territory that I'll just not be able to take over, just so that I can't wipe out the rival gangs in the 1st city?

i don't think you can yet. if you're at the beginning, i doubt it will let you because the ending of the game requires the ballas. i tried writing that as best as i could without spoiling anything.

[Radii]

I BEAT THE SUPPLY LINES MISSION LAST NIGHT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


had to post that somewhere... it took me at least 50 tries(I've been doing other stuff when I get frustrated and just keep coming back to it when I felt like another torture session). The two previous tries last night I had less than 15 seconds to go for sure, the landing red blip was in sight, when I ran out of fuel and lost. The time I succeeded I thought I had screwed up but figured I'd see how close I could get... I probably had about 10 seconds of fuel left when I landed and beat it. I didn't land well at all and thought I was going to fail but it was very generous with giving me credit for touching down near the red blip that I was supposed to hit. WOOHOOOOOOO. (surely those who have gotten this far and played this mission know the feeling...)

[tucker rocky]

Anybody still going in this game, or has other activities drawn you away from it?

[DeToxRox]

I beat it when it came out so It's been a while. I was in the 90s for completion but I let my brother in law borrow it so I haven't played it in a while.

[hukarez]

Anybody still going in this game, or has other activities drawn you away from it?
Really haven't had much of a chance to delve into the game lately, as it's been rather hectic IRL for me. In fact, I really haven't touched my game consoles in quite some time. I'll have to get into it again when I get a chance to take a vacation or so; last I remember where I was in the game, I was busy trying to get the perks of 100% relationships with some of the girlfriends. (retaining weapons, etc...)

[Radii]

Anybody still going in this game, or has other activities drawn you away from it?

I'm on the Vegas missions but ESPN College Hoops has pulled me away from it for now. I still intend to go back and finish beating it at some point.

[General Mike]

I'm on the last mission (after cheating, of course) but I haven't played the game in a long time.

[TazFTW]

San Andreas comes out for the XBox and PC this week. I would have been getting it this week but there's a rumor at the CAG forums that CompUSA will have both versions on sale for $29.99 in their June 12th ad.

[TazFTW]

Rumors confirmed.



http://img30.echo.cx/img30/300/compjune129pn.th.jpg (http://img30.echo.cx/my.php?image=compjune129pn.jpg)

[KWhit]

Does that mean the sale price starts on the 12th?

[TazFTW]

Yes, it is in CompUSA's sunday ad.

[tucker342]

Got it for PC on Tuesday... fantastic game.

[TazFTW]

Picked this up for the PC on Sunday and am enjoying it. Just finished the pimp side missions where the reward is that prostitutes now pay me to have sex with them.

[amdaily]

I thought this game was one of the biggest disappointments in recent history. Doesn't hold a candle to Vice City.

[korme]

How? Dude, you get to run a gang this time. That was some tight shit.

[Calis]

Been sick all weekend so picked up this one for XBox to get through me it.

I'm enjoying it quite a bit so far, music isn't nearly as good as in Vice City but it's got some cool features.

One thing is bugging me now, I'm doing a mission for OG Loc, the Life's a Beach one. I go to the beach and talk to the DJ..I have two options, either replying positively or negatively. It doesn't matter which one I use, nothing happens. Then about 20 seconds later it resets and I can talk to her again, but still get nothing.

What am I supposed to do here?

[hukarez]

Been sick all weekend so picked up this one for XBox to get through me it.

I'm enjoying it quite a bit so far, music isn't nearly as good as in Vice City but it's got some cool features.

One thing is bugging me now, I'm doing a mission for OG Loc, the Life's a Beach one. I go to the beach and talk to the DJ..I have two options, either replying positively or negatively. It doesn't matter which one I use, nothing happens. Then about 20 seconds later it resets and I can talk to her again, but still get nothing.

What am I supposed to do here?
IIRC, I think you're supposed to trigger some kind of 'dance' contest after speaking with the DJ? Not sure if there's a place by the bonfire/van where there's some kind of 'pink' spot that triggers it...

[TazFTW]

You're supposed to answer positively a few times, then the dance sequence begins. Pass the dance sequence and then she will let you in the van. You just drive off once you get in.

[Calis]

Thanks.

Guess I was moving too soon after talking and was messing it up, I just stood there and chilled a bit and finally the dance sequence started. Then I showed 'em how it was done.

Having a blast so far, but I'm sure that will all change when I run into my first God awful frustrating mission, what happened in Vice City..but seemed to happen a lot quicker there. Those frigging RC missions, ugh.

[RebelMan]

Having a blast so far, but I'm sure that will all change when I run into my first God awful frustrating mission, what happened in Vice City..but seemed to happen a lot quicker there. Those frigging RC missions, ugh.

I haven't played in a while. Last I played it, I was stuck in the mission where you had to pilot that remote control plane and destroy some vans with the remote control plane's machine guns. Anyway, if the plane isn't being shot to pieces by the bad guys, then its either crashing uncontrollably into the buildings or running out of fuel.

[Bearcat729]

I haven't played in a while. Last I played it, I was stuck in the mission where you had to pilot that remote control plane and destroy some vans with the remote control plane's machine guns. Anyway, if the plane isn't being shot to pieces by the bad guys, then its either crashing uncontrollably into the buildings or running out of fuel.


I was so happy when I realized you don't need that mission to finish the main story line.

[Calis]

I haven't played in a while. Last I played it, I was stuck in the mission where you had to pilot that remote control plane and destroy some vans with the remote control plane's machine guns. Anyway, if the plane isn't being shot to pieces by the bad guys, then its either crashing uncontrollably into the buildings or running out of fuel.

WOOHOO!

I just beat that mission, and it's probably the closest I've ever came to openly weeping because of completing a mission. ;)

What a pain in the ass, and when I finally did destroy them all I ended up WAY the hell out and I didn't think I was going to have enough fuel to make it back. I landed back on the building with barely a sliver left.

If I'd have ran out of fuel then, I'd probably never play this game again.

The one that kept mauling me was the motorcycle with two guys on it. The way I finally managed to beat that was to catch them right after they turned, then land and pull up RIGHT behind them. Then just open up, and hope you blow them up before they get away. Every time I attacked from the air they destroyed me.

I'm not looking forward to the flying school though, flying is not handled well at all, and is a major pain in the ass. Sounds like you have to do the flying school as well, blech.

[TazFTW]

I've just finished the Zero missions and had to switch the controls to my gamepad. Flying that RC plane with the mouse and keyboard was a pain in the ass. Once I switched to the gamepad, I beat it on my first try. I should have done that earlier because that's how I passed those missions in Vice City.

[KWhit]

I have the PC version, but am having trouble with the controls.

I can't drive worth a crap using the mouse and keyboard.

Do you guys find that driving with a gamepad is easier? My gamepad died, so I'd have to go buy one.

[TazFTW]

I have the PC version but I drive with the mouse and keyboard. I only switch to the gamepad whenever I have to fly.

[RebelMan]

I'm not looking forward to the flying school though, flying is not handled well at all, and is a major pain in the ass. Sounds like you have to do the flying school as well, blech.

Unfortunately, yes. I got through the first flying lessons easily but now I'm stuck at the part have to do barrel rolls and circle around the airfield, stuff like that. :(

[TazFTW]

The barrel roll was hard. Even using a gamepad, it took quite a few tries to get past that.

[Airhog]

This might be the first GTA I dont finish. The game is buggy, and for some reason, wants to crash whenever I do a Gang War. Im not sure why, but it makes it hard to get the 30% needed to do the final mission.

[bhlloy]

A desperate plea for help, don't know if anyone still remembers this game.

Once you get out into the desert, the first monster truck mission is kicking my ass. Everything I've read said this one is a piece of cake, don't even need to go fast to get under the 6:30 yadda yadda yadda.

Driving almost perfectly (maybe 1 or 2 small mistakes) I can get 7:35 or so. I cannot see where my route is falling down. I know I must be going the wrong way or missing something somewhere but I can't work out where. This is killing me because I've been really into the game and this is holding my progress up.

Anybody else remember having any problems with this mission?

[TazFTW]

Is this the first Mike Toreno mission? At a ranch? I think it is identified as a '?' in the beginning.

Not sure if I can help because if that is the one, it was pretty easy and I went slow. I guess you can try it at night so you can see the red markers better.

[bhlloy]

Yeah that is the one. If I go slow it takes me at least 10 mins, and I'm taking the most direct route between the markers. I am completely at a loss here. The only thing I can think of is maybe staying on the roads as opposed to going direct?

[Cringer]

Yeah that is the one. If I go slow it takes me at least 10 mins, and I'm taking the most direct route between the markers. I am completely at a loss here. The only thing I can think of is maybe staying on the roads as opposed to going direct?

Try a combination of direct and staying on the roads. What it is going to take is for you to do it and remember what is better for each part of the course. I remember doing that one a couple times until I got it.

[bhlloy]

I just had a nearly perfect trip take 7:13. I had one minor spin but the rest was pretty much as I have it mapped out. I cannot see a better route. I know there is one, but I can't see it. There is a big hill near the start that takes me 15-20 secs to get up, but the marker is on top of the hill and I can't find any other way up there.

The thing that gets me is that this IS supposed to be easy. Every guide on the web I have looked at says that it is a complete piece of piss to get under the time limit and it's easy to go one or two minutes under. I just can't understand it unless I am missing something huge.

One thing I was thinking... is this possibly a product of my poor driving skill? I have approx 20% in that category, would that affect my traction/acceleration/top speed to this degree? Maybe I'll go back to driving school and try and get a few more golds. Very frustrating.

[Cringer]

I just had a nearly perfect trip take 7:13. I had one minor spin but the rest was pretty much as I have it mapped out. I cannot see a better route. I know there is one, but I can't see it. There is a big hill near the start that takes me 15-20 secs to get up, but the marker is on top of the hill and I can't find any other way up there.

The thing that gets me is that this IS supposed to be easy. Every guide on the web I have looked at says that it is a complete piece of piss to get under the time limit and it's easy to go one or two minutes under. I just can't understand it unless I am missing something huge.

One thing I was thinking... is this possibly a product of my poor driving skill? I have approx 20% in that category, would that affect my traction/acceleration/top speed to this degree? Maybe I'll go back to driving school and try and get a few more golds. Very frustrating.

Not sure if your driving skill matters or not. But yeah, I don't recall having as much trouble with it that you have been having. And it is pretty hard to say what you are doing wrong because a) it has been a while for me and b) I can not see exactly what you are doing.

Sorry I can't help much more, and good luck.

[Karlifornia]

Ok, so I'm at flying school, and I'm attempting the "circle the airfield" training. I cannot, for the life of me, ascend high enough to hit that first corona. Everytime I try to get up high enough, the engine stalls..what do I do?

[spleen1015]

You need to push R3. This puts up your landing gear.

[Karlifornia]

Haha. Damn I feel really stupid. Thanks Spleen you just made my day.

[bhlloy]

I just beat the flying school missions (finally got past monster thanks to an awesome message board I found) Really pretty easy once you get used to keeping everything under control and making very small banks instead of mashing the buttons like I was doing at first...

The one I had the most problem with was the helicopter blowing things up one... but again once you keep everything slow and use the minigun instead of just shooting rockets all over the place it's not too bad. I'm stuck on N.O.E. now (the mission straight afterwards) I keep crashing into trees, but I'm sure once I work out a route avoiding the trees I'll be fine.

[spleen1015]

Haha. Damn I feel really stupid. Thanks Spleen you just made my day.

The only reason I was able to help is because I was just as stupid. :D