Ready for another GTA top 10 list? You better be as quickly following on from the previous features we are now focusing on the lifeblood of any GTA game. The thing that makes the experience what it is. The thing that makes you want to replay the game over and over again.
I’m of course talking about missions. Without them you still get the awesome open world and get do whatever you want it it. But sometimes it’s the more scripted events in the series that provides some of it’s best ever moments. So let’s get to it, what are the best GTA missions of all time?
10. Give Me Liberty (GTA III)
Whilst there are way more fun, unique and interesting missions on this list, there is absolutely none more important than this one. After loading up GTA III for the first time and watching the opening cinematics, you are then thrown into your first ever experience of a 3D GTA mission. All the mission consists of is driving to a marker on the map but this is the mission that started it all. Purely for historical importance this mission had to make the list just to show you how far we’ve come when you play the crazy 3 protagonist controlled heists of GTA V. You’ve gotta start somewhere.
9. Dropping In... (The Ballad of Gay Tony)
This mission is included for how just plain fun it is. Extra marks for creativity, this could have just been a traditional go here, kill the target, escape mission. Whilst this is still fundamentally what it is, the way in which you can execute the mission shows that Rockstar still know how to have fun. First you jump out of a helicopter and parachute on top of the building the target is hiding in. After going down a few floors and emptying the rooms you come face to face with the target. After disposing of him (which can include throwing him from the building and watching him fall to his death) you then must make you escape. Seeing as your target managed to leave the building pretty quickly via this method you jump out of the window and instead of falling to your death, pull out your parachute. If you can land on the flatbed of your getaway vehicle you are good to go and feel like a badass in the process. Just a perfectly put together sequence and a real joy in open world mission based gameplay.
8. Get Lost (The Lost and Damned)
GTA finale missions always have a big impact as Rockstar do seem to try and save the best to last. This shows in our first (and definitely not last) finale mission to make the list. Breaking out of prison is a popular storyline for any crime fiction but what about breaking in to kill your nemesis? This mission has all the hallmarks you would want including exploring a new area, mass shootouts and explosions and a final confrontation with the antagonist.
7. Saint Mark's Bistro (San Andreas)
This is probably the most unique mission on the entire list and there really hasn't been anything like it before or since. If having three entire cities in the biggest GTA game to date wasn't enough then why not fly a plane and revisit good old Liberty City from GTA III. Of course it wasn’t the whole city but just a very small, restricted area to explore but even so it was awesome to see something like this happen and it’s crazy that it hasn't been done since. Imagine in GTA V, you decide to take the heists outside of Los Santos and fly a plane to Vice City to rob the Malibu nightclub. People would lose their minds. And Rockstar are definitely crazy enough to pull it off.
6. Keep Your Friends Close... (Vice City)
Another finale mission and this time it’s the end of Tommy Vercetti’s story and the final stand he must take to seize total control of the city for good. This is one of the biggest homages Rockstar have ever done and if it wasn’t obvious before how Scarface influenced the story then it was after you took a last stand at a very familiar looking mansion.
5. The Job (Vice City)
The first heist mission to make the list and one of the first and still best heist missions in GTA history. Vice City was full of homages and this time Killing Zoe was the film of choice. Whilst this mission was the heist itself, this wasn't a stand alone mission. Previously you had to recruit your team which included finding a safecracker, getaway driver and gun support. The build up to the mission and then pulling it off really created a sense of accomplishment and showed that GTA can do more than just a traditional escort or murder missions. Heists make for such an incredible setting for a GTA game and I’m really glad they have a heavy focus in the upcoming game.
4. Three Leaf Clover (GTA IV)
Another heist mission and this time it’s by far the most memorable mission from GTA IV. What made this mission unique is that it ties together many of the plot threads throughout all three stories told in the GTA IV world. Both Niko and Luis are present during the diamond robbery and then later Johnny gets involved as the fight for control of the diamonds after the robbery continues. Much of GTA IV felt kinda scaled back but this mission is absolutely everything that makes the series so great. It’s worth playing the game just for this mission alone.
3. End of the Line (San Andreas)
Another finale and the best of the series so far. The conclusion to CJ's story wasn't going to be anything but epic and the closing moments really ended the game perfectly. It had mass shoot outs, stealing a SWAT tank, dealing with a former ally turned enemy and even chasing after a fire truck with your brother hanging off the back. The demise of Officer Frank Tenpenny was apt for what he had done to the city and wrapped up the saga nicely. Epic, exciting, fun and worth the wait, a finale has never felt this good.
2. Black Project (San Andreas)
I love this mission so much. If flying to Liberty City was creative then how about breaking into Area 69 and acquiring a top secret government project? Given by The Truth who specialises in epic missions this was undoubtedly his finest hour. After a nice choice of either sneaking into the facility unnoticed or going in all guns blazing, you find exactly what you were looking for. And it turns out to be a fully working jetpack. Nowadays it would be out of place and something more suited to Saint's Row but at the time it was something that Rockstar do still do, completely and utterly unique and unexpected. Whilst another jetpack would seem weird in GTA V, who knows what will be the equivalent that surprises us all over again.
1. Breaking the Bank at Caligula's (San Andreas)
Seeing as heists are one of the main plot lines in GTA V, it was only fitting that the biggest and best heist in GTA history topped the list. Robbing from stores or banks is cool but nothing beats breaking into a huge casino from Las Venturas. Once again you had to meticulously plan the job beforehand and then it was all the fun of executing the job. The getaway included jumping off the roof as police choppers surround you and parachuting to safely before fleeing in your own chopper. This heist was so good and will be hard to beat in GTA V, it really makes me think that the team will look to steal outside of Los Santos for a really big final payday.
Those are just some of the best missions ever and in reality there were many more that could have made the cut. Vice City had all the film studio missions which were incredibly creative such as dropping fliers over the city in a dodo. Or driving a limo transporting Lovefist which had a bomb on board. Also San Andreas had the craziness including burying men alive in a portable toilets by pouring cement over the top, Zero's RC missions in his ongoing battle with Berkley or stealing the 'green goo' for The Truth using your new jetpack.
With GTA V on the horizon, we have even more features lined up including some predictions on what may transpire in the new game. If you missed any of the previous features you'll find the links at the bottom so you better get ready as the next generation of Grand Theft Auto will soon be amongst us.
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Top 10 Grand Theft Auto Characters
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Grand Theft Auto Online Gameplay Video Analysis
