Grand Theft Auto VI is just around the corner, and many fans are yearning to relive their favorite moments from previous iterations before the hotly anticipated title lands on store shelves!
Though each title is a separate and breathtaking experience, there is one thing that connects them: rage-inducing missions. From being sent on a citywide rampage to the notorious RC missions, there's at least one mission that each player dreads the most. This is a short list of the most popular, ranked from hard to nearly impossible.
20. Learning to Fly (Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas)
This may not be much of a mission in terms of gameplay, but it stands in the way of advancing the plot, which is why it qualifies and lands itself on the list. To obtain your pilot's license, you must complete a series of menial tests in a flight simulator.
The hardest ones that contribute to the difficulty are Barrel Roll and Loop-the-Loop. The awkward camera angles of the stunt plane make completing these two tests a pain. The addition of having to use a helicopter to shoot moving targets compounds the difficulty in this already infuriating mission.
19. N.O.E (Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas)
This is where you must put your newfound flying skills to the ultimate test. You have ten minutes to deliver a shipment of supplies deep in the countryside and land back at the airfield, all while keeping a keen eye on your altitude.
There are multiple obstacles in your path along the way, and one wrong move can destroy your plane, which in turn will force you to try it all over again.
18. Waka Gashira Wipeout (Grand Theft Auto III)
What brings down real estate prices better than a good gang war? This mission requires you to camouflage yourself as a member of the Colombian Cartel and kill Kenji Kasen to start a feud with the Yakuza.
You have to steal a Cartel Cruiser and head over to the multi-story car park, where other gang members are congregating, each brandishing a powerful machine gun that can destroy your vehicle in a couple of seconds. Despite being vulnerable to a hail of bullets, you cannot step out of the car at any point during the assassination, as that will only end in mission failure.
17. Wrong Side of the Tracks (Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas)
This mission has one main objective: to chase down a moving train so Big Smoke can shoot at a few gang members onboard. The problem resides in the short amount of time you have to complete the task, the countless obstacles you need to avoid, and Smoke's terrible accuracy with his weapon of choice.
These famous words will forever be embedded into the minds of many: "All we had to do was follow the damn train, CJ!"
16. New Model Army (Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas)
Belonging to what is easily one of the most hated mission strands in the game, New Model Army is one of the most difficult missions throughout the game. Though the premise is unique, the execution is anything but flawless. You must maneuver the Goblin around a small battle arena, taking out multiple enemies and removing obstacles that block the path of Zero's RC Bandit.
You have eight minutes to infiltrate Berkley's base, which is made incredibly difficult by an enemy helicopter that will do anything to hinder your progress. There are also small tanks peppered throughout the landscape, ready and willing to attack the Bandit. With a fragile health span, Zero's RC car will go up in flames with just a few well-placed shots. The bright side? After this mission is completed, this particularly infuriating mission strand is finally over.
15. Rigged to Blow (Grand Theft Auto III)
D-Ice, leader of the Red Jacks, learns that his car is rigged with a bomb. The task is to take the vehicle to a garage in Portland within six minutes to get it defused. However, the car's slippery handling and acceleration become a deadly combination.
Bumping into ANYTHING at the right speed will cause the vehicle to explode, making the mission one of the most difficult in the game and the entire series.
14. Three Leaf Clover (Grand Theft Auto IV)
Bank robbery missions have always held some of the most memorable moments in any Grand Theft Auto game, and Three Leaf Clover is no exception. You head to the Bank of Liberty with your crew, looking for monetary gain through nefarious means. The job doesn't go as planned, forcing you to partake in a fierce firefight with the police that await you outside.
After mowing through several cops, you make a hasty retreat down into the subway system, where more law enforcement await. You retreat further into the subway tunnel with what's left of your crew before being tasked with losing a three-star wanted level once you reach street level again. One wrong move and you will end up outside the nearest hospital or police station, forcing you to start the mission from the beginning.
13. Turn on, Tune in, Bug out (Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories)
As a game that was originally crafted to run on portable hardware, it's quite surprising to see a mission this difficult or of this magnitude. You are given the objective of destroying multiple antennas that are scattered across the map before the DEA can collect enough evidence. Though the time given to complete the task is a bit intimidating, that's not what makes the mission so difficult.
After you destroy the last antenna, you are left with a five-star wanted level that you must lose to complete the mission. There are several police blockades in the vicinity, and law enforcement is relentless in their pursuit to bring you down. You must manage to avoid being run off the road while simultaneously avoiding rapid gunfire that's coming from all directions.
Some law enforcement agents wield powerful machine guns that will chew through your car's armor in a couple of seconds, making this mission nearly impossible without the use of bulletproof vehicles. These special cars will spawn outside each of your businesses after you take over every site, making the otherwise difficult mission slightly easier.
12. Demolition Man (Grand Theft Auto: Vice City)
This marks the beginning of the infamous distaste for missions featuring RC vehicles that pepper the series. Avery Carrington wants to acquire more land for development purposes, but construction of a building has already begun. The player must use an RC helicopter to bring it to the ground.
The controls for the helicopter are aggravating to say the least, making it very easy to destroy the Goblin by bumping into too many objects. It also proves to be difficult just placing the bombs. If the helicopter isn't lined up with the marker at a certain angle, you will need to pick it up and try planting it again, which will only waste precious time you need to complete the mission.
Compound all of this with construction workers and security guards looking to destroy your helicopter, and you have one of the most annoying missions in the series.
11. Bomb Da Base Act II (Grand Theft Auto III)
Serving as the penultimate mission in Portland, there are at least three abandoned save files on multiple memory cards of mine due to the difficulty of this mission. You must work with 8-Ball to destroy a boat that the Colombian Cartel has turned into a drug factory. You must use a sniper rifle and clear the ship of gang members from a nearby rooftop, clearing the path for your accomplice to get onboard and plant a bomb.
The sniper rifle has very sensitive aiming on the console versions, and the game doesn't give you much time to become acclimated to the control scheme. 8-Ball will continue to push forward, regardless of whether you've cleared the path or not. If you don't act fast enough, he will run into a barrage of bullets, causing his demise and a mission failure. The reward for this mission is trivial for all the mental strain this mission causes.
10. Black Project (Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas)
Infiltrating a military base to steal a top-secret project is one of the most fun objectives of the entire series, but it comes at a cost. The player must sneak around a government facility late at night, trying to avoid searchlights and military personnel, each of whom is armed with an M4. Once inside, you have to fight your way through to the project, which turns out to be the Jet Pack.
After acquiring what you've come for, you must ascend to freedom, flying out of the launch bay that is directly above you. However, a slew of enemies will try to stop you, rendering you helpless if you don't have armor and a machine pistol. Completing this difficult task will reward you for your efforts. Shortly after completing this mission, you gain access to the Jet Pack. It will spawn outside of your airstrip safehouse for you to use, making this mission slightly less infuriating.
9. Caida Libre (Grand Theft Auto V)
Trevor and Michael must work together to shoot a plane from the sky before it has the chance to land at Los Santos International. To complete this task, you are forced to use a weapon that the game provides, which is mounted in the back of a van parked outside the Observatory.
The marker you must shoot at is small, leaving little room for error. After the plane engines fail, you are given control of Trevor and must give chase as the plane begins to descend towards the earth. There are plenty of obstacles in your way, and one wrong move will cause you to fall off your motorbike, contributing to a mission failure if the plane gets too far away.
8. Espresso-2-Go (Grand Theft Auto III)
This mission was ahead of its time, as the third iteration of this series lacked an in-game map system, making it very difficult to complete. Asuka is informed that the Cartel is using espresso stalls around the city to push Spank, an illicit street drug. There are nine stalls peppered across the map to destroy in just under 9 minutes. The map is of little use here, as the waypoints that show up don't indicate what island they're on.
The unforgiving timer can lead to your demise, as the lift bridge connecting Staunton Island and Shoreside Vale could easily take up a chunk of time if you don't utilize the Porter Tunnel. Multiple gang factions try to take a shot at you, with the biggest threat being the mafia, some of whom will be armed with shotguns. It only takes two or three shots from this gun to obliterate your vehicle, making this mission a complete nightmare for new players of the series and veterans alike.
7. Did Somebody Say Yoga? (Grand Theft Auto V)
Yoga, by design, is supposed to promote better health and relaxation. This particular mission, which introduces it as a pastime, does the exact opposite. Michael is invited to join Amanda and her instructor for a yoga session. Though there isn't much in terms of combat during the mission, it does little to make the player feel centered when it comes to completing a handful of poses.
There are three stretches to do, which require the use of the controller's analog sticks on the console versions of the game. The abhorrent sensitivity is what makes it extremely difficult to complete each stretch. If your thumbs shift ever so slightly, you will need to attempt the stretch again. After three unsuccessful attempts, you will fail the mission. The only thing that gives this mission a pass is the option to skip if you fail a few times in a row.
6. Love Juice (Grand Theft Auto: Vice City)
This mission is one that players love to hate, and lands itself on this list due to the infamous time limit. The band Love Fist is looking to score a unique drug called Love Juice, and a local dealer can provide you with what you're looking for.
However, he takes off with the drugs and the money, and you must chase him down to recover them. Kent Paul will then give you a call, and your updated objective is to collect Mercedes Cortez from her apartment. After picking her up, you have one minute and thirty seconds to get back to the recording studio.
If you are driving a motorbike, it is very easy to crash into objects, causing you to fall off and almost always fail the mission when the timer runs out. Even though you can use a vehicle to complete this mission, many shortcuts to get back quicker won't be accessible.
5. Messing With The Man (Grand Theft Auto: Vice City)
There's just something alluring and strangely refreshing about being able to go anywhere and do anything you want in a virtual open world. Vice City is no exception, and one thing many players enjoyed most about it was being able to tear through the streets on their own accord, driving erratically and wreaking havoc. However, with this mission, the dream becomes an awful nightmare.
Mitch Baker, the leader of a local biker gang, is requested to provide security at an upcoming Love Fist concert. However, he will refuse to do it until Tommy can prove himself through a string of missions. This one in particular is the worst of them all. You are given two minutes to fill the chaos meter that appears at the top of your screen. To do this, you need to cause as much chaos as possible.
Gunning down people and destroying any vehicles nearby are good ways to go about completing this task. However, you have to keep a keen eye on your wanted level. At some point along your reign of terror, S.W.A.T. teams show up, depending on your wanted status. There isn't anywhere that provides cover in the immediate vicinity, leaving you open and vulnerable to gunfire. After finally completing this atrocious mission, you are left to lose the wanted level accrued. This is easily one of the most notorious and aggravating moments in the entire history of the Grand Theft Auto series.
4. Air Raid (Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas)
Zero is arguably the most annoying in the series to date due to his nearly impossible mission strand. Air Raid forces you to use a mounted minigun to shoot RC Barons from the sky before they have the chance to destroy nearby transmitters. You must withstand three minutes of attacks, though it isn't that simple.
The miniature airplanes increase in quantity over time, and will come from all directions to drop bombs at the base of each transmitter. If all transmitters are destroyed before the timer hits zero, the mission will fail. This is a prime example of why players harbor such disdain for missions that incorporate the usage of RC vehicles.
3. Kingdom Come (Grand Theft Auto III)
This mission is next to impossible if you don't go into it with full health, armor, and plenty of sniper rifle ammo. You are lured into a trap upon collecting a car for King Courtney, leader of the Yardies on Staunton Island. Enemies with bombs strapped to their chests will swoop in from all directions with the sole intent of taking you out. The mission is only completed after destroying all the vans that act as their spawn points, and the last of the suicide bombers is dealt with.
This mission lands itself at this spot on the list due to the plethora of enemies that spawn at one time, combined with how you're exposed in an open area upon gaining control of the character. If one bomber comes into contact with you, the explosive will detonate, sending you to the ground. One or two explosions are all it takes to send you to the hospital, causing a mission failure. The only way to complete this mission is by using the sniper rifle from afar to keep the suicide bombers away from you.
2. Supply Lines (Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas)
The penultimate mission on this list justifiably earns its spot due to the infamous fuel gauge. You need to pilot an RC airplane around San Fierro to track down and eliminate a few enemies that are each in a different part of town. The fuel gauge acts as a timer, and the mission will fail if the bar empties before you land the plane back on the rooftop safely.
The fuel dissipates quickly, and the only way to make the mission a success is by constantly letting off the gas, allowing the plane to glide instead. This mission is much easier in later releases of the game, though the original PS2 version is nearly impossible to complete.
1. The Driver (Grand Theft Auto: Vice City)
Widely believed to be the most difficult mission in the entire series, The Driver is a mission that the developers made more complicated than it needed to be. You need to recruit Hilary King as a driver for your bank heist crew, but he will only agree if you can beat him in a street race. The odds are stacked against you from the start, as your opponent drives a Sabre Turbo, while you're put behind the wheel of a Sentinel.
This isn't the only disadvantage you have, as you will receive a wanted level shortly after the race begins. Numerous police cars will try to ram you off the road, and hitting a single obstacle can cause you to fail the mission. You must keep your vehicle at top speed for the duration of the race if you even want a slim chance at winning. This mission is among the elite when it comes to difficult missions, and is the cause of many abandoned save files!
Are there any missions you despise in the Grand Theft Auto series? Let us know in the comments section!