Mission Improbable

As I've said before in previous posts, the best way to earn money and rank up in GTA:Online is to complete missions, preferably with a group. But what exactly do these missions entail?
Basically they follow two either of two basic objectives, kill the target(s) and capture the object. This makes them sound a bit repetitive, in fact Rockstar have done a great job here in making the variation of missions enough to keep the challenge exciting and to keep you interest, with the open world you can complete the same mission in multiple ways. Take one mission where you are tasked with killing a group of Bikers who are doing a deal at the cemetery. You could either work as a team clearing them row by row, or go in guns blazing with a Combat MG, snipe them from afar or, if you have access, rain down death from the sky in your Buzzard Attack Helicopter.

Sometimes though, you may find yourselves in the game without any friends, what to do then? Well you could either try and jump into a lobby with some randoms, however in my experience chaos normally ensues (as does teamkilling/griefing) or you could complete some missions solo. You don't earn as much, but you can take it at your own pace and learn the setup. Many of the missions are launchable as party of one. However some that say they can be completed without a team are actually impossible without some major skill/luck. Enough of the chat, let's actually have a look at some of my personal favourite missions.
 

Death Metal

This is one of the earliest missions unlocked for you to launch in GTA:Online (you can be invited to join any mission by another player but you can only launch them once you have reached the required level)

In Death Metal you are tasked by Gerald to head to Roger's Scrapyard and to steal a package from the Ballas. As expected a nice simple mission to ease you in early on. Once you get to the scrapyard the enemies tend to split their forces, half take up cover around the scrapyard whilst the other half try to rush out. My advice, stay in cover against the outer wall and kill the Ballas as they come past it in a nice single file. If there's more than one of you split your forces, at least one on either side of the entrance and if possible one and the far side of the road. Once the rushers are down move in and stick to cover. Do not be tempted to destroy the cars as you run the risk of destroying the package. Once all are dead grab the package and make your way to Geralds apartment to drop off and collect your hard earned cash.

Difficulty rating - 4/10
Few enemies and a short distance to the drop off make this a very easy beginners mission. Easily soloable.
1-4 Players

A Titan of a Job

One of the missions I most enjoy in GTA:Online. You are tasked by Lester to head to Los Santos International Airport and steal a Titan cargo plane from Merryweather Security, a private military company (mercenaries). This missions has many challenges, first and foremost getting onto the airport as none of the gates will open for you! Either fly in using a helicopter or try and find and unconventional route in with your car. Once at the hanger you'll need to eliminate the guards, unlike in Death Metal where most of the goons just carried pistols and they were lightly armored, in this mission they're armored and carry rifles so go slow. To take them out again multiple options are available to you. Either go slow and steady on the ground and use sniper rifles to their full, or work together in a Buzzard and get door gunners to help. Beware if you want to use the Buzzards rockets that you don't inadvertently destroy the Titan. Once all goons are defeated you'll need to first move the lorry parked up at the front, at least one player will then need to get to the Titan and take off and head for Sandy Shores Airfield out in the desert, all you need to do then is land the plane and it's mission complete.

Difficulty rating - 6/10
Solid enemies in good cover.
1-6 Players

Extradition

This mission is intense, multiple objectives and multiple ways of going about them. Firstly the brief. Martin Madrazo needs you to silence a witness that the government is trying to get out the country. Is he departing from LS International? No. Sandy Shores maybe? No. Fort Zancudo... That's right we start this mission by breaking into the military base! Once in there's hostiles everywhere! It's a military base what else were you expecting??? Once you get near the cargo plane, if you don't get it quick it will take off and follow the coast north and you'll need to get a Fighter Jet to chase it down. Once you've brought the plane down you'd of thought that was the end of the mission right? Wrong! You get a message from Martin saying the witness has given evidence to an attorney who, guess what, you now have to kill! You'll have to chase him down the freeway and get him before he gets to City Hall or it's Mission Failed. Once he's dead lose the cops and head to Martin's house to hand in the mission.

There is another way of completing this mission that I discovered by accident, but that would be telling ;-)

Difficulty rating - 8/10
You've got to raid the military base for crying out loud!.
1-6 Players

High Priority Case

Another Lester mission, this time he asks you to recover some security system plans from downtown LS. Sounds straightforward enough until you learn the exchange is on top of one of the skyscrapers! This is a mission where up to 4 players can participate so I'll describe as though you've got a full lobby. Firstly one of you party calls in a Buzzard (if owned), all four of you then hop in, he'll firstly airlift the person in the front passsenger seat to the top of the nearby, taller, tower from where they will snipe at the targets. The pilot will then use his rockets to assist in killing targets whilst trying to provide a good angle for his two door gunners who hopefully both have MG's. Once a landing zone is secure the pilot will bring it in and drop off the two door gunners. Whilst the engine is kept warm the gunners take out the remaining hostiles and collect the plans and return to the chopper for a speedy exit. At this point the sniper can switch try to take out the enemy helicopter which is making a run at the rest of the crew. Get the plans to Lesters warehouse and it's money in the bank!

Difficulty rating - 6/10
Hostiles in tight cover and hard to spot, good distance to travel if the helicopter's lost.
1-4 Players

The Los Santos Connection

One the greatest missions in GTA:Online, multiple locations and multiple objectives you really have to work as a team to pull off, what is quite possibly the longest and most difficult mission in the game. I won't say too much here as I'll double the length of this post!But it is a mission that's well worth a look if you feel up to the challenge!

Difficulty rating - 10/10
Are we there yet!
1-6 Players

Well i can't possibly finish off this post without mentioning the PC trailer released on Friday that looks glorious! One more week to go folks!

Grand Theft Auto V - PC Trailer

We're going to need guns, lot of guns!

Los Santos isn't exactly the safest place to live so your going to want to defend yourself, and in America that means getting a gun, or this case 30+ guns!
Luckily for you Los Santos & Blaine County have multiple branches of everyone's favourite store, Ammu-Nation.

Ammu-Nation

From pistols to grenade launchers, Ammu-Nation has all the personal defence and hunting supplies you'll need.

As you move through the ranks of GTA:Online you'll unlock more and more weapons to add to your arsenal, from the Micro SMG at Level 5 to the Minigun at Level 120.
As well as unlockin new weapons, you can also unlock modificaitions that you can use to improve your weapons, however, not all the weapons have all the modifications and some have none.
The modifications include;

• Extended clip/magazine - doubles clip size
• Silencer - improves stealth but reduces damage
• Scope/Improved Scope
• Flashlight
• Grip - Improves accuracy

As with the cars, there are different classes of weapons with the ammunition being shared between them (i.e the ammunition you buy for your assault rifle can also be used by your carbine)

Another thing to bear in mind is your shooting stat. As this increases either by skilled shooting in missions/deathmathes or by paying a visit to a shooting range at select Ammu-Nation stores. As this stat increases you suffer less from recoil, your accuracy will improve and you will be able to carry more ammunition. Very useful for those long missions.

Enough talk, lets have a look at the weapons shall we?

Pistols

Here we see Mr Treets sporting the standard pistol with an extended clip. The pistol is the first weapon you'll get in GTA:Online, given to you free by Lamar Davies, it doesn't do much damage and has a small clip, with an average rate of fire and accuracy. It can be fitted with an extended clip (as shown)  as well as a silencer and a flashlight.

As part of the Special Edition (yes i got the special enough of the judging!) there were 3 exclusive weapons. All of which will be available on PC. One of these exclusive weapons is the Pistol .50 (shown above). It features a slightly smaller clip than the standard pistol but with a much greater damage and accuracy. Also shown is one of the many skins you can  recolour your weapons.

Shotguns

Another of the special edition weapons is the Bullpup Shotgun, as with most shotguns it deals high damage at low range. The Bullpup Shotgun features a small clip which cannot be extended, it also boasts a good rate of fire. With mine I have chosen to fit it with a grip to improve accuracy as well as a silencer. (Trust me it sounds awesome!) It has has been coloured with the Army tint.

The Heavy Shotgun features higher damage with a lower rate of fire than the Bullpup Shotgun. It can also be fitted with a Grip, Flashlight, Silencer and an extended clip. Oh and it looks awesome with the Platinum tint applied!

Automatic Weapons

The Assault SMG (yes it's a P90) is an excellent weapon for use by a skilled gunman in close quarters combat with multiple hostiles. Low damage (similar to a pistol!) but with an excellent rate of fire and a good clip size makes for a good dps in total. Here I have fitted it with a scope and extended clip, it can also be fitted with a silencer if you wish.

The AK47, sorry the Assault Rifle is one of the first automatic rifles you will gain access to (unlocked at level 24).  Featuring good all round stats, it is a solid choice for a primary weapon in most missions. Shown here fitted with an extended clip, scope and grip. It can also be fitted with a silencer and flashlight.

The Special Carbine was a DLC weapon added in early on to GTA:V. A much better rifle in all respects to the Assault Rifle, it excels in extended firefights with multiple hostiles over a moderate range. Fitted to this is a scope, grip and extended clip with once again an option for a flashlight and silencer.

Once you get to Level 50 you unlock the first of the truly big guns. The MG. With a huge clip, excellent rate of fire and range, with good damage. The MG is the survivalists weapons of choice against waves of enemies. One excellent feature of the MG is the use of it by a passenger on the sides of some helicopters, notably the Buzzard Attack Helicopter!

Now this is a weapon which I don't know if it will be available to first time players. The Gusenburg Sweeper was a time limited weapon on PS3, only available for a weekend. Modelled on the classic Tommy Gun of the 1930's it's excellent fun to play around with and can be fitted with an extended magazine.

Rifles

The most basic of the Rifles but in skilled hands one of the most lethal, the Marksman Rifle features a fixed scope but a much faster rate of fire. (as fast as you can pull the trigger!)

The classic Sniper Rifle. Capable of being fitted with an Advanced Scope, silencer and extended clip. It is a vital part of your arsenal. Deadly, especially when you go off the radar! They'll never see you coming

Special Weapons

One of my favourites in destruction, the Grenade Launcher. The satisfying pop as you press the trigger followed by warm fiery goodness as the bad guys (or good guys, remember this is GTA!) spontaneously combust! Fitted here with a grip and scope, it can also be fitted with a flashlight in case the flames of your first shot don't provide enough light!

At Level 100 you get the ulitmate in long range freedom. The RPG (a homing version was also added in a DLC which Mr Treets is very fond of using to destroy the package you need to collect in some missions!)

A low ammo count, with a high cost per rocket, means it is best used sparingly. But when it is used let me give you a piece of advice, stand well clear...

There are a lot more weapons I could talk about, and I realise I haven't mentioned throwables at all! But I'm going to leave it there for this week. Once again any questions drop me a message!

Huge thanks to Mr Treets for his help in getting the photos for this weeks blog post!

Still to come;

• Missions and what to expect.
• Messing around in Freeroam

Planes, Trains & Automobiles

Grand Theft Auto. It's the name of the game and that means cars, lots of them, in every shape and size you can imagine. From American muscle heavyweights to European carbon fibre supercars, from dirt bikes to SUV's, there's the perfect car for everyone, and for those of you that are choosy you can keep up to 30 personal vehicles. one for every occasion.

With the amount of Vehicles in this game this is going to be a long post but please bear with me.

For starters for physics of the game itself. Handling in GTA:V is very different from that of GTA:IV. For starters they actually drive like cars not boats, (for the most part, JB700 i'm looking at you!) the handling is also extremely intuitive and frustration free!

All cars also have a range of upgrades and modifications that can be applied to them at Los Santos Customs to fully customise your car to how you want it. However when you start out most will be locked. Some parts, mostly cosmetic, will be level locked (Such as spoilers and exhausts). However other parts are locked until you win a certain number of races. These parts are items like engine and brake upgrades as well as fitting a Turbo. What has become standard practice in GTA:Online however is for 2 players to team up and trade race wins on a quick race to get those elusive parts.

There are numerous different classes of car in GTA:V each with their own characteristics.
Below are some of the main types of cars in GTA:V

• Sports
• Super
• Muscle
• Coupe
• Compact
• Sedan
• Sports Classic
• SUV
• Off-Road

Sports

Sports cars in GTA:V are amongst the most varied with the highest number of cars in the class. For the most part car in the Sports class can be thought of as jack of all trades - master of none. Some are excellent Tuner cars, great in the corners, not so good top speed/acceleration. Others lean more towards high performance cars - excellent acceleration but turn like a boat.

Two of my personal favourites from this class are the Annis Elergy RH8 and the Dinka Jester (Racecar Edition).

The Annis Elegy RH8 can best be compared to the Nissan GTR. It's fast, light and agile, with the best handling in it's class. Fully upgraded this thing gives the Super's a run for their money at a fraction of the cost. (And what's more it's free for Social Club members).

Annis Elegy RH8

The Dinka Jester (Racecar Edition) has, in my opinion, one of the nicest sounding engines in the game. it also features the best top speed of any Sports cars and drives like it's on rails.

Dinka Jester (Racecar Edition)

Super

Once you've got some disposable income in GTA you're probably going to want a Super car. They're the ultimate speed machines on 4 wheels, but they've got the price tag to match, from $150,000 to $1,000,000! So my advice is choose wisely!

With the Supers everyone has their own favourite. Some favour the Pegassi Zentorno with it's exceptional speed and acceleration that can get round a corner, others lean towards the Overflod Entity XF with the best handling of any of the Supers, this thing corners like nothing else!

Pegassi Zentorno

Mr Treets - Zentorno With Clan Emblem

Overflod Entity XF

For me though it's got to be the Grotti Turismo R. It's not the fastest nor has it got the best handling, but what it has got is epic good looks and above all one of the nicest sounding engines going.

Grotti Turismo R

Muscle

What are the highways of California without some home grown American Steel. Muscle cars are good at doing one thing and they do it well, fast acceleration off the line and a high top speed. The only downside to this is you've got to plan for corners well in advance! In GTA:V there are both new models of muscle cars as well as the classics. It is in this class that one of the longstanding GTA classics resides. The Declasse Sabre Turbo. This car is the posterboy for the Muscle cars. Beautifully crafted and a roaring engine, You'll fall for it quick.

Declasse Sabre Turbo

I could keep going with the other classes but I think that's enough for now.

Pegasus

Besides the cars that you can find on the street and store in your garage there's a whole range of other vehicles that you can order from Pegasus Lifestyle Management that are a bit different to the 4 wheeled peasent mobiles.

There's Planes, Helicopters, Boats, Monster Trucks and Tanks!

Once you've bought the vehicle that's right for you, give Pegasus a call and for the low fee of $200 (roughly the same cost as a clip of ammo) they'll deliver your new toy to the nearest available location for you (Helicopters to Helipads, Planes to Airfields, Tanks to the Police Station!?) The best thing about Pegasus vehicles is that, if destroyed, there's no insurance to worry about. Just call them up again, one more $200 fee and a new one will be delivered to you. Pick the right one and it will pay for itself over time. For me it's the Buzzard Attack Helicopter. With lock on missiles and outstanding agility, call this in on missions and watch the world burn! Just beware if there is a package to collect though as they can be destroyed!

Pegassi Speeder

Buckingham Vestra

Rhino Tank

Nagasaki Buzzard Attack Helicopter

Well that's me done for another week! Any questions feel free to ask! 3 weeks to go folks!

Still to come

• Weapons and Mods
• Missions and what to expect
• Messing around in Freeroam

Starting out in Los Santos

When you get off the plane at Los Santos International Airport in four weeks time, things will seem a bit overwhelming. A huge city to explore, plus the surrounding towns and countryside and just the clothes on your back to your name.

Thankfully your contact in Los Santos is ready and waiting to show you the ropes.

Lamar Davis, drug dealer and gang-banger extraordinaire. A member of the Los Santos Families he'll pick you up from the airport and give you the rundown to life in the city (as well as your first pistol) Lamar gives you a lift to uptown LS and Vinewood, here he challenges you to your first race, a couple of laps around the block to see how well you drive (to be fair he doesn't drive too well so should be an easy way for $2,000). Once the race is done Lamar takes you to meet Gerald, a more established drug dealer. Whilst they have a chat Lamar expects you to go and get some new clothes, so pick up and head to a clothes store (self explantory really!)

Once you've changed into a fresh set of clothes you'll finally get an opportunity to select your first car and fit it with a tracker. Choose wisely here, this car will be with you for a while so take your time, drive around a bit and have a look what's available before you commit.

Living the American Dream

Once you've got your car and given it a nice new coat of paint you'll probably want to find somewhere out the street to park it. Time to start shopping for a safehouse then! These exist in 6 forms 2,6 or 10 car garages - with or without attached apartments. The 2 car garages start from $30,000 whilst the 10 car apartments (which you need plan heists) costs $300,000 to $500,000. You can currently own up to three different safehouses, which equates to up to 30 stored personal cars!

Climbing the Ranks

As you climb the ranks in GTA Online from a lowly rank 1 with a pop gun, you unlock more and more useful equipment that is then available for purchase, from your first automatic weapon at rank 5 to an RPG at rank 100. You also unlock new activities and new contacts who will give you access to more missions to complete. So what's the fastest way to rank up then I hear you ask? Just play the game! Contact Missions are by far the best way to rank up and are infinitely repeatable as you unlock them. What's more if you're sociable and complete missions with others and not on your own you get more reward for doing so. For every extra person taking part you earn an extra 10% Cash and RP (Reputation points - GTA's version of XP) up to 30% for 4 people taking part. As well as ranking up completing missions is the fastest way to get the cash rolling in, and as I've said before cash is king in the city of Los Santos.

In future blog posts I'll be exploring

• Vehicles and Upgrades
• Weapons and Mods
• Missions and what to expect
• Messing around in Freeroam

Grand Theft Auto V

In a little over a month the game we've all been waiting for will finally (hopefully) be released on PC

Grand Theft Auto V

Since it was originally announced over three years ago for console, I was hyped, as the release date got closer I was sniffing out every bit of information available regarding the gameplay and the story line.

However even back then delays were part of the waiting process. The original release date of May 2013 was pushed back to September, much to many peoples annoyance. But then, with less than a month to go Rockstar released the trailer below and it was decided, not only was I getting this game at launch, I was going to the midnight release. The only game I have ever done this for!

 

It was worth the wait, In less than a month I had finished my first playthrough of the Story, and what a Story! It's got everything you'd expect of a modern blockbuster and what's more, you're part of the action! The character development is so good you find yourself starting to play as how you think the characters should behave. As Micheal you tend to be a bit more cautious and rational in your behaviour, always leaning towards the slow and steady approach, checking every corner, covering every angle. As Franklin, a bit more fast and furious, adapting quickly to situations as they develop. And then there's Trevor, shoot first and don't bother with questions later, instead you shoot them again for good measure!

A month after GTA:V was released on consoles, GTA Online went live, as always these days with new online titles there were some initial teething issues (it took me three days to get past the tutorial and then my character was seemingly deleted!) But once they settled down it was a whole new game.

For starters trying to figure out whether or not you could trust other players in Freemode (you can't, end of discussion). Getting enough cash together to get yourself a safehouse and a good car, and then getting even more cash together so that you can get the apartment and car you actually want!

The best way to get cash in Los Santos (and cash is king) is through missions. These vary greatly in scope. From ambushing a drug deal at the scrap yard to taking down mercenary soldiers at the airport and stealing a military cargo plane. By yourself they're fun enough, but playing through missions with friends is another level. You start off just running around like headless chickens, not really communicating what the other is doing and then laughing when you get blown up. this quickly changes once you start to learn the others play style and how best to complete the mission. It really does feel like a team effort and when you walk away from the prize you feel a sense of achievement, especially if the mission is one that has been beating you for a while.

And this is only going to get better when Heists are released. Heists will be a series of 4 player co-op missions where you really do have to work together to come away with the big prize!

If you are looking to get GTA:V or have already preordered, and would like some more info or to join in with the Clan Wolfpack follow the links below, or find me on the Clan Teamspeak channel on a Monday or Wednesday. Until then have one more video to build the hype.

eacooperuk

http://socialclub.rockstargames.com/crew/clan_wolfpack_mafia

http://clanwolfpack.userboard.net/t379-grand-theft-auto-v