The Grand Theft Auto franchise is known for its love of violence, controversy, and non-stop action. However, along the way, there have been a couple of missions that slowed the pace down way too much or forced players to waste their time completing mundane tasks. Fortunately, there aren't too many examples, and the vast majority of Grand Theft Auto missions are a blast.
Gamers can look forward to Grand Theft Auto 6, which is confirmed to be in development. The game comes at a time when Rockstar is reportedly undergoing significant changes to its internal culture. It has yet to be seen how the new Rockstar that has emerged will handle GTA 6, and whether the highly anticipated game will be able to supply gamers with the fun missions they have come to expect from the series.
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas - Photo Opportunity
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas is one of the most fondly remembered titles in the series for several reasons. It introduced many new features, including the ability to drastically alter CJ's appearance by making him work out or overeat. The game tells the story of a gangster who returns to his hometown to discover his neighborhood ruined by drugs, rival gangs, and corrupt police.
San Andreas is a sprawling playground consisting of three islands, and as players complete missions, more of the map is filled with activities. Missions are varied, with some involving gang wars and others taking CJ into restricted government areas to retrieve military technology. Though most missions are adrenaline-raising, there are a few duds, with the worst perhaps being "Photo Opportunity."
CJ and Cesar are tracking some Ballas to find out what they're up to. They travel to Angel Pine and hide on a rooftop where they witness a couple of Ballas arrive and meet up with other criminal figures. CJ snaps a few pictures, and the mission ends with him and Cesar saying they'll link up again later. Like most boring GTA missions, the big flaw is that it involves a ton of driving and players aren't rewarded with anything particularly fun at the end of the journey. Though the mission introduces an important plot point, it is one that most players probably wish they could skip.
Grand Theft Auto 3 - Mike Lips Last Lunch
Grand Theft Auto 3 is the title that revolutionized open-world gaming and turned the franchise into an unavoidable phenomenon. At the time, its 3D open world pushed the limits of what people thought was possible, and the violence on display also drew a considerable amount of controversy. Nevertheless, it laid a great foundation for what would become one of gaming's most successful series.
GTA 3 follows Claude as he seeks revenge after being double-crossed. His quest has him working for criminal underworld bosses in the grimy streets of Liberty City, though Claude doesn't seem to mind murder. In the mission "Mike Lips Last Lunch," Claude is instructed by Joey Leone to rig Mike Forelli's car with explosives. To do this, Claude has to steal the car and drive very carefully, as any damage to the car will raise suspicion, and once he has the vehicle rigged, a significant impact may cause the explosives to go off. Slow and careful driving is never much fun in GTA, and the temptation to speed is hard to avoid. Consequently, the mission winds up feeling like a chore.
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas - Snail Trail
GTA: SA ends up with two entries, though this certainly does not mean that it is a boring game overall, as it features 100 main missions. Some bad ideas did make the game's final cut, and some of them can be found in the mission "Snail Trail" which has the dishonor of being both boring and easy to fail. Though players get to do a bit of murdering, to get there takes some tedious work.
CJ is tasked with killing a pair of journalists who could uncover the corruption going on at C.R.A.S.H. To do this, he has to retrieve a sniper, and tactfully eliminate the journalists without being seen. CJ follows the first journalist around town, though he cannot get too close or else he'll blow his cover. To help, the game presents a Spook-o-Meter to let players know if their target is getting suspicious. The mission is far longer than it needs to be, and there is not much fun to be had trailing someone from a distance. Unfortunately, it is not the last time the "follow from a safe distance" mission structure is used in the GTA series.
Grand Theft Auto 5 - Scouting the Port
With a total of 69 main missions, GTA 5 is shorter than most of its predecessors. Consequently, it avoids a lot of filler content, though this doesn't mean that a few boring missions don't find their way into the game. Perhaps the most notorious one is "Scouting the Port" which is centered on GTA's notorious Trevor Philips. Despite being one of the wackiest characters ever introduced, he is forced to complete rather mundane tasks that aren't fun for either him or the player.
The GTA 5 mission has players driving a reach stacker and using it to move shipping containers from one end of the docks to the other. Following this, more containers need to be moved onto a truck, though players use a crane for this segment of the mission. After Trevor snaps some photos of the ship being guarded by Merryweather Security, he and his partner in crime, Floyd, take a loaded tractor-trailer to Los Santos Naval Port, where Trevor retrieves the briefcase containing the shipping manifest he is seeking.
Overall, it is a rather dull mission without much action. Players are forced to go through the mundane responsibilities of a shipping dockworker, and while it does serve as a break from the usual high-risk GTA missions players are thrown into, the boring tasks which must be completed aren't particularly relaxing or interesting. Fortunately, the mission doesn't last for too long, allowing players to get back to raising mayhem on the streets.
Rockstar has a long history of games to look back on to craft the best missions and ensure that GTA 6 only enhances the franchise's legacy. After a recent leak, players have gotten a glimpse of the game, and it appears that prior reports were correct in stating that it will feature a female protagonist inspired by Bonnie and Clyde. This could open the door for some interesting GTA 6 heists and storylines.
Grand Theft Auto 6 is currently in development.