- 966
Hey, I got 100% in Vice City without any cheats. I thought Id share that and give some tips/findings, if anyones interested. Ill avoid giving any main story line spoilers, but there might be a few smaller ones. So, if you dont want to know anything about the game, dont read any further. Ill mark ones where something minor could be giving away at the beginning, in caps.
GETTING 100%: You have to do a lot to get 100%. In addition to the main and side missions, there are a lot of other tasks to be done. Several races, both with other vehicles and through checkpoints (some RC ones, too), find all 100 hidden packages, complete all rampages and unique jumps, buy all available property (assets and hideouts) and compete their tasks, level 12 vigilante, fire and ambulance missions, drop off 100 passengers in a taxi. And (this is what took me a while to figure out), score a 45 on the shooting gallery. For that, therell be a mission that puts you there. Once you do it, go back to the location and try to get a 45. It aint easy.
HIDDEN PACKAGES: Finding these is a lot tougher than in GTA3. Theyre also green and can be harder to spot. Also, the rewards for every 10 are a bit different from GTA3. You still mostly get weapons at the hideout(s), but, for instance, you never get a sub-machine gun, and they dont show up at every hideout. (But some hideouts spawn their own weapons, too.)
HEALTH AND THE HOOKER TRICK, ETC. This is different from GTA3. In short, when you save your game, you get your full health back, which is nice. Youll still need to pick up body armor, though. However, if you got used to using the hooker trick in GTA 3 and saving with 125 health, it wont work in this one. The trick will still get you to 125, but when you save, itll take you back down to 100. (Or another amount awarded for other tasks)
RAMPAGES: I dont care much for the rampages in either GTA3 or Vice City. There are more of them in VC, but most didnt seem as hard to me. And, if you fail it, itll stay in the same location. I had trouble with a couple of them simply because enough targets didnt spawn. But if you put the weapon down and run around, more seem to show up.
LOSING WEAPONS WITH RAMPAGES: I found that, after doing some rampages, I lost weapons, so I looked at Game FAQs to find out why. If you have the game, you know that you can only have one of each type of weapon. The rampages, though, give you a weapon with unlimited ammo. But, say you have the SPAZ-12 shotgun (like I did), but dont have it selected. Hit a rampage where you use a lesser shotgun and youll find, after its over, your shotgun is gone, too. BUT, if you have the shotgun selected before you hit the rampage, youll still have it after its over, along with some extra ammo. Seems like a glitch. Anyway, it lead me to resort to Game FAQs when I found a rampage, so Id know what to have selected before I hit it.
UNIQUE JUMPS: I really like these things. Again, there are more of them in VC, and several are much harder to find, especially since some are in places that can only be reached by motorcycle. There are a couple of combo jumps, too. You have to keep your speed up from the first jump to hit the second. I had gotten all but three, and then went nuts trying to figure out where the other ones were. And, yeah, I took a look at Game FAQs. It turned out, two of the three Id thought Id hit but didnt (I might have gotten busted and re-loaded the game). I started a new game to figure out where you had to land on ones I thought I might have missedthat can be tough on some of themthen went back to the other game, hit them the same way, I got it.
GANGS HATING YOU; SPOILER ALERT. OK, read further only if you want to know how far you can get before doing stuff becomes tough. In short, pretty far. I was cautious of this throughout the game, but, unlike GTA3 where nearly every gang hates you, that doesnt really happen in Vice City. Without giving too much away, as you progress through the game, youll know which gangs are really going at it. And if you take a mission similar to Blow Fish in GTA3, where the gang will see you and know what you did, theyll come after you when its over. This was one of the last things I did. Id failed it, earlier and held off on it. Even then, though, it takes them longer to notice you. One of the bizarre things in GTA3 was, no matter how fast you were buzzing through an area, any gang member pissed at you would start shooting. In Vice City, it seems to take them a few seconds to see you and realize who you are. But, if youre, say, wearing a rival gang outfit, theyll notice you a lot quicker (even if you havent upset them yet).
HIDEOUTS; MINOR SPOILER ALERT. You start with a hideout that doesnt have a garage and have to buy the rest of them. Well, theres another you get as you progress through the game. Some have garages, some are just save points. If you want any advice in this area, I think Hyman Condos (what a name) is the best to get, so if youre low on cash, wait for the second island to open and snag it. Its on your map. It has garages aplenty (although Ive had stuff disappear from the four-car garage), weapons gotten by finding unique packages are spawned there, along with a helicopter. Its tough to find, though. Its near the stadium and an Ammu-nation. If you find Tacopolypse, youll see an alley across the street with a couple of barricades and a police bribe just beyond them. Go in that alley and youll see the icon you can use to buy the place.
A FEW FUN THINGS: You can go back into a lot of the buildings that open up after missions. You can look around Phils trailer, for instance, and check out his décor. Its also fun to see how much stuff changes in the two hideouts you dont have to buy as you progress through the game. And find Tommys kind of a slob. Like GTA3, there are puns and jokes about everywhere you look. I also found a Pogo The Monkey arcade game, along with a Degeneratron. And Fernandos back on the radio! You cant do anything with them, just spot em. You also meet a couple GTA3 characters in their earlier days. One thing, though, if you go back into the building where the last Malibu Club mission sent you, be careful how far you go.
I think Ive rambled enough. Hope this might help someone. You can send me a message if you want any tips or anything, too, so I avoid posting any major spoilers on the boards.
GETTING 100%: You have to do a lot to get 100%. In addition to the main and side missions, there are a lot of other tasks to be done. Several races, both with other vehicles and through checkpoints (some RC ones, too), find all 100 hidden packages, complete all rampages and unique jumps, buy all available property (assets and hideouts) and compete their tasks, level 12 vigilante, fire and ambulance missions, drop off 100 passengers in a taxi. And (this is what took me a while to figure out), score a 45 on the shooting gallery. For that, therell be a mission that puts you there. Once you do it, go back to the location and try to get a 45. It aint easy.
HIDDEN PACKAGES: Finding these is a lot tougher than in GTA3. Theyre also green and can be harder to spot. Also, the rewards for every 10 are a bit different from GTA3. You still mostly get weapons at the hideout(s), but, for instance, you never get a sub-machine gun, and they dont show up at every hideout. (But some hideouts spawn their own weapons, too.)
HEALTH AND THE HOOKER TRICK, ETC. This is different from GTA3. In short, when you save your game, you get your full health back, which is nice. Youll still need to pick up body armor, though. However, if you got used to using the hooker trick in GTA 3 and saving with 125 health, it wont work in this one. The trick will still get you to 125, but when you save, itll take you back down to 100. (Or another amount awarded for other tasks)
RAMPAGES: I dont care much for the rampages in either GTA3 or Vice City. There are more of them in VC, but most didnt seem as hard to me. And, if you fail it, itll stay in the same location. I had trouble with a couple of them simply because enough targets didnt spawn. But if you put the weapon down and run around, more seem to show up.
LOSING WEAPONS WITH RAMPAGES: I found that, after doing some rampages, I lost weapons, so I looked at Game FAQs to find out why. If you have the game, you know that you can only have one of each type of weapon. The rampages, though, give you a weapon with unlimited ammo. But, say you have the SPAZ-12 shotgun (like I did), but dont have it selected. Hit a rampage where you use a lesser shotgun and youll find, after its over, your shotgun is gone, too. BUT, if you have the shotgun selected before you hit the rampage, youll still have it after its over, along with some extra ammo. Seems like a glitch. Anyway, it lead me to resort to Game FAQs when I found a rampage, so Id know what to have selected before I hit it.
UNIQUE JUMPS: I really like these things. Again, there are more of them in VC, and several are much harder to find, especially since some are in places that can only be reached by motorcycle. There are a couple of combo jumps, too. You have to keep your speed up from the first jump to hit the second. I had gotten all but three, and then went nuts trying to figure out where the other ones were. And, yeah, I took a look at Game FAQs. It turned out, two of the three Id thought Id hit but didnt (I might have gotten busted and re-loaded the game). I started a new game to figure out where you had to land on ones I thought I might have missedthat can be tough on some of themthen went back to the other game, hit them the same way, I got it.
GANGS HATING YOU; SPOILER ALERT. OK, read further only if you want to know how far you can get before doing stuff becomes tough. In short, pretty far. I was cautious of this throughout the game, but, unlike GTA3 where nearly every gang hates you, that doesnt really happen in Vice City. Without giving too much away, as you progress through the game, youll know which gangs are really going at it. And if you take a mission similar to Blow Fish in GTA3, where the gang will see you and know what you did, theyll come after you when its over. This was one of the last things I did. Id failed it, earlier and held off on it. Even then, though, it takes them longer to notice you. One of the bizarre things in GTA3 was, no matter how fast you were buzzing through an area, any gang member pissed at you would start shooting. In Vice City, it seems to take them a few seconds to see you and realize who you are. But, if youre, say, wearing a rival gang outfit, theyll notice you a lot quicker (even if you havent upset them yet).
HIDEOUTS; MINOR SPOILER ALERT. You start with a hideout that doesnt have a garage and have to buy the rest of them. Well, theres another you get as you progress through the game. Some have garages, some are just save points. If you want any advice in this area, I think Hyman Condos (what a name) is the best to get, so if youre low on cash, wait for the second island to open and snag it. Its on your map. It has garages aplenty (although Ive had stuff disappear from the four-car garage), weapons gotten by finding unique packages are spawned there, along with a helicopter. Its tough to find, though. Its near the stadium and an Ammu-nation. If you find Tacopolypse, youll see an alley across the street with a couple of barricades and a police bribe just beyond them. Go in that alley and youll see the icon you can use to buy the place.
A FEW FUN THINGS: You can go back into a lot of the buildings that open up after missions. You can look around Phils trailer, for instance, and check out his décor. Its also fun to see how much stuff changes in the two hideouts you dont have to buy as you progress through the game. And find Tommys kind of a slob. Like GTA3, there are puns and jokes about everywhere you look. I also found a Pogo The Monkey arcade game, along with a Degeneratron. And Fernandos back on the radio! You cant do anything with them, just spot em. You also meet a couple GTA3 characters in their earlier days. One thing, though, if you go back into the building where the last Malibu Club mission sent you, be careful how far you go.
I think Ive rambled enough. Hope this might help someone. You can send me a message if you want any tips or anything, too, so I avoid posting any major spoilers on the boards.
