[A2 MFK]

Basically when I was playing GTA III, VC, SA & LCS i didn't know how to use cheats or that they even existed, but when I was doing VCS I cheated pretty much the whole time because I thought it was fun. Come to think of it now, the missions were made easy, and I had unlimited money, health, armour and a mini gun from minute one and it wasn't much of a chalenge.

So, i've dicided to go back and start again, doing the game properly without cheats but I was wondering if anyone could give me any tips one how to start sucessfully for example, which car would be most usefull for the garage, how to ration your money, where to find the best weapons and which empire buildings to set up.

I've looked throught a few walkthroughs but it only tells me how to do each mission, does anyone have any tips?

[BartSmith]

1) Best car - it's just a personal taste actually, but I'll go with the bulletproof ones as they're most useful (besides comprehensive proofs). Check the Special Vehicles Walkthrough on Gamefaqs. Some of the best vehicles you can get in the game are 3 bikes with super abilities, they're in the "The Bum Deal" (parked in front of the bar). You can also buy ones if you like. The best car (mostly) for the car races is Cheetah as it's the fastest car in the game IMO. It's very durable, but I've managed to complete the races by this car. For the bike races - obviously PCJ 600.

2) Easy money - if you have played the previous GTA games then you should know this. Complete side missions (like paramedic, rampages, unique jumps), kill golfers or prostitutes, smash the parkometers, etc. The best method is to get/own 29 business empires (the 30th one you get after one of the missions later in the game). It's not that easy, but it's worth the effort. Remember to complete all the additional missions in specific empire - you'll get more earnings.

3) Best weapons - again, check some very useful guides at Gamefaqs or type "weapons map Vice City Stories" on Google. Eventually, shot down some ballooons.

4) Which empire buildings to set up - You can just build the best one, Robbery on all your empires (which gets you the best earnings), but you can also check the place what fits there & build it by personal taste. It's more fun to have many different empires than just having the best one, isn't it? At least that's how I'm doing. It makes things more realistic.

This post has been edited by BartSmith on Thursday, Jul 5 2012, 11:06

[GTA Phreak]

QUOTE (BartSmith @ Thursday, Jul 5 2012, 12:02)

1) The best car (mostly) for the car races is Cheetah as it's the fastest car in the game IMO. ...

I disagree, the Cheetah used to have superior handling but they screwed it up in this game.
The VCPD Cheetah has a small advantage in races though, - because you can turn on the siren to make random traffic pull over.

The Infernus and the Banshee is IMHO the fastest cars. The Banshee also has better handling in this game compared to other GTA's

The fastest bike is the Biker Angel, which makes it the best jumping bike.
It corners like a cow on ice though, - so for races the PCJ-600 is superior.


This post has been edited by GTA Phreak on Thursday, Jul 5 2012, 12:25

[RyujinXKaizer]

Since I've done a different style in playing....
1. Yankee Jump
-Park the truck near to the edge of the road, then jump from the roof of the truck. You've reached the 2nd isle w/o cheats.
2. M249 after "Conduct Unbecoming"
-Do the yankee jump, drive to the interglobal studios, then check each studio. If you found the studio that leads you upstairs, go straight until you find it.
3. M16 without harm after Conduct Unbecoming
-Do the Yankee jump, then go to Vice Point. Find the green apartment, go to the back. There you found it.
4. Python and Spaz
-For the Python, do the same Yankee trick, drive to interglobal films until you find a jetski. Near it is a python.
-For the Spaz, just go to ocean beach then go to the bushes near Lance's house.

Note:
-You can do these after Soldier, but it isn't advisable because before the army kicks you out in Conduct Unbecoming, they will discharge you of your weapons.
-To go back to the 1st isle, find a boat or get yourself busted and pay back the weapons. (costs 2500 to 3000)

[BartSmith]

QUOTE

I disagree, the Cheetah used to have superior handling but they screwed it up in this game. The VCPD Cheetah has a small advantage in races though, - because you can turn on the siren to make random traffic pull over. The Infernus and the Banshee is IMHO the fastest cars. The Banshee also has better handling in this game compared to other GTA's

Getting into corners in Cheetah can be hard, but once you figured out how to do it right you can keep it straight. In my opinion it accelerates faster than Infernus & probably Banshee. Infernus maybe is a bit faster at full speed, but it takes longer to get into that. Banshee is slower than these 2 for sure though. Infernus & Banshee are also understeer at high speeds. Sure, you can use a handbrake which is useful in the first one mentioned, but in Banshee it can make your car spin around very easily. What is more, Infernus is much wider than Cheetah which makes it easier to hit lamp posts or poles. That's why I chose Cheetah. If you can drive it normally it's the best car for the car races.

QUOTE

The fastest bike is the Biker Angel, which makes it the best jumping bike. It corners like a cow on ice though, - so for races the PCJ-600 is superior.

Biker's Angel is only 1 second faster than PCJ600 with the leaning forward (I've tested them on airport runway). However, Angel's brakes are very bad & it won't be so maneuverable as PCJ600 since it's much heavier bike. That's why the only option for the bike races is PCJ600. The same goes for Unique Jumps, since Biker's Angel is heavy & clumsy. Speed isn't everything, the weight is also very important. Try to make UJ on construction site (the ramp on cement pipes) in it and you'll see the difference.

This post has been edited by BartSmith on Sunday, Aug 5 2012, 06:58