Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories
100% Walkthrough Guide

Taxi Driver

The taxi driver side mission is a good way to make some cash whilst learning the map and where various places of interest are.

Grab a taxi and press the up arrow key to start the mission. The aim is to make $5,000 dollars in fares or drop off 50 passengers, whichever happens first. This will take a while, but you can make increasing extra bonus money by completing each five drop offs in-a-row. For example, drop five passengers off in a row and you'll get a $125 bonus. Drop ten passengers off in a row and you'll get $250. 15 = $375, 20 = $500, 25 = $725, etc..., but in order to do this successfully you'll have to take great care and follow the strategy described below.

You can also make variable extra bonus money from speed bonuses. If you manage to drop your passenger off before the tip-ometer runs out you'll get a speed bonus based on how far you've come, how much tip-ometer is left and the type of taxi mission you're on (described below).

It's initially quite tricky to build up enough time to get the five-in-a-row bonus, but stick at it and eventually you'll get into a good run of pick-ups and then you'll find it increasingly easier to rack up the fares.

General strategies for this mission are:

1. Once you've picked up a fare and been given your destination, check your map for the quickest route. The time given to get to the destinations is usually fairly generous (unlike the tip-ometer), but you'll need to find the right route to give you the best chance of making it in time and give yourself some time left over to drive around and find your next fare if one is not immediately visible.

2. Stick to the widest roads whenever possible. You'll get to your destination quicker and you're less likely to get caught up in traffic or crash.

3. Avoid crashing into anything other than pedestrians and street lamps as this will decrease your 'tip-ometer' and damage your taxi. The harder the crash is the more you'll decrease your tip-ometer. The extra money from the speed bonus is useful and you want to keep your taxi in good condition so you can last as long as possible to rack up more '5-passengers-in-a-row' bonuses.

4. The biggest problem with this mission is finding the next fare once you drop a passenger off. Quite often there are no more fares in sight. If this happens drive quickly towards the nearest main street. As soon as you see the message to pick up a fare slam your brakes on, as they are often behind you and will disappear if you get too far away from them. The camera angle can be a little unforgiving when you turn around, but if you press the left trigger button it'll re-center the camera to look straight ahead. This should help you avoid the all-to-easy problem of running over your fare when you swing around and can't see them due to the camera angle.

5. Cops. They aren't too much of a problem unless you're on a 'Collateral' mission, as described below. If you get a one-star wanted level you can usually just carry on until it disappears without too much trouble. Get a two-star wanted level and you'd better get to the nearest Pay 'n' Spray as soon as possible.

6. Damage. If you damage your taxi too much your passenger will demand you let them out and you'll have to get your cab repaired. You'll lose your fare, lose time getting to a Pay 'n' Spray and risk running out of time and therefore your progress towards your 5-in-a-row bonus. At the first sign of smoke head to the nearest Pay 'n' Spray on the way to your passenger's destination to avoid losing valuable time.

Types of taxi mission and strategies for them:

1. Straight Drop - Just follow the general stategies above.

2. Double Drop - As above, but you'll have to do twice as much work because the fare will ask you to wait for them at their first drop off, then you'll have to take them to their final destination when they return.

3. 'Collateral' - Ever seen the film 'Collateral'? Tom Cruise's character hails a cab and gets the cabbie (played by Jamie Foxx), to take him to various locations to kill people. This mission is essentially a double drop with a twist - when your fare returns from the first drop he/she's robbed/murdered and now you'll have a two-star wanted level whilst you take your fare to their final destination. There will most likely be a Pay 'n' Spray along the way to your destination, so use it and lose that wanted level.

4. 'Follow that Vehicle!' - This one can be tricky. When the fare gets in and asks you to follow the vehicle on the map you often can't tell which way it's travelling or even see it. If it's coming up behind you and gets too close for more than a few seconds the driver will get spooked, your fare will get out an you'll have to find another fare in the time left. In this case you'll have to drive away ahead of the vehicle and wait until they turn a corner, then you'll have to quickly stop, turn around and catch up before it gets too far away. If the vehicle start off in front of you and coming towards you, you might have to reverse up until they turn a corner then catch up with it. Keep a reasonable distance as you follow until it eventually stops. Drive into the final marker and you're done.

This mission takes a while to complete, but fortunately you don't have to complete it all in one go. If you get too bored or frustrated you can take a break, do something else and return at a later time without losing the progress you've already made towards your $5000/50 fares.

Once you've completed this mission you'll be rewarded with a booster jump in all taxis. This is actually fairly useless other than being able to jump over cars that get in your way, but you've got your 0.4% progress towards your coveted 100% completion, plus a tidy sum of money.

Now let's go see Louise.

Next: LOUISE WILLIAMS 1: When Funday Comes

Back to the Main List

Comments:

If you have any comments on the above information please feel free to submit them below.

Your Name:

Your Comments: