Part 7

Discover new features in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories Part 7, including Discovered Extras, Weapon Bribe Icons, Vehicle Mission Checkpoints, and Driver Damage.

Hey there! Welcome back to Vice City. In this part, we're diving into some of the cool new features that make life a bit easier (and sometimes more annoying) in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories. We'll also cover some extra side-missions, rampages, races, and jumps you might have missed.

First off, let's talk about keeping track of your progress. Remember how in older GTAs it was a pain to remember which Stunt Jumps you'd done or which hidden packages you'd collected? Well, Vice City Stories has a neat feature called 'Discovered Extras'. To access it, hit Pause to bring up the Main Map, then hold down the X Button. This brings up map options, and you'll see 'Show Discovered Extras'. By holding X and using the D-Pad Left and Right, you can see exactly which Red Balloons you've popped, Rampages you've completed, and Stunt Jumps you've nailed. This is super handy for clearing up your map later on too, by letting you toggle off Empire Sites!

Next up, a lifesaver: Weapon Bribe Purchase Icons. Ever get Wasted or Busted and then have to start your weapon collection all over again? Not anymore! When you respawn at a Police Station or Hospital, look for a Purchase Icon (it looks like a lock) nearby. For $2,000, you can instantly get back all your weapons and their ammo from when they were confiscated. Just remember, you won't get your Body Armor back with this, but it's still a fantastic feature.

Vehicle missions can be a real grind, especially when failing near the end means starting all the way back at Level 1. Thankfully, Vice City Stories introduced Level Checkpoints for certain vehicle side-missions. Once you complete Level 5 and Level 10, you hit a checkpoint. If you fail after that, you'll restart from that checkpoint instead of the beginning. This makes missions like the Ambulance, Firetruck, Vigilante, Air Rescue, and Beach Patrol a lot less frustrating. Keep in mind though, while other GTAs had 12 levels for these, Vice City Stories bumps it up to 15 levels.

Now, for a feature that's a bit of a mixed bag: Driver Damage. In previous games, your vehicle took all the damage from gunfire, making bulletproof cars and Rhinos practically invincible. That's changed. Now, even when you're inside a vehicle – car, bulletproof, tank, or even a helicopter – you can take damage from gunfire. Yes, even in a Rhino, bullets can hit you through the front viewport. In bulletproof cars, they can shoot through the windows. It definitely makes using those cool, supposedly invincible vehicles a bit less forgiving.

Beyond these new features, there are also some extra collectibles and activities to track down:

• Six Additional Unique Stunt Jumps: Look for these in Little Havana ([LTV-J21]), Starfish Island ([SFI-J22]), Vice Point ([VCP-J33], [VCP-J34]), and Ocean Beach ([OCB-J35], [OCB-J36]).
• Five Additional Rampages: Test your destructive skills in Little Havana ([LTV-R17]), Starfish Island ([SFI-R18]), Prawn Island ([PRI-R33]), North Point Mall ([VIM-R34]), and Ocean Beach ([OCB-R35]).
• Five Additional Checkpoint Races: Get ready to race in Viceport ('Playground on the Dock'), Ocean Beach ('Crims on Water Wings', 'Playground on the Park'), Leaf Links Golf Club ('Caddy Daddy'), and Escobar International Airport ('Hyman Memorial O.D.T.').
• One Additional Vehicle Side-Mission: Take on the 'Rush!' mission in Viceport.

Also, note that one Rampage ([DTN-R2-B]) was moved from Downtown to The Dirtbike Track area in the PSP version.