The 10 Worst Missions of All Time in GTA

Demolition Man - GTA: Vice City

The demolition man mission in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City was overall just a very frustrating and difficult mission for many GTA players, me included. Playing as Tommy Vercetti, you're given the nearly impossible task of using an RC helicopter to plant four bombs and blow up an unfinished building at a construction site. This is much easier said than done.

This mission requires you to be hyper-focused, not wasting a single second of your time. Why? Because there is a timer counting down, if you don’t finish the mission in that time, you fail and have to restart. If that alone wasn’t enough to drive us crazy, the difficult controls of the RC helicopter definitely made flying the helicopter much more infuriating than it needed to be.

Scouting the Port - GTA V

Taking place on a port, you play as Trevor, who is responsible for going undercover as a forklift operator, moving boxes to get pictures of the ship port; this is a set-up mission for a heist that’s later to come. One would think this mission would be somewhat entertaining since Trevor is known to be one of the most humorous protagonists in Grand Theft Auto V, but that’s not the case, unfortunately.

To be honest, this mission is actually quite boring, especially when operating the forklift because it goes super slow, which kind of made me feel like the mission was being dragged out. Additionally, the plot of the Scouting the Port mission does not capture Trevor’s style or story at all, which is kind of a bummer. At the very least, this mission would have been funny if they had included his style.

Wrong Side of the Tracks - GTA: San Andreas

The Wrong Side of the Tracks mission really doesn’t need an explanation as to why it’s the worst in GTA history. I mean, anyone who has played Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas likely knows of this mission, whether they’ve played it or not. That’s just how irksome it was for all of us.

In short, you play as CJ, who is partnered up with his buddy Big Smoke on a mission to crash the Vagos gang meeting and take out enemies who are traveling on a train. The only issue here is that you and Big Smoke aren’t on the train; that would make things too easy...you're on a dirt bike, riding alongside the train.

Big Smoke, riding behind CJ on said dirt bike, has the responsibility of shooting his shot and (hopefully) taking out the enemies; however, he doesn’t have the best aim even a few centimeters away, so he misses...a lot. Personally, the exasperation of that alone made me want to take the shot at the enemies myself, but that wasn’t possible considering I had to control the unstable dirt bike before it fell over.

Learning to Fly - GTA: San Andreas

If you’re not used to the controls of the helicopters and planes in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, this mission is not easy. Honestly, flying in GTA V is much easier and more stable. In the Learning to Fly mission, you’re playing as CJ, who receives a task from Mike Toreno, who wants you to take an armed plane or helicopter and take out enemies.

It starts off relatively easy, but there are ten challenges, and they get progressively harder, especially when it comes to the insanely challenging movements you have to do while flying the aircraft. It really just gets more and more frustrating as it goes on, and unless you’re skilled in flying and very focused, it’ll take hours to complete the mission. At least for me, it did.

Paper Trail - GTA V

Paper Trail is another mission that requires us to fly a helicopter, but in Grand Theft Auto IV instead, and it’s by far just one of the most annoying missions. Right away, if you don’t have any level of skill when it comes to flying in Grand Theft Auto IV, you’re likely going to bomb this mission many times. Personally, it took me many tries before I was finally able to pass it.

The plot of this mission takes Niko and Jacob on a helicopter chase to take out a businessman, but similarly to the Learning to Fly mission, you have to attempt to move around tall buildings without hitting them. It certainly has the right aspects to be an exciting mission, but when it comes to having to perfectly line up with the helicopter in order for Jacob to shoot it down, that part is tricky.

S.A.M - GTA III

The problem with Grand Theft Auto III’s S.A.M. mission is that it’s generally easier to fail at than succeed at. For starters, this mission requires you to have a real good aim when taking out a target's cargo plane; that’s not really an issue with an auto aim weapon, but unfortunately, we don’t get to use one in this. Instead, we use a rocket launcher.

Additionally, unlike many other missions in GTA history, the S.A.M. mission doesn’t have checkpoints that save your progress in case you fail; if you fail, you have to restart entirely from the beginning, which is super annoying. Not to mention the countdown timer that all GTA players heavily despise.

Life's a Beach - GTA: San Andreas

Let’s be honest, the GTA series is best known for the crime, gangs, and other misadventures it allows gamers to get into. That said, it probably isn’t the best game to incorporate dancing into. Not only do the mechanics in this Life’s a Beach mission make it one of the worst missions, but it’s also just one of the most boring missions as well.

The plot of this mission sends CJ to a beach to attempt to steal a sound system from a DJ, but this requires CJ to search said DJ’s van. In order to get access to the van, CJ must participate and win a dance off. There’s not much to do here; it’s a pretty simple mission, although the overall dance CJ does definitely could’ve been better.

Derailed - GTA V

Grand Theft Auto V missions are typically some of the hardest missions, especially when it comes to this derailed mission. This mission features Michael and Trevor, who are responsible for stealing an artifact from the Merryweather agents, although, to do so, you have to chase the train down on a Sanchez bike only to have to leap onto the moving train perfectly.

Gamers who know of the Wrong Side of the Tracks mission from GTA: San Andreas know how similar this mission is to that one; both are similarly infuriating. This mission takes a long time to pass, but it has a way of keeping us wanting to try again, no matter how many attempts it takes. It honestly feels like it's draining you, which I’d imagine is how most gamers have felt when attempting Derailed.

Boomshine Blowout - GTA: Vice City Stories

This is arguably the worst and hardest mission on this list; it takes players hours upon hours to try to pass this one, though some don’t ever end up finishing it. This mission focuses on Victor Vance, the main protagonist in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories, who is trying to complete the almost impossible task of using a forklift to remove four packages of liquor out of a warehouse. This sounds simple, but it’s definitely not.

The first aspect that irked me is how slow and difficult the forklift was to control; with the warehouse being on fire, you don’t have time to waste trying to get the hang of the forklift. It’s very difficult to get around the warehouse without knocking into something and getting stuck or getting blocked in when part of the burning building collapses right in your path.

Death Row - GTA: Vice City

Grand Theft Auto: Vice City’s Death Row mission has a great storyline; however, it’s easily one of the most annoying missions due to how often you die. In this mission, players take on the role of Tommy, who leaves the Malibu Club to go find Lance, who is being held hostage and tortured.

Considering how simple this mission is, it really shouldn’t be so difficult to pass, but with the way GTA is known for spawning cars right in front of us, that makes the drive to Lance difficult and annoying. Not to mention the mechanics in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City aren’t the best, especially when it comes down to driving fast.