Although it has been bested by several later installments, there’s no denying the greatness of 2001’s Grand Theft Auto III. Not only did it change the entire landscape of the video game industry but it also had a massive cultural impact as well. On top of those things, it succeeded as an entertaining and challenging game.
The scope of the games has gotten bigger and they’ve become more difficult but that doesn’t mean GTA III didn’t frustrate its players from time to time. Whether it was due to the vast number of enemies the player faces or due to time constrictions, some missions were a chore to finish.
Payday For Ray
![The 10 Hardest Missions In Grand Theft Auto III](https://static1.srcdn.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Payday-for-Ray-Cropped.jpg)
On the surface, “Payday for Ray” doesn’t sound like a difficult mission. Yazuka leader Asuka Kasen has you on delivery duty for a dirty cop’s bribe. The issue comes from just how many hoops you have to jump through to get it done.
Paranoia leads to the player having to answer multiple payphones throughout Staunton Island to meet with Ray Machowski. The map in GTA III isn’t the best or the most detailed, so it’s easy to get turned around. If you don’t know the area by heart, it’ll take a long time to find the payphones.
S.A.M.
![Catalina talks to someone in GTA 3](https://static1.srcdn.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/SAM-GTA.png)
This is a mission that is all about timing and accuracy, which is why it can be so difficult to nail down. “S.A.M.” stands for surface-to-air missile and that is an appropriate name because that’s what this mission, given to Claude by Asuka Kasen, is all about.
Claude is tasked with obtaining a rocket launcher and using it to shoot down a dodo plane that is carrying packages of SPANK. Hitting something out of the air isn’t that difficult but since the plane is coming toward you, there’s a good chance it hits you and kills you upon landing. It’s the kind of wild stunt that would’ve been fitting in Free Guy.
Mike Lips’ Last Lunch
![A car blowing up in GTA 3](https://static1.srcdn.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Mike-Lips-Last-Lunch.png)
Most of the toughest missions come later in the game but “Mike Lips’ Last Lunch” is actually pretty early on considering it gets given to you by Joey Leone. The idea here is that you must make Mike “Lips” Forelli pay dearly for the money that he owes the mechanic.
To do so, you’re tasked with stealing his car while he’s eating at a bistro, driving it over to 8-Ball’s to get it rigged with explosives, and parking it back at the diner so that it blows when he enters again. The aspect that makes it hard is that any scratch on the car causes a failed mission and there’s a time limit.
A Drop In The Ocean
![A boat parks in GTA 3](https://static1.srcdn.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/GTA-Boat.png)
Similar to the aforementioned “Payday for Ray,” this is a mission where getting lost is incredibly easy and that’s what causes it to be such a tough task. “A Drop in the Ocean” is given to you by Donald Love and you must go on a boat to retrieve packages from around the water.
Boats are difficult to navigate in this game, especially since entering the water wasn’t possible in GTA III. Finding the plane is hard on its own but then you also have to follow it closely and get the packages. If you miss one, it can throw you way off, making this harder with each instance.
Grand Theft Aero
![Claude runs to a plan in GTA 3](https://static1.srcdn.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Grand-Theft-Aero.png)
In one of the toughest possible sections of the game, “A Drop in the Ocean” is immediately followed up by another mission involving planes in “Grand Theft Aero.” Making the previous mission even worse is that the packages you struggled to pick up turned out to all be decoys.
The new task is to get the real packages at the airport but it was taken by the Cartel. That sets up a massive gunfight with the gang and their firepower is no joke. Some missions are annoying or irritating but this one is just challenging due to the numbers you’re up against.
Bomb Da Base: Act II
![8-Ball in GTA 3](https://static1.srcdn.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/8-Ball.png)
The action in Grand Theft Auto 3 is meant to be more chaotic than anything else. That’s why using something like a sniper rifle isn’t the most polished aspect of the game despite it being so prominent in other franchises. It’s a focal point of “Bomb Da Base: Act II,” which instantly makes it a tough mission.
This is a big adventure as you must use your sniper skills to cover 8-Ball while he plants bombs all over a cargo ship crawling with Cartel members. 8-Ball dies pretty quickly, so you’ll likely have to learn the patterns of where each one walks to get it right, meaning this will take a few tries.
Kingdom Come
![A car drives in GTA 3](https://static1.srcdn.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Kingdom-Come-GTA.png)
In a lot of ways, this mission is similar to “Mike Lips’ Last Lunch” as your goal is to go to a parking lot, find a specific parked car, and drive it. Of course, “Kingdom Come” is much more complicated than that due to your attackers as you try to bring the car back.
It’s not just traditional goons doing drive-bys who are coming after you but it’s actual suicide bombers who have been enhanced by SPANK. That means these people are coming up to the car and blowing up, which can easily trigger an explosion in your vehicle, killing you.
Rigged To Blow
![An Infernus drives into a garage in GTA 3](https://static1.srcdn.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Rigged-to-Blow.png)
Just by the name, you can likely tell what “Rigged to Blow” is about. Yes, you are indeed tasked with dealing with something that is going to blow up and in this case, it’s a booby-trapped car. You must drive to a place where you can ditch the bomb.
Once again, this is a mission that sounds okay on paper but becomes more difficult due to the circumstances. You have a short time limit to get things done and D-Ice makes it so have you complete it without getting a scratch on the vehicle.
Espresso-2-Go!
![A car drives into a coffee stand in GTA 3](https://static1.srcdn.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Espresso-2-Go.png)
As noted, the map in this game isn’t the best and finding things on it can certainly be tough. That’s what makes “Espresso-2-Go” such a hard one as Asuka Kasen (who gives the hardest missions in the game) needs Claude to destroy coffee stands around Liberty City.
They aren’t easily marked on the map, so finding the nine coffee stands will take a long time. Of course, the game puts you on a restrictive time limit, so it’s next to impossible. There will likely be a lot of trial and error with this one.
Exchange
![An exchange goes down in GTA 3](https://static1.srcdn.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Exchange.png)
In most cases, the final mission of a game is going to be difficult. Typically, the idea is to save the toughest task for last and that seemed to be the case for GTA 3 as “The Exchange” is certainly not easy. For starters, you need $500,00 just to begin the mission.
Simply acquiring that much money is tough, meaning you might have to stave off the final mission. Once it officially gets going, you have no weapons and are surrounded by enemies, which is then followed up by an intense car chase sequence. Throw in Claude’s ex-girlfriend Catalina firing missiles at you from a helicopter and this is a brutal way to end things.