Prologue to Marriage Counseling

Prologue

North Yankton, nine years before the rest of the game. Michael, Trevor and Brad are robbing a cash depot in Ludendorff. The mission teaches cover, aiming, character switching and driving, and it has no Gold medal objectives.

• 1

  The vault

  Walk up to the guard, then aim at each hostage in turn to make them shuffle into the back room. Do not shoot any of them: a dead hostage fails the mission. When Trevor has set the charge, bring up the phone and pick the “Detonate” contact, then walk into the vault and collect the cash.

• 2

  The guard and the first switch

  On the way out a guard grabs Michael and holds a gun to him. This is the switching tutorial: hold Down on the D-pad, pick Trevor with the right stick and shoot the guard in the head.

• 3

  The shootout and the getaway

  Take cover while Brad blows the door, then fight the police waves outside from pillar to pillar. Run down the road to the getaway car. Once you are driving, stay on the marked route: turning back or leaving the road fails the mission. A cutscene takes over before the pickup point, and the last job is to hold off the police from cover until the final cutscene.

  Brad and Michael go down, Trevor escapes alone, and the closing scene is Michael’s funeral, watched from a distance by Michael himself.

Franklin and Lamar

Unlocks: straight after the Prologue; you play as Franklin. Franklin and Lamar repossess two convertibles for Simeon, a car dealer.

• 1

  Pick a car and follow Lamar

  At the house, choose either car; Lamar takes the other and turns the drive into a race. There are no checkpoints: keep Lamar in sight. This is where the game introduces Franklin’s special ability, which slows time while driving; use it on tight turns. The route cuts through a film studio lot where actors in alien costumes run across your path.

• 2

  Lose the police and deliver

  The race ends in a car park, where the police notice you. Lose the wanted level, drive the car to Simeon’s dealership, then take your own car and drive Lamar back to Franklin’s house to finish.

  • Story trophy: Welcome to Los Santos (complete Franklin and Lamar).

Repossession

Unlocks: after Franklin and Lamar. Simeon calls Franklin back to his dealership; this time the job is a motorbike owned by a member of the Vagos gang in Vespucci Beach.

• 1

  The garages

  Take a car from the dealership to Vespucci Beach and follow Lamar down the alley. Search the garages at the end of the alley; opening one starts a gunfight.

• 2

  The shootout and the bike

  Fight your way up the alley from cover. Partway through, a car tries to flee and leaves a trail of fuel behind it: shoot the trail to blow the car up. At the end the owner rides off on the bike; give chase, catch him, then take the bike to the car wash in Strawberry to finish.

Complications

Unlocks: after Repossession, from Simeon at the dealership. Franklin has to take an SUV from a house in Rockford Hills without being seen.

• 1

  Into the house

  Get over the wall and switch to stealth. A gardener works out front: sneak up behind him and knock him out. Climb onto the truck behind the house, then onto the roof, and in through the open window. Downstairs, the door to the garage is just before the kitchen; the people in the kitchen will not see you if you stay crouched.

• 2

  The passenger, and Simeon

  Drive the car back towards the dealership. Michael, the owner, has been asleep on the back seat; he puts a gun to Franklin’s head and has him drive through the dealership window. Control then passes to Michael for a fist fight with Simeon: keep attacking until Simeon is down to finish. From here on you can play as Michael.

Pulling Favors and Chop

From here several missions are open at once, for Franklin and for Michael. One of them is not marked as a story mission but blocks the story anyway.

Chop

Unlocks: after Repossession and Pulling Favors. Lamar is waiting at Franklin’s house in Strawberry with his dog, Chop, and a plan to kidnap D, a member of the Ballas.

• 1

  The van chase

  Walk with Lamar to his van and drive to Vinewood Boulevard. D escapes on a motorbike; follow him in the van. You do not need to catch him, only keep him in sight. A bus knocks him off the bike and the chase carries on on foot into the rail yard.

• 2

  Chop on the scent

  D hides among the boxcars. Chop sniffs him out; you can switch to Chop’s view to watch, but not control him. Open the boxcars Chop points to. Partway through he gets distracted by another dog: walk over and pull him off. D is in the boxcar Chop barks at; when he runs, Chop brings him down.

• 3

  Letting D go

  Drive towards Lamar’s house. Lamar makes a phone call on the way and Franklin makes him let D go: stop the van to let him out, then drop Lamar at the rec centre to finish.

Father/Son

Unlocks: after Complications, at Michael’s house in Rockford Hills; it can be started as Michael or as Franklin. Gangsters have taken Michael’s yacht with Jimmy still on board, and are hauling it down the freeway on a trailer.

• 1

  Chase the yacht

  Take Amanda’s convertible and head for the coast road. When you catch the yacht, pull alongside so Franklin can jump aboard, then stay on its tail and shoot the gang members from the driver’s seat when Franklin says so.

• 2

  Catch Jimmy, catch Franklin

  Jimmy ends up hanging from the boom. Drive under him and hold the car steady until he drops in. Then get close to the yacht again so Franklin can jump onto the car.

• 3

  Los Santos Customs

  The battered car needs repairs: drive into Los Santos Customs to have it fixed, then drive back to Michael’s house to finish. Los Santos Customs is open for good from now on.

Marriage Counseling

Unlocks: after Father/Son, at Michael’s house; Michael or Franklin can start it. Michael catches Amanda with her tennis coach and goes after him in the gardener’s pickup.

• 1

  Follow the coach

  Get in the pickup and follow the coach up into the hills. Vehicles pull out in front of you on the way, and a camper van blocks the road; drive round it and head for the marker.

• 2

  Pull the house down

  The coach runs into a house on stilts above the road. After the cutscene, get back in the pickup, which is now tied to the supports, and accelerate until the house comes down.

• 3

  The hit

  Head back towards Michael’s house. On the way, a phone call puts a hit on you and two cars of gunmen come after you. Kill them or lose them, then drive home.

  The house belonged to Martin Madrazo, a cartel boss, and he wants it paid for. To raise the money, Michael calls an old friend, Lester: that call opens the next stretch.

Stretch Completion

By the end of this stretch you can play as Franklin and Michael and switch between them freely, Franklin has his house in Strawberry, and Los Santos Customs is open. Tonya’s later towing jobs are optional side content.

✅ Before Moving On to Daddy’s Little Girl...