Tips from OXM

You're guide to surviving Liberty City
#1. Hijacking cars isn't as easy as it used to be. You've got to smash the window of parked vehicles and hotwire them before they'll start. You can hld RT or LT to spped this up, but it's quicker to find one with keys in. Look for people loading luggage, or filling up at one of the petrol stations.

#2. You don't need to pull out all the stops when you're taking a girl out on a date. If she wan't bored with a silver spoon in her mouth, she'll appreciate going for a meal somewhere homlier, like a diner, rather than a top-end Alonquin joint. Probably best to skip the takeway though.

#3. Little Jacob is a good man to have around, so it's worth keeping his friendliness up. He's fairly easy to please, too. A trip to Cluckin' Bell will always delight him, and he's open to visiting a darkened room with lots of scantily-clad ladies dancing around, too. The appeal is lost on us, honestly.

#4. Brucie can be hard work to talk to, but he's got a neat toy to play with; a helicopter on the roof of his pad down in Broker. It might not be advertised, but once you're able to invite him out simply select his name from the phonebook in your mobile and scroll down to the helicopter entry.

#5. When sharing a car in multiplayer, work as a team. The driver needs to get moving as fast as possible, and the passenger needs to hop into the map and set a GPS waypoint. It shaves valuable seconds off your start time, and means you don't get humiliatingly lost in the backstreets.

#6. When you're playing Deathmatch, the rules aren't that different to doing so in an FPS. Better weapons are nice to have, but don't spend ages running around stocking up. No matter how tooled-up you are, you're still highly vulnerable to a bullet from the head or high speed SUV to the spine.

#7. Don't overlook the usefullness of boats, particularly when you're escorting somebody in muliplayer. They're much rarer than cars, but that means they have much less traffic - both enemy and neutral - to get in your way. The same goes for helicopters too.

#8. Don't forget Niko is a more agile fellow than previous GTA characters. Some missions are much easier if you climb in round the back rather than shooting through the front. Watch the opening cinematic for clues.

#9. You'll find carjacking much easier if you've got a gun in your hand: Niko just orders the driver out at gunpoint. If you just point at the driver using free aim, there's a chance they'll nail it and try to escape. It's very impressive to look at, but best avioided if you just want to get a new set of wheels.

#10. Don't forget the police are only ever a phone call away. Punch in 911 whenever you need a speedy car, or want to look something up on its internal computer. You'll have to ditch the coppers themselves, but if you don't actually kill them it's an easy lost one star Wanted rating.

#11. Helicopters can be tricky yo fly at first, but persevere. The trick is to use the bumper buttons to turn on the spot, then use the analogue stick for flying backwards, forwards, and more gentle banking turns. If you rely solely on the stick, you'll come unstuck. Get some practice flying under bridges - you'll bag an achievement for your trouble.

#12. The standard pistol is a suprisingly handy item. Once you're locked on, it's easy to nudge up the stick and pull off a headshot, and it works over suprisingly long distances. The sniper rifle or RPG works better here, although with the latter aim ahead of a moving target - it takes a while to hit it.

#13. Don't forget that ramming the barrier on the bridge toll will get you police attention. It's easily lost most of the time, but if you're on a drink driving minigame the police attention is something best avoided.

#14. Burning through the story mission will get you a steady, but not massive, supply of achievements. You'll need to dablle in the multiplayer and side missions to get them really flowing. Get online quickly and you'll have a better chance at one awarded for slaying a Rockstar developer.

Clean the Streets
Five tips to make you a master of Cops 'n' Crooks

#1. In Cops 'n' crooks, cops start in a police car with the siren wailing. Turn it off! Crooks can hear you coming from a way off, and you're much better off if you suprise them.

#2. Watch you're radar for the icon that marks the boss. In a firefight, he should always be your main target. Once he's dead, it's all over.

#3. If you are the boss, don't be a hero. The cops know where you are; if your guards die then try holding up and waiting for them to respawn.

#4. Passing traffic isn't just for crashing into. Crooks can pop tyres of cars they pass to quickly create a crude rpadblock for the following police.

#5. Crooks will fare best by having one car for Don and driver, and an escort vehicle to harry the rozzers. You'll need four players for that of course.

Source [OXM]