Mission: The Driver --Spoiler warning--

[Wolfmight]

Seeing how "The Driver" gives the player a major disadvantage in the race that requires advanced driving skills and a little or lotta luck for some, what do you think of it's difficulty?

 

Honestly, I beat it after tons of tries at first. (got better with practice)

2nd time around, I lucked out and Hilary got stuck driving into a wall.

another time I was right next to Hilary and just inched it a little further to hit the finish first.

after awhile I left Hilary far behind cause he kept crashing.

 

 

I believe his car has some superior durability, but it's definitely faster than yours, so you gotta gas even heavier and crash less than him - or don't crash at all.

 

Controlling your turning without spinning, dodging cops (COPS! are annoying in this mission, but they also screw Hilary up too).

 

Slow down some with hard turns, it's even faster than trying to speed through a turn and fish tailing or having a collision - which slows you down a lot.

 

Use the power and regular breaks together... there's also a trick to hold stead during a spin: holding accelerate and break at the same time seems to reduce the spin and lock the car back into place.

sometimes it's best to break when a cop is trying to pull in front of you, then let them fly past in front and then slam the gas. let them look bad.

slam Hilary some, but don't over-do it and spin out of control yourself.

Edited May 21, 2009 by Wolfmight

[Upaluppa]

You've posted this in the wrong forum mate...

[Mainland Marauder]

Moved to Vice City general discussion.

 

That mission is extremely frustrating though. Damn cops. And nothing seems to spin Hilary out.

[Kalev4ever]

If I remember correctly then I have had twice the situation, that when I reach the turn near the hospital or somewhere there, 2 cop cars collapse into each other. And just in front of me, that took away seconds. Sometimes Hilary passed me, but the last turn is the place, where you can get a sneaky win over the fatso.

There´s also the trick that you can lure Hilary on top of the parking lot of the mall

[Rashon.]

I remember doing this mission. Only reason why I passed it is because of a glitch.

[Vercetti27]

was prett straightforward after a bit of practice

[Rambo_Augusta]

When i was playing it a couple of years ago it was the most frustrating mission of the game usually due to my lead foot which seemed to help me find the light post. Now however its quite easy i got it second try only because Hilary rammed me off the road which i didn't enjoy

[Playstation_Loyalist]

It was quite difficult for me on the first three tries, but after that, it was easy as I could beat the hell out of Hilary.

[flicko]

I went with the moderately difficult option here, because, although I can now pass the mission with ease, at first attempt his was pretty difficult to successfully complete. Hilary is in a much superior car to yours - it's a lot faster, stronger & durable than the Sentinel, and it's overall performance is fivefold above it too. Hilary's not the most assured of drivers though (aside from when he leaves your view, that's when he becomes seemingly impeccable!), and I can usually take him just after I get the two-star wanted level notification. The cops never bother me either; they only show for a brief spell when you get the notification, and if you're pretty close to Hilary, they quite often won't show until you start edging further ahead. They do act as obstacles at two pivotal points in the race, but once you know what's going to happen, it becomes all to easy to evade them.

 

Here's a basic runthrough of the method I use to beat Hilary, without taking advantage of exploits -

 

-- Begin the race with my foot firmly down. As I near the first left turn, I keep my foot firmly to the metal, whereas Hilary breaks a little. this will give me the momentum as I go into the turn, to overtake him on the following straight

-- Once I get onto the straight, me and Hilary are pretty much neck & neck. This is where I make a judgement of the road in front of me, and whether it is clear of traffic or not. If it is clear of traffic, I will carry on going head-to-head with Hilary, as nothing will act s an obstacle. If there are cars/Police vehicles ahead of me, I'll turn into my very own form of cop, and perform a PIT manoeuvre on Hilary, spinning his car around 180°. Now Hilary is pretty fast, and will catch me up a little bit, but I will have now given myself more room to breath upon making sharp left & right turns.

-- At this point, Hilary is not in my sight, and when I take a brief look behind me, I see a very small & faint arrow above his vehicle. The race will now be in my hands, and all I've got to do is keep it together, avoiding the now more frequently occuring police as I progress

-- When I get to the Ocean Beach hospital, and gear up for a right turn towards the Washington Beach/Vicepoint Island, I take my foot off the accelerator and gently brake. More often than not, two Police cars will drive from either side of the road and act as a barricade in my way. Clattering into them will slow me down, and make Hilary more than likely overtake me. So I slow down and make the turn right over the grass verge before the road, completely evading the police in the process.

-- The same thing will happen again, just in front of the bridge that will take me by the pizza parlour and towards the Malibu. I again slow down and make my turn over the grass verge, evading the police and putting me on the path to glory. From there on-in the race is Child's play, and I can usually muster a sub-125-second race. Simple!

 

For those of you who struggle to complete the race the scripted way, here's an explanation of how to make the most of exploits -

 

You can actually complete this race in any vehicle you wish to. What you do, is get any vehicle you want (preferably one of the faster in the game; Infernus, Hotring Racer, Comet, Stinger, Banshee, Cheetah, Phoenix or the Deluxo), and then, prior to the mission, park the vehicle you will be using just beside the first intersection along the race-course (somewhere in or around this badly circled area, if you park the car closer to the Malibu Club, it will be gone upon beginning the mission). Make sure upon exit that you leave the car's door open, it is very important that you do that as it will almost guarantee the car to remain when you leave it out of your sight.

 

Then begin the mission. As soon as you begin, floor it to where your vehicle is located, and when you get to it, quickly swap and continue with the race. With a very fast vehicle, this mission will almost be a breeze, you'll soon catch Hilary up well before the finishing point, and you should easily and simply pass the mission. Here's a couple of thins to take note of, regarding tips-

 

 

-- Stay on your side of the road; you don't want to clatter into oncoming vehicles, especially Police cars, as they will be targeting you in the first place

-- Watch out for Lampposts/telephone poles; going into one will dramatically slow you down, and it could knock you off balance

-- Although you have a two-star wanted level, the VCPD don't show much, so don't be hesitant that they are closing in on you

-- Try to stay on the road; there are numerous obstacles that will cause you to slow down or change direction, you don't want that do you?!

-- Be aware of two police cars acting as obstacles at junctions. Clattering into them at speed will result in you losing ground on the race, and possibly losing out. There are two pivotal ones, as I have already stated

 

With that in mind, you should, eventually, nail the race!

[Playstation_Loyalist]

Adding to the fact that the Sentinel has a very notorious turn radius, be cautious when cornering intersections. You might end up crashing to the oncoming walls, vehicles, and lampposts. Be sure to break softly before cornering to adjust quickly, although Hilary will be a car length ahead of you...

 

...other than that, Hilary's a bad *ss. He drives like Schumacher or Hamilton...drunk!

[flicko]

 

Adding to the fact that the Sentinel has a very notorious turn radius, be cautious when cornering intersections. You might end up crashing to the oncoming walls, vehicles, and lampposts. Be sure to break softly before cornering to adjust quickly, although Hilary will be a car length ahead of you...

For sure. Though I favour the Sentinel's handling mechanism - it's sharp & stiff, and, with the use of your handbrake, you can almost drift around corners of the course, maintaining fast speed in the process. I tend to refrain from hitting or tapping the brake button as much as possible, unless something like oncoming Police cars force me to.

 

 

...other than that, Hilary's a bad *ss. He drives like Schumacher or Hamilton...drunk!

He isn't of much use to you though, when it comes down to the big finale. Not only does he not chauffeur me, Cam & Phil to the bank, but he also damages a perfectly good Taxi with his sheer weight, and then goes to die in a less-than heroic attempt to protect us. Utter liability!

 

Added spoiler warnings to the title, thus removing the need for spoiler tags.

[Playstation_Loyalist]

He isn't of much use to you though, when it comes down to the big finale. Not only does he not chauffeur me, Cam & Phil to the bank, but he also damages a perfectly good Taxi with his sheer weight, and then goes to die in a less-than heroic attempt to protect us. Utter liability!

I liked the fat guy's heroic actions.

 

I had researched some tips (I tried it earlier and it worked).

 

 

This could be the most difficult and/or frustrating missions in GTA Vice City. Hillary's car, at first blush, appears to be faster than Tommy's Sentinel; but in fact, he can only accelerate faster and corner slightly better than Tommy. In a straight-a-way Tommy will be able to pass him.

 

Two strategies for completing this mission:

 

1. When Hillary is turning or weaving, try to tip the rear end of his car and put him into a spin.

 

2. If the player passes him and gets far enough ahead of him, an oncoming police vehicle will ram him (due to the pre-programmed way the cop cars make u-turns to come after Tommy).

 

Regardless, one has to run a nearly perfect race to win it. Beware if Hillary is right on Tommy's tail; he'll try to point-and-turn Tommy.

 

Known bug: if the player runs this race with a six-star wanted level (which is fun to try), and Hillary is destroyed by a tank, the mission will not end. When Tommy crosses the finish line the game will display "Mission failed!" and "Hillary is dead!" Then the screen goes to black and never comes back.

 

 

Hillary's car is bulletproof. The player can wait for him just ahead of the finish line and shoot him through the windshield as he approaches. Don't let the car out of Tommy's sight after Hillary's corpse falls out, or the system will "garbage collect" it. This isn't the only way to get into Hillary's car, which is otherwise locked; it's also possible to ram Hillary's car after a failed mission to knock the doors off, thus granting entry.

 

If Tommy starts this mission with a sniper rifle in hand, after the 3-2-1 countdown jump Tommy out of the car and quickly lock on to a tire on Hillary's car and take it out. Though Hillary will gain a sizable lead, with a flat tire Tommy easily passes him and cruises to a win.

[ScratchCard]

Easy. Who votes 'I quit VC because of it' should be ashamed of themselves.

[Bullet_Chris]

There are two ways of loosing this mission:

- Hillary beats you

- Hillary never makes it to the end(he dies)

[flicko]

 

This could be the most difficult and/or frustrating missions in GTA Vice City. Hillary's car, at first blush, appears to be faster than Tommy's Sentinel; but in fact, he can only accelerate faster and corner slightly better than Tommy. In a straight-a-way Tommy will be able to pass him.

 

Two strategies for completing this mission:

 

1. When Hillary is turning or weaving, try to tip the rear end of his car and put him into a spin.

 

2. If the player passes him and gets far enough ahead of him, an oncoming police vehicle will ram him (due to the pre-programmed way the cop cars make u-turns to come after Tommy).

 

Regardless, one has to run a nearly perfect race to win it. Beware if Hillary is right on Tommy's tail; he'll try to point-and-turn Tommy.

 

Known bug: if the player runs this race with a six-star wanted level (which is fun to try), and Hillary is destroyed by a tank, the mission will not end. When Tommy crosses the finish line the game will display "Mission failed!" and "Hillary is dead!" Then the screen goes to black and never comes back.

 

 

Hillary's car is bulletproof. The player can wait for him just ahead of the finish line and shoot him through the windshield as he approaches. Don't let the car out of Tommy's sight after Hillary's corpse falls out, or the system will "garbage collect" it. This isn't the only way to get into Hillary's car, which is otherwise locked; it's also possible to ram Hillary's car after a failed mission to knock the doors off, thus granting entry.

 

If Tommy starts this mission with a sniper rifle in hand, after the 3-2-1 countdown jump Tommy out of the car and quickly lock on to a tire on Hillary's car and take it out. Though Hillary will gain a sizable lead, with a flat tire Tommy easily passes him and cruises to a win.

Some of those tips would be very risky to take.

 

-- The first point is referring to the PIT manoeuvre, which is what I touched upon in my initial post. Doing this undoubtedly slow Hilary down, giving you a big lead, and it will also give you the momentum by putting the race entirely in your hands, as, once you're ahead, Hilary will obviously be playing chase.

 

-- Regarding the player actually sniping Hilary in his vehicles can be very risky. First things first, you've got to be a truly deadly aimer with the Sniper, and you've also got to be very quick, as Hilary will not be moving slow. If you miss on your first shot, chances are that Hilary will make it past the last checkpoint before you line him up for your second shot. And if that is the case, you'll have wasted a good few minutes failing the mission, therefore making the gamer even more frustrated than he/she may already be.

 

-- The point about Tommy quickly getting out of his vehicle at the start is also a dangerous thing to do. Once you begin the race and exit your vehicle, you'll have, literally a split second to get the sniper rifle in your inventory, quickly aim it at his tyre and shoot it. Again, you've got to be a very good & super quick shooter with the rifle, and if you aren't, you'll no doubt lose lots of ground and more than likely lose the race. Add to that, if you do manage to pop one of his tyres, he'll still steamroll ahead of you, and it will take you some catching up to do in order to overtake him. He won't be in your vicinity for a brief period, and when he isn't the cops really target you. Of course if you get rammed by one, you'll lose even more ground on him.

 

Scratchcard, not everybody will flourish in this mission, and it can be very frustrating for some gamers to complete the scripted way.

[Playstation_Loyalist]

It proved good to me after I think 24 tries.

[flicko]

It proved good to me after I think 24 tries.

That's kind of what I was getting at!! The proposed methods can be just as frustrating as actually attempting to complete the mission via the scripted way! I find that most successful advice to give to people who really struggle with this, is what I touched up on in regards to using a fast vehicle. The mission will be considerably easy, even though Hilary will have a huge head-start.

 

It's all down to personal preference as well. If you're a real Hitman with the Sniper rifle, then the proposed tips you quoted could be the way to go for some.

[Claude3Guy]

To beat him, is simply. His car ain't Explosion Proof. I taked a Rocket Launcher and i spawned with it when i leaved the car (Good) i just shooted his Car. Starnge thing is, that after i finish the mission, Hilary still comed to me talking sh*t like: Ye i will be your driver and all.

[flicko]

 

To beat him, is simply. His car ain't Explosion Proof. I taked a Rocket Launcher and i spawned with it when i leaved the car (Good) i just shooted his Car. Starnge thing is, that after i finish the mission, Hilary still comed to me talking sh*t like: Ye i will be your driver and all.

Destroying Hilary's vehicle with a Rocket Launcher will no doubt kill him in the process. As you should know, it is a necessity that he stays alive, and if you did that you would actually fail the mission.

 

Under no circumstance should you attempt to kill Hilary, as that will get you nowhere. Even if he dies by other means, a la not you, and you finish the race, in most cases you will still fail the mission.

[Wolfmight]

is it possible for hilary's car to flip and catch fire, thus exploding and giving Mission Failure?

normally I'd think it SHOULD BE, but maybe his car has a special script to prevent that.

 

[Playstation_Loyalist]

It proved good to me after I think 24 tries.

That's kind of what I was getting at!! The proposed methods can be just as frustrating as actually attempting to complete the mission via the scripted way! I find that most successful advice to give to people who really struggle with this, is what I touched up on in regards to using a fast vehicle. The mission will be considerably easy, even though Hilary will have a huge head-start.

 

It's all down to personal preference as well. If you're a real Hitman with the Sniper rifle, then the proposed tips you quoted could be the way to go for some.

I've been beating it for like 3 times this day alone. (Yeah, I had three downloaded saves just before this mission LOL)

 

Yeah, being a true hit man really does count. I was kinda influenced by Counter-Strike.

[flicko]

 

is it possible for hilary's car to flip and catch fire, thus exploding and giving Mission Failure?

normally I'd think it SHOULD BE, but maybe his car has a special script to prevent that.

It certainly is! Although the vehicle is Bullet-proof (except for the windows), Fireproof & explosion-proof, once you get it upside-down, it will catch fire and inevitibly blow to smithereens, killing Hilary in the process & failing you the mission. The most inpenetrable vehicles on the game, a la the BP/EP/FP Admiral & the Rhino, once toppled upside down will also set fire and explode. No special scripts here.

[LanceVanceDance07]

When I first played the mission "The Driver", I thought it was extremely difficult, but after the fifth or sixth try, I managed to beat it. Nowadays, it's not so bad.

[Playstation_Loyalist]

Special scripts? No. There are no special scripts in the game the prevents Hilary's car to not explode. Strange.

 

I tried the mission again (my fourth save) and accidentally shot Hilary at the head on the window. LOL.

[flicko]

 

Special scripts? No. There are no special scripts in the game the prevents Hilary's car to not explode. Strange.

Why is it strange? The car is bulletproof, fireproof & explosion-proof to an extent, which is very strange in itself. These sorts of proofed vehicles are all strange, but strange in a beneficial way to the gamer.

 

I'd have found it more far-fetched if I toppled the vehicle, only to notice that it didn't set on fire and inevitibly explode. More to the point, there is no need in adding a special script in the first place, since re-tipping the car over to make it assume normal position wouldn't be worth the hassle.

[Funktipus]

Only time I beat this mission is when Hilary screws up and gets stuck on a pole. Then I'm able to pass him and hang on for dear life. But one mistake, and I'm toast.

[flicko]

 

But one mistake, and I'm toast.

I think that all depends on the extent of the mistake made. Minor errors, like just clipping an object/lamppost wouldn't make it impossible to win the race, though it would give Hilary the advantage. Major mistakes, like clattering into an oncoming vehicle or bashing into a building, basically something that either grinds you to a halt or spins you round uncontrollably would make the race extremely difficult to win. That is providing Hilary doesn't balls up, which he usually doesn't.

 

I take it it's always the latter for you?

[Autocide101]

it was waaaaay to easy lol i put in 'COMEFLYWITHME' cheat and he flew away leaving me the cruise to the finish lol!!!!!!!

[Algonquin Assassin]

The only way I finished this mission was by pure luck when Hilary's car got stuck in something. Can't remember how, because it's been a while since I've done this mission.

 

Definitely one of the toughest missions in the game.

[flicko]

 

it was waaaaay to easy lol i put in 'COMEFLYWITHME' cheat and he flew away leaving me the cruise to the finish lol!!!!!!!

Sure, the mission becomes easy when you are up against, basically, yourself. But how do you actually fare when you race Hilary via the scripted way, without making the most of certain cheats?

 

I'm sure every single person who has posted in this thread would find completing the mission when your only competition is yourself to be very easy. This topic isn't for discussion of incorporating cheats, and I would like to hear how your fare out when you play through this mission the scripted way.