IAA and FIB missions question(s) or "What was the point?"

[Charles Phipps]

I generally enjoyed the gameplay of these missions, even if the inability for Michael to realize Steve Haines needed to be shot in the back of the head got old quickly. However, does anyone else feel like the story regarding this whole thing puttered out rather than resolved itself explosively?

 

* We kidnap and torture a US citizen

* We assassinate a foreign national

* We steal a courier drive full of sensitive information

* We steal a frigging WMD (TWICE--but that's more with Merryweather)

 

Then, after the big shoot-out, the IAA disappears from the story. All of the questions about who was doing what, why, and how disappears. We never find out why Steve Haines is using Michael, Trevor, and Franklin as wetwork guys versus actually using his own guys or Merryweather. It's not exactly that difficult for someone to snipe someone through a window. Likewise, it's not like Trevor is a particularly brilliant torture technician.

 

Steve Haines CLAIMS the IAA is going to do the same plot of "The Long Kiss Goodnight" which was later adopted by 9/11 Truthers that they're going to do an attack on American soil in order to get more funding. However, Steve Haines is a lying liar who lies. It's not out of the question for the IAA--who are a bunch of jerkasses--but the Paper Contact doesn't seem like the sort of guy to do that.

 

Steve Haines is accused of a bunch of criminal activity but, given he's ACTUALLY FIGHTING TERRORISM, I'm not sure what the problem is. It's kind of surreal but in a game with people like Tenpenny and other complete scumbags in law enforcement--if Steve is telling the truth then he's one of the few guys in GTA who is actually doing his job.

 

Then there's the superweapon that Merryweather is keeping in the port of Los Angeles, not moving it anywhere. Were they going to blow up the port? Sell it to China? What?

 

Then, after killing a crapton of IAA agents, our heroes are never bothered by them again.

 

I think the problem isn't working for these guys. It's the fact none of these missions make sense. I mean, the Paper Company missions in GTAIV make perfect sense. The CIA can't legally operate on American soil--but here, it just seems surreal.

[Official General]

What did not make sense was how this part of the story made me feel like I was playing Splinter Cell.

[Charles Phipps]

What did not make sense was how this part of the story made me feel like I was playing Splinter Cell.

 

The only mission that felt like that was the Humane raid and that was deliberate, I'm sure. Still, they could have at least made the armored truck mission a robbery for money.

[Official General]

 

What did not make sense was how this part of the story made me feel like I was playing Splinter Cell.

 

The only mission that felt like that was the Humane raid and that was deliberate, I'm sure. Still, they could have at least made the armored truck mission a robbery for money.

 

 

All I know is that part of the story really ruined a great deal of the experience for me. As fun as some of them were, it was just not what I wanted for a GTA game.

Edited January 19, 2014 by Official General

[HOW'S ANNIE?]

The thing is, when you point out any flaws with these missions, hardcore V fanboys always bring up the fact that Niko worked for the government too and how "unrealistic" it was. However think of it like this:

 

- You've got the IIA hiring a (somewhat) young ex-soldier to perform a few simple hits and then bring down a helicopter.

 

- Then in V you've got the FIB hiring a simple bank robber, in his mid 40's and out of the game for 9 years, to rappel down buildings and steal chemicle weapons from a secret lab.

 

One I can actually see happening in real life, the other one I can't.

[kvic]

Actually the only two mission's I enjoyed was the first one with the jewelry store and the depository ,every mission in between was mind numbing.

[Charles Phipps]

The thing is, when you point out any flaws with these missions, hardcore V fanboys always bring up the fact that Niko worked for the government too and how "unrealistic" it was. However think of it like this:

 

- You've got the IIA hiring a (somewhat) young ex-soldier to perform a few simple hits and then bring down a helicopter.

 

- Then in V you've got the FIB hiring a simple bank robber, in his mid 40's and out of the game for 9 years, to rappel down buildings and steal chemicle weapons from a secret lab.

 

One I can actually see happening in real life, the other one I can't.

 

I don't mind the whole wetwork missions (after all, GTA shouldn't be close to reality) but explain WHY Haines need this done and it might work.

 

They don't bother.

Edited January 19, 2014 by Charles Phipps

[HOW'S ANNIE?]

 

 

The thing is, when you point out any flaws with these missions, hardcore V fanboys always bring up the fact that Niko worked for the government too and how "unrealistic" it was. However think of it like this:

 

- You've got the IIA hiring a (somewhat) young ex-soldier to perform a few simple hits and then bring down a helicopter.

 

- Then in V you've got the FIB hiring a simple bank robber, in his mid 40's and out of the game for 9 years, to rappel down buildings and steal chemicle weapons from a secret lab.

 

One I can actually see happening in real life, the other one I can't.

I don't mind the whole wetwork missions (after all, GTA shouldn't be close to reality) but explain WHY Haines need this done and it might work.

 

They don't bother.

I think the entire intention of these missions was just an excuse for Rockstar to give us some stupidly over the top missions to appeal to the 3D era fans.

[Jimbatron]

I agree it doesn't make sense, but I took these missions as a parody of politics and paranoia in Government organisations gone mad.

 

The "Three's Company Mission" is all about Steve Haines wanting to grab suspect the IIA are holding because he think's Mr K is valuable enough to further his career. Later it is questionable as to whether he knows much of any real value at all. Similarly in "Monkey Business", Haines assumes the IIA have a biological weapon they plan to release on American soil as an excuse to drive up funding. Whether he's correct on that or just delusional that they intend to do such at thing is another matter.

 

I took it the trio escaped detection of the IIA because in "The Wrap Up" it seems most likely the ULPC man was after Steve Haines specifically, having been unconvinced by his protestations of heroism at the end of "Monkey Business". Michael just happened to be there at the time, but the IIA were possible unaware he was been used as a hired gun by Haines. Also, as Michael points out, Dave Norton is their way to keep the FIB from finding out their involvement.

 

I saw the Merryweather Heist as completely separate to this plot line. The private militia were testing a super weapon, but there was no involvement from the IIA or FIB - although there probably would have been if Lester hadn't persuaded Trevor to give it back.

[Charles Phipps]

I was really looking forward to the War on Terror commentary of the IAA and FIB killing each other and making things worse.

However, they didn't bother with any commentary or explanation.

[Journey_95]

yeah the IAA and FIB plot was pretty useless and annoying

but according to hardcore GTA V fanboys it was "something new and fresh"

[Captain Arthur]

yeah the IAA and FIB plot was pretty useless and annoying

but according to hardcore GTA V fanboys it was "something new and fresh"

I might be missing something but where are these "Gta V fanboys"? Almost everyone here in the V section says the story is inferior to the one in IV. That's one of the few things we can all agree on.

[Charles Phipps]

I love the idea. I hate the execution.

[Geralt of Rivia]

I love the idea. I hate the execution.

The story started out great. Then it faltered.

 

It wasn't the best story, but I don't think it's really as bad as most people claim it is.

[eclaireN7]

 

yeah the IAA and FIB plot was pretty useless and annoying

but according to hardcore GTA V fanboys it was "something new and fresh"

I might be missing something but where are these "Gta V fanboys"? Almost everyone here in the V section says the story is inferior to the one in IV. That's one of the few things we can all agree on.

 

The story itself was worse than IV's, however the missions were more enjoyable.

[Geralt of Rivia]

 

 

yeah the IAA and FIB plot was pretty useless and annoying

but according to hardcore GTA V fanboys it was "something new and fresh"

I might be missing something but where are these "Gta V fanboys"? Almost everyone here in the V section says the story is inferior to the one in IV. That's one of the few things we can all agree on.

 

The story itself was worse than IV's, however the missions were more enjoyable.

 

Yup. That's exactly how I feel

[Spaghetti Cat]

^ x2

 

I did like the mission where you break into the IAA building. Did that the other night and had a blast!

 

That said the story was all over the place, maybe I missed something tho. More and more I believe that V is the successor to Gay Tony episode rather than IV and TLaD. The over-the-top feeling of Gay Tony feels out of place in the IV universe, but is right at home in the V universe. In that way I think the FIB missions are more of flight-of-fancy rather than biased on something realistic. So when something goes BOOM you forget about the plot holes in the overall story. In that sense the FIB missions are kinda the equivalent of the heists but with more shooting and splosions.

 

OT: Just now realize that FIB = lie lol doh!

Edited January 19, 2014 by Spaghetti Cat

[Jimbatron]

I really don't get a lot of this stuff about IV/V plot being better. I've completed both several times over. There's honestly not a lot in it in my opinion....maybe because it is written by the same people.....?

 

My critiques of V would be that it lacked a big bad guy of the stature of Bulgarin or Rascalov, and it was shorter. But on the other hand, they took more time to create more complex and detailed lives and history for our protagonists.

 

I don't think the FIB/IIA story arc was the strongest and could have been better executed, but then again I thought the missions were good fun.

[codename_duchess]

I generally enjoyed the gameplay of these missions, even if the inability for Michael to realize Steve Haines needed to be shot in the back of the head got old quickly. However, does anyone else feel like the story regarding this whole thing puttered out rather than resolved itself explosively?

 

* We kidnap and torture a US citizen

 

* We assassinate a foreign national

 

* We steal a courier drive full of sensitive information

 

* We steal a frigging WMD (TWICE--but that's more with Merryweather)

 

Then, after the big shoot-out, the IAA disappears from the story. All of the questions about who was doing what, why, and how disappears. We never find out why Steve Haines is using Michael, Trevor, and Franklin as wetwork guys versus actually using his own guys or Merryweather. It's not exactly that difficult for someone to snipe someone through a window. Likewise, it's not like Trevor is a particularly brilliant torture technician.

 

Steve Haines CLAIMS the IAA is going to do the same plot of "The Long Kiss Goodnight" which was later adopted by 9/11 Truthers that they're going to do an attack on American soil in order to get more funding. However, Steve Haines is a lying liar who lies. It's not out of the question for the IAA--who are a bunch of jerkasses--but the Paper Contact doesn't seem like the sort of guy to do that.

 

Steve Haines is accused of a bunch of criminal activity but, given he's ACTUALLY FIGHTING TERRORISM, I'm not sure what the problem is. It's kind of surreal but in a game with people like Tenpenny and other complete scumbags in law enforcement--if Steve is telling the truth then he's one of the few guys in GTA who is actually doing his job.

 

Then there's the superweapon that Merryweather is keeping in the port of Los Angeles, not moving it anywhere. Were they going to blow up the port? Sell it to China? What?

 

Then, after killing a crapton of IAA agents, our heroes are never bothered by them again.

 

I think the problem isn't working for these guys. It's the fact none of these missions make sense. I mean, the Paper Company missions in GTAIV make perfect sense. The CIA can't legally operate on American soil--but here, it just seems surreal.

Totally agree with some of the points you made, especially about the IAA agents. That's not to say i'm criticising the story.

What it makes me think that wis will be part of future DLC for there SP mode. Again, this may also depend on the choice of ending you go for

[Upggrade]

That nerve toxin Mike stole was a top secret make up formula.

[Charles Phipps]

That nerve toxin Mike stole was a top secret make up formula.

 

That was the news cover-up story, yeah.

 

Theft[/b]: I'm iffy about this particular heist as there's parts of it which were rather boring, like the cutting through the metal grate mini-game. It also didn't feel like "Grand Theft Auto" unlike the other missions. It felt like a parody of Splinter Cell to be perfectly honest and the image of pudgy Michael in a wetsuit tromping around wasn't ENOUGH of a parody to make it worthwhile.

 

I think part of my problem with this is Steve Haines is the one claiming this is all for national security and I expected him to be lying. The Paper Company Contact seems a lot more trustworthy than Steve and he's the guy supposedly doing this terrorist attack. However, the game just seems to take this action at face-value.

 

It would have felt much MORE like GTA if it turned out all of the missions against the IAA had been Steve's paranoid delusions or stealing a makeup formula to sell on the black market. Sort of like how Niko found out Brucie didn't need to kill any of his targets, it was only the result of roid rage.

[Upggrade]

 

That nerve toxin Mike stole was a top secret make up formula.

 

That was the news cover-up story, yeah.

 

Theft[/b]: I'm iffy about this particular heist as there's parts of it which were rather boring, like the cutting through the metal grate mini-game. It also didn't feel like "Grand Theft Auto" unlike the other missions. It felt like a parody of Splinter Cell to be perfectly honest and the image of pudgy Michael in a wetsuit tromping around wasn't ENOUGH of a parody to make it worthwhile.

 

I think part of my problem with this is Steve Haines is the one claiming this is all for national security and I expected him to be lying. The Paper Company Contact seems a lot more trustworthy than Steve and he's the guy supposedly doing this terrorist attack. However, the game just seems to take this action at face-value.

 

It would have felt much MORE like GTA if it turned out all of the missions against the IAA had been Steve's paranoid delusions or stealing a makeup formula to sell on the black market. Sort of like how Niko found out Brucie didn't need to kill any of his targets, it was only the result of roid rage.

 

The way I look at it is that it was make up and Steve had us steal it either to sell it himself or to help his buddy Devin rig the stock market.

[Charles Phipps]

Yeah, I'd have liked it more if the game had set it up like this.

 

If the Garbage Truck Heist and the Bank Heist had been divorced of the IAA/FIB and there'd been a nasty criminal motive then the missions would have been better received. I don't mind working for spies and the government in GTA but it should be still hyper-stylized, crazy, and corrupt.

Edited January 20, 2014 by Charles Phipps

[Choco Taco]

I completed the game 100% and I can't really tell you what the IAA, FIB, and Merryweather stuff was all about. It was that uninteresting and forgettable to me.

[Official General]

I completed the game 100% and I can't really tell you what the IAA, FIB, and Merryweather stuff was all about. It was that uninteresting and forgettable to me.

 

I second that.

 

I would not even know where to begin if I was asked to explain what that bullsh*t was all about.

Edited January 20, 2014 by Official General

[Geralt of Rivia]

 

I completed the game 100% and I can't really tell you what the IAA, FIB, and Merryweather stuff was all about. It was that uninteresting and forgettable to me.

 

I second that.

 

I would not even know where to begin if I was asked to explain what that bullsh*t was all about.

 

Really? I mean, it was uninteresting, but it was also so simple. I think you're exaggerating

[Official General]

 

 

I completed the game 100% and I can't really tell you what the IAA, FIB, and Merryweather stuff was all about. It was that uninteresting and forgettable to me.

 

I second that.

 

I would not even know where to begin if I was asked to explain what that bullsh*t was all about.

 

Really? I mean, it was uninteresting, but it was also so simple. I think you're exaggerating

 

 

Why would I exaggerate ? I've nothing to gain from that. I really felt that way about that part of the story. Honestly, I kept hoping it was gonna be over soon while playing it, but little did I know.....

 

For real, if I had to recall what it was about now, I would not remember much because it was not interesting at all. I did not care to store it in my brain. I agree with Choco, it was that forgettable. Even if it was simple to work out, the fact that it was uninteresting made me so not bothered to retain any serious memory of it. All I can tell you is that there some bullsh*t beef going on between the FIB, IAA and Merryweather. I couldn't tell you anymore than that.

Edited January 20, 2014 by Official General

[dyspoid]

Well, someone above me stated that this story arc could have been related to the stock market. It makes sense. Otherwise, why was Devin even hanging out with his FIB buddies? Where they were holding and torturing a civillian? The civillian obviously had no information - they just needed to identify a rich arab before they smoked him. Was he some oil giant? Possibly.

 

Also, the behaviour of Michael, Trevor and Frank were essentially terrorist attacks. The media would see it like that... a foreign potential terrorist, who is rescued by his organisation? This gives Haines funding, and would assist with improving public perception of Merryweather, driving stocks - That makes Devin smile, no?

Edited January 20, 2014 by dyspoid

[Charles Phipps]

Well, someone above me stated that this story arc could have been related to the stock market. It makes sense. Otherwise, why was Devin even hanging out with his FIB buddies? Where they were holding and torturing a civillian? The civillian obviously had no information - they just needed to identify a rich arab before they smoked him. Was he some oil giant? Possibly.

Yeah, that would have been much-much better. Rockstar dropped a lot of hints which went nowhere.

 

[mastershake616]

Norton's problems became Michael's problems after the jewel heist. Haines is Norton's boss. The IAA had sh*t on Steve, and Steve wanted sh*t on the IAA. Steve's mindset is that of a backwards hypocrite -- a self proclaimed patriot who employs non-patriotic acts (torture, terrorism) to get what he wants and advance his reputation.

 

Michael has to abide by Norton's commands, which are really just Haines' bumbling attempts to increase his own funding. Instead of getting the intel he wants, he ends up incriminating himself and that threatens Norton's career, which threatens Michael's anonymity.

 

Franklin helps Michael during these missions because he knows that he'll become rich working for his "mentor". Trevor is under the assumption that working for the feds will help spring Brad.

 

The execution isn't the neatest, and some threads of the FIB plot line are either lazily tied up or not tied up at all, but there was a point and it did make sense.