Did Three Leaf Clover need planning?

[Algonquin Assassin]

Despite that the universally consensus seems to be that Three Leaf Clover is GTA IV's best mission (I don't agree, but we''ll leave that for another thread) one criticism has always been a lack of planning, but why? Did anyone understand Niko's role in the mission? He was pretty much in the same role that Packie ironically serves in the heists in GTA V.

 

I remember the first time playing GTA IV always thinking about when the heist (s) would be since it was just a traditional aspect of GTA games. Personally I thought that being roped into it out of the blue was epic because I really didn't know what to expect.

 

To me it didn't make any sense for any planning to take place since Niko was just a crew member and the only pre-requisite he had was getting a suit. Other than that it was a straight forward bank job that didn't need meetings in a dark room to go over blueprints and what not.

[Niobium]

i would have to agree that niko's only purpose is to be the gunman in the heist, like the gunmen in V. his role was not to be a planner like Michael.

 

however, i would actually liked to have heists planned with a bit more strategy since all the heist crew did was shoot some cops and drive away. they could have chosen to be more stealthy, breaking into the bank at night. or they could have used disguises or something. i dunno.

 

Three Leaf Clover did not necessarily need more planning or strategy, but it would have been awesome.

[Sussus Amongus]

i would have to agree that niko's only purpose is to be the gunman in the heist, like the gunmen in V. his role was not to be a planner like Michael.

 

however, i would actually liked to have heists planned with a bit more strategy since all the heist crew did was shoot some cops and drive away. they could have chosen to be more stealthy, breaking into the bank at night. or they could have used disguises or something. i dunno.

 

Three Leaf Clover did not necessarily need more planning or strategy, but it would have been awesome.

This is GTA not some master planning strategy game. Packie and the gang just picked the loud approach, got a car picked the crew (Niko, Michael, Derrick atleast i think he was Derrick) and just did it. It was a bit like a badly planned movie style of bank robbery. All Niko did was complete his role which was to be the gunman and the driver.

 

Edit: This would be the Heist Passed screen if this was V. Packie pov btw.

 

Heist Passed!

 

Cash earned: $1,000,000

 

Crew cut: $750,000

Michael cut: DECEASED

Derrick cut: $250,000

Niko cut: $250,000

Cash earned: $500,000

 

Accuracy: 43/50%

Headshots: 13/10

Mission Time: 18:47/14:00

Edited September 27, 2014 by Cakelover21

[Tyla]

I don't understand any planning critisism. They make obvious Gerald planned the whole thing behind the scenes and Packie roped in Niko for the job. The whole planning process didn't need to be shown on screen. Packie even makes it clear in the car how the job is meant to go down and what the roles are.

 

Which leads me to an actual critisism -- where the hell were the security guards each of them were meant to take down once they got in?

[universetwisters]

It would've been cooler if they actually had Niko in another role, say, getaway driver, or maybe even Packie takes Niko on another similar robbery where he plays as the getaway driver. Cool stuff.

[Sussus Amongus]

It would've been cooler if they actually had Niko in another role, say, getaway driver, or maybe even Packie takes Niko on another similar robbery where he plays as the getaway driver. Cool stuff.

He had to lose the cops in a stolen Huntley. Is that not "getaway driver" enough for you?

[daliakiller]

 

It would've been cooler if they actually had Niko in another role, say, getaway driver, or maybe even Packie takes Niko on another similar robbery where he plays as the getaway driver. Cool stuff.

He had to lose the cops in a stolen Huntley. Is that not "getaway driver" enough for you?Niko does everything. Contain the crowd, get the money on bags, fight the cops AND is the getaway driver. I think UT meant only one role for Niko.

[woggleman]

It didn't need it but it would have been good to have a heist in the game where you plan it from start to end. That is why I enjoyed the Jewelry Store heist so much.

[wiizardii]

A planning would have been nice, I just played the mission and out of nowhere on the way to the LC bank, in the car packie and his men are saying that they are gunna hit a bank ( I am like what the heck, so that's why I am wearing a suit...?)

 

It was weird, even though Niko was just a gunman, he was more than that in the bank job. A planning should have been in the missions prior to three leaf clover, and the mission would have been more fun if we broke in at night time rather than morning, or something like that. However different approaches/executions is not needed IMO.

Edited September 27, 2014 by Phoenix_Shit

[Tilemaxx]

GTA IV needed more Three Leaf Clover's imho. The fact that this mission is the highlight and the reference point of GTA IV after all these years is not coincidental.

Edited September 27, 2014 by Tilemaxx

[Undyne]

I still don't understand why I needed to wear a suit to start the mission. Anyways, yeah, it was very uncalled for, because in the cutscene prior to the mission start they didn't mention any heists but when they got to the car all of a sudden they start talking about it. I believe Gerald planned the whole thing off-screen.

[B Dawg]

( I am like what the heck, so that's why I am wearing a suit...?)

You gotta look good when you're robbing a bank. Ask the Payday crew

[woggleman]

Judging by the conversation in the drive to the bank maybe things would have went better if Niko planned it. He was clearly the smartest in the group.

[donnits]

The point of V's characters was that they were their own bosses, and they hired people along for jobs. Niko is the opposite, he IS the person that a boss hires. So no, i don't think planning was necessary for the Three Leaf Clover mission.

Edited September 27, 2014 by thekillerdonuts

[Algonquin Assassin]

I still don't understand why I needed to wear a suit to start the mission. Anyways, yeah, it was very uncalled for, because in the cutscene prior to the mission start they didn't mention any heists but when they got to the car all of a sudden they start talking about it. I believe Gerald planned the whole thing off-screen.

 

Before the mission Packie sent Niko a text regarding a "big job" and I didn't mind wearing a suit. At least it was a simple pre-requisite unlike the masks and boiler suits in GTA V with their nonsense objectives.

 

Judging by the conversation in the drive to the bank maybe things would have went better if Niko planned it. He was clearly the smartest in the group.

 

Isn't a four leaf clover to the Irish a sign of good luck? Since four of them entered the bank (Niko, Packie, Derrick and Michael) with Michael dying and everything else going to sh*t that's why it's called "Three Leaf Clover".

 

If Niko planned it and things went smoothly it wouldn't be called "Three Leaf Clover".

[The Harwood Bitcher]

Probably they planned offscreeen, the hilarious part is they kinda bullied niko to be part of it and informed him in the car on the way to the bank....

Some friends

Edited October 3, 2014 by The Harwood Bitcher

[WandererNiko]

Probably they planned offscreeen, the hilarious part is they kinda bullied niko to be part of it and informed him in the car on the way to the bank....

Some friends

True. Amazing plan.

[Pavle]

I wonder why Gerry didn't go with them. He was probably paranoid and he knew that the cops were watching him.

Edited October 3, 2014 by pajkosinjoSRB

[HOW'S ANNIE?]

Seriously none of you understand why they wear suits during the bank job? You think a group of criminals care if they look good when they're robbing a bank for millions?

 

It's to disguis their body shape. It's harder to tell whether somebody has a buff or skinny physique than it does if you're just wearing a jacket and jeans.

[B Dawg]

Seriously none of you understand why they wear suits during the bank job? You think a group of criminals care if they look good when they're robbing a bank for millions?

 

[Magic_Al]

Seriously none of you understand why they wear suits during the bank job? You think a group of criminals care if they look good when they're robbing a bank for millions?

 

It's to disguis their body shape. It's harder to tell whether somebody has a buff or skinny physique than it does if you're just wearing a jacket and jeans.

 

It's often thought "Three Leaf Clover" was inspired by the look of the bank robbery in the movie Heat but the suits had more of a purpose in the movie. In Heat, the heist crew wears suits to be invisible as they enter a very large and busy bank lobby in the middle of the business day, separately, unmasked, blending in with customers and taking positions where they'll be able to surprise and control the crowd. Nobody notices them until after they've put on their masks and taken out their guns.

 

In "Three Leaf Clover" the robbers just burst in and immediately start robbing, so suits seem to be just an arbitrary choice of uniform, as you say, to not be individually recognizable.

Edited October 5, 2014 by Nem Wan

[Zello]

I like it the way it is The Mcreary crew aren't really professionals like the V trio it was sloppy from the start. The way the heist went added more to the excitement and suspense I spoiled it for myself by watching it on youtube first knowing what would happen. When you're running through Chinatown from the cops that leads you down to the subway and you're like what now? Then making your way through the subway tunnels unsure of what lies ahead. That's what makes Three Leaf Clover stand out unlike the V heists that were planned and never made any mistakes it took the excitement out of it.

[El Tigre chino]

Yes whenever someone dies it could use some replacing.

[Flachbau]

I never gave much thought abut Three Leaf Clover until GTA V released.

 

I now think it could have given some more warning, and have some planning before the mission started. I wasn't expecting such a large shoot out with the police. I'm sure nobody else was expecting it though - but I suppose that's the fun part. I guess V improved on this with the pre-heist planning missions, which is something I enjoy a lot.

 

I believe Niko could have had a bigger role when it comes to this - like he could have gotten a specific vehicle for escape, etc. Would have been cool. As nobum62 mentioned, there could have been a stealth option, which is something I agree heavily with.

[Tyla]

Suits are the uniform of a high risk job. When chances of death or capture are likely, they'll wear the suit with the slab and the mugshot in mind. It's a twisted way of maintaining dignity.

 

I wouldn't have minded stealing a getaway car. Then again, where the hell does your car end up between the events of the robbery and the aftermath? It just disappears.

[Queen Elizabeth II]

Three Leaf Clover is not even exciting, and stupid. Killing all these cops like that

[Jimbatron]

I never found the lack of planning an issue. As has been said above, Niko is a hired gun. He just turns up follows the lead, and does what he does very well. If Gerald had been a protagonist, then you'd have had to have had the full set up included in the story. This said, whilst the McRearys are legends in their own right, I don't think they are into the meticulous planning of Michael and Lester in V. Gerald has the vision, as demonstrated by his later missions with his master plan to destabilise the Ancellotis, but perhaps they lacked someone to look at the detail. Even if the Eugene Reaper incident hadn't happened, it's doubtful they'd have got the money out before the Cops turned up. The escape feels improvised - although it's possible Gerald and Packie had this option thought of all along.