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Unlike the bridge connecting the first two islands in Grand Theft Auto 3, the bridge over to Shoreside Vale is completely operational from the very beginning of the game. Unfortunately, however, it’s actually a lift bridge, and it remains raised until players reach a certain mission fairly late on. After the completion of said mission though, the platform will be periodically lowered, allowing players to pass freely from one landmass to the other whenever they like.
How to Unlock the Third Island in Grand Theft Auto 3 - Definitive Edition
In order to unlock Shoreside Vale, players will need to complete the “Grand Theft Aero” mission for Donald Love, which becomes available once players have finished “A Drop in the Ocean.” The mission requires players to travel to Francis International Airport in Shoreside Vale and retrieve a package from Love’s private hangar. Unfortunately though, when Claude arrives on the tarmac, he finds that the Colombians have beat him to it and must fight a large group of them in the hopes of retrieving the package.
Though the package doesn’t end up being in the hangar, an empty Panlantic van guides players to a construction site in Fort Staunton, where they’ll need to take out another large group of Colombians to progress. For those having trouble, it’s possible to park a van next to the blue outer fence and jump over right next to the elevator, which will take them to the upper floors of the building. There, they’ll run into a few familiar faces, before retrieving the package from the people who stole it. It’s then just a simple case of returning the package to Love in order to complete the mission.
The game’s final safe house won’t show up on the map straight away, nor will the final set of payphone missions either. The next time players drive over the bridge into Shoreside Vale, however, Claude will receive a message on his pager letting him know about the new missions. Once it’s been read, both the safe house and the new payphone will be marked on the map. Given that the next few main story missions are back on Staunton Island though, some may choose to wait a while before properly exploring the new area.
Things to Do Before Unlocking Staunton Island
Much like the Mafia in Portland, the Colombian Cartel on Staunton Island become increasingly hostile towards Claude as the story progresses. Thankfully, however, they’re not quite as deadly as their Italian counterparts due to their weaker weapons, and, as there’s no major flashpoint for when they really start targeting players like there was with the mob, there’s arguably no point in delaying progress for the sake of tracking down collectibles this time around.
One thing that players will want to keep in mind though is that there are a couple of main story missions that can be permanently missed if players progress Love’s storyline too quickly. Kenji’s missions will stop being available after players have completed “Waka-Gashira Wipe Out,” while Asuka’s “Two-faced Tanner” mission will be permanently missed if players don’t complete it before “Grand Theft Aero.” With this in mind, it’s advised to complete every mission for both Yakuza members before even getting started on Love’s.
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