GTA: 5 most annoying missions in the series' history

There are not a lot of franchises in videogame history that have been able to consistently put out great games over the course of nearly two decades. The GTA franchise has been able to do exactly that and has become a mainstay of popular media and pop culture.

By this point, everyone knows what to expect from a GTA game: colorful characters, hilarious satire, and over-the-top cinematic missions. Almost every mission in GTA seeks to offer the player a brilliant set-piece that is fun to play and can deliver narrative-wise.

Having said that, there are other missions in GTA that fall into the "filler" category and exist only to drive the plot forward.

Here, we take a look at some of the most annoying missions in GTA history.

5 most annoying missions in GTA history

5) Wrong Side of the Tracks- GTA San Andreas

The most memed mission in GTA, the Wrong Side of the Tracks mission from GTA San Andreas has lived in infamy for the better part of 16 years as one of the most annoying missions in gaming history.

The mission sounds exciting enough: CJ and Big Smoke must ride a bike alongside a moving train and attempt to shoot down rival gang members. All of this sounds great in theory but the actual mission is straight out of the depths of hell.

For one, Big Smoke couldn't hit a target if it was 5 inches away from his nose, and the rival gang members seem to be impervious to the bullets. To add to the misery of this level, there is no logical reason why CJ would stop chasing the train past the bridge.

All of this makes up one of the most annoying missions in the series' history.

4) By the Book- GTA V

The infamous torture sequence in GTA V has courted much controversy and has drawn the ire of not just critics and publications but also of the franchise's fans.

In the mission, the player, as Trevor, is tasked with getting information out of an innocent man wrongly labeled as a "suspect" through torture. The player is asked to use a variety of torture techniques such as waterboarding and other gruesome methods to make the "suspect" talk.

Apart from the obvious, the writing also comes off as somewhat out-of-touch, which is odd for a creative team that has been so on-point with satire previously. The mission comes off as "edgy for the sake of being edgy" and is a glaring low-point in the series' history.

3) The Driver- GTA Vice City

Leading up to one of the best missions in GTA Vice City called "The Job" is one of the worst missions in the game, "The Driver". The player, as Tommy, must race against Hilary King and hopefully beat him in order to recruit him as the getaway driver.

Apart from the weird logic behind why Tommy would need a driver if he could best him in a race, the actual mission is quite challenging for all the wrong reasons. The players are given a Sentinel and must race that against Hilary's Sabre, making for an odd matchup.

Players have often said that the only way they could win the race was through a fortunate glitch in the game that put Hilary's car upside down on a bridge. The race is unnecessarily hard, and players would much rather never experience this mission.

2) Espresso-2-Go!- GTA III

There is a lot that can be said about GTA III and how it hasn't particularly aged well in 2020, but the biggest detractor of the game comes in the way of one particular mission.

In this mission, players are tasked with ramming certain roadside stalls all over Liberty City. It sounds easy enough in theory until the player realizes that the locations are quite far apart, and the amount of time given for this task is way too less.

Players have resorted to launching missiles from afar in order to complete it quickly, but that just ends up with the player having a high Wanted Level instead, thereby increasing the challenge multiple times over.

1) Scouting the Port- GTA V

Even the most die-hard fans fail to justifiably defend this mission as it is simply one of the worst offenders in GTA's history. The player, as Trevor, must pass themselves off as a dock worker and complete multiple duties that come with the job.

The player is tasked with moving containers through cranes for what seems like an eternity. These tasks might highlight the contrast between the high-octane lives of the player in GTA and the random NPC in the game but they do not make for a very enjoyable experience.

Perhaps, the point was for the mission to be annoying but it feels extremely out of place and non-essential in the grander scheme of things.