Are You Going to San Fierro?

C.J. learns that The Truth's van has a three ton shipment for him to deliver. The Truth practices t'ai chi while he talks and chants a mantra: "Ommmm...." A police helicopter approaches, so The Truth tells C.J. they'll have to torch the fields, and hopes Gaia (an early Greek Mother Earth goddess) can forgive them. The Truth gives C.J. a Flame Thrower. C.J. has 5 1/2 minutes to burn them; you can see what fields need to be burned as red dots on the radar. Mainly have him get between two rows and make a sweep of flame on one row then the other, move ahead and do it as needed till the pair of rows is done, switch to Fist/Brass Knuckles to have him sprint to another pair of rows, and repeat as needed to do it the fastest way and not run out of fuel. Each row is made of patches, and C.J. only needs to give each patch a burst of flame for the whole patch to burn. (There's a spare Flame Thrower by a barn if he runs out of fuel; Molotovs work, too.)

Farewell, My Love

Catalina throws a tantrum at an understandably confused C.J., bashing his car with a crowbar, to tell him she's chosen another lover--Claude Speed, of "GTA III," who makes a 2nd cameo appearance.

C.J. gets a black ZR-350 to race over the same route in the other direction. This shows up in your Stats as "Badlands B," and you have the option of trying it again to beat your old time for the Los Santos Race Tournaments.

Catalina says C.J. won unfairly but gives him the deed to a garage in San Fierro; she needs the car to go with Claude to Liberty City. C.J. gets a call from The Truth, who says he got the shipment for him to deliver at a little green village in the hills (Leafy Hollow).

C.J. can get five wanted stars.

Wu Zi Mu

After C.J. waits a while, Cesar shows up. Claude Speed is seen in the background. Wu Zi Mu and a few friends go to C.J. to welcome him to the race, but C.J. is suspicious of him. C.J. has to win an on/off road race from S of Montgomery through Blueberry and into the Panopticon. It's been said that you can use any four-wheel vehicle for it, but Anurag Sinha wrote to me that the game won't let C.J. use certain ones, including, at least, a Hotring Racer, Monster, Rhino, or Forklift. 

Made in Heaven / Small Town Bank

Catalina hates men in a simple-minded us vs. them way, and yells at C.J. She just wants to rob places with C.J. now and not have a relationship beyond that. She has C.J. drive her (use her Buffalo) to the last "$" icon.

Gone Courting / Against All Odds

From outside Catalina's house, we can hear that she whips C.J., playing the S and M dominatrix to get her coffee perking. C.J. seems to be weathering this alright, but seems worried that this helper is always on the verge of going completely nuts. Catalina takes C.J. robbing again.

First Base / Local Liquor Store

 Catalina doesn't answer her door for so long that C.J. implores her to come out. She surprises him from behind and angrily puts a gun to his head. He pacifies her by saying they'll rob places, etc. She thinks she loves him. C.J. isn't sure if he's thrilled. Have C.J. drive her to one of the three "$" icons.

King in Exile

C.J. goes to the trailer at the CV icon to see Kendl and Cesar. Cesar wants to kill some Los Santos drug dealers. Cesar tells C.J. that the drug dealers who've infested the Grove Street neighborhood are Tenpenny, Pulaski, and Big Smoke. C.J. can't believe that about Big Smoke, but Cesar says Big Smoke sends a car to San Fierro twice a week to get cocaine. C.J. says he'll watch the highway to San Fierro for it. Catalina calls and angrily insists that C.J. has to help her rob places. A pink "C" icon appears in Fern Ridge.

C.J. gets another save house: Fern Ridge C4 free

At the dot just NE of the "O" of "RED COUNTY" (Red County).

Body Harvest

Tenpenny, using a bong and President Clinton-like inhales to get stoned on herb, introduces C.J. to The Truth. The Truth is a marijuana farmer and dealer of various kinds of street drugs. Tenpenny tells C.J. to pay The Truth for marijuana to deliver ("555 WE TIP"), then he leaves. C.J. won't do the drugs The Truth offers him. The Truth needs to know he can trust C.J., so he tells C.J. to steal a Combine Harvester from the survivalists at The Farm for him before C.J. can pay him and get the job. The Truth says "Amaste" as a farewell. 

First Date / Tanker Commander

Send C.J. to the "?" icon at the diner in Dillimore to meet Cesar's cousin. (I'd stop at the TV studio to get some Sniper Rifle ammo on the way.) Cesar's cousin is Catalina from "GTA III," a very abusive nutcake that likes armed robbery, murder, and being the S of S and M, yet C.J. has important concerns that preclude introducing her to Denise. Poor C.J.--this is Cesar's help C.J. has to rely on? She gives him four locations she wants to rob. He (and we) can pick the order.

C.J. gets Respect.

Four "$" icons appear.

Badlands

C.J. has to kill, and get photographic evidence he's killed, the person that could inform on Tenpenny's group. We're shown how to use a Camera: press the RMB to use the view finder, zoom with X and Z or the Scroll Wheel, and shoot the picture with the LMB.

The BradyGames guide has a good tip about killing the guy from a good distance from the cabin so he doesn't leaves it and turn this into a chase. Rusk found a good vantage point NW of the cabin; since C.J. approaches from the S, keep him out of view along the W side of the plateau until you can see the target with a red glow--one of those inverted cones over the target's head, I guess--just inside a cabin door. After you have C.J. snipe the target's body (if C.J. shoots the target's head, he won't be able to be identified), have C.J. snipe the four FBI men who run, practically single file, at C.J.. Then have C.J. photograph the target.

Cesar calls. He knows Sweet is in jail and assures C.J. that Kendl's safe. Cesar says he's sending the C.J. help of Cesar's cousin, and wants C.J. to meet the cousin in the diner in Dillimore.

Sweet calls from the prison hospital. C.J. says he has to make sure Kendl's okay 1st, but he's going to help Sweet get out of jail.

The Green Sabre

Sweet is proud of C.J. and wants him to join the GSF gang in hitting the Ballas under the Mulholland Intersection. But Cesar persuades C.J. to meet him 1st. Have C.J. get there fast then transfer to Cesar's car. Cesar, going on tips he knew would be important to C.J., has C.J. watch in secret with him as two Ballas, Big Smoke and Ryder, Pulaski driving the green Sabre used for the drive-by that killed C.J.'s Mom, and Tenpenny come out of a building. C.J. thanks Cesar, and realizes that Sweet is going to an ambush. He has Cesar put Kendl in safe place. Have C.J. get back to his car and speed to Sweet--in the lot under the Mulholland Intersection--where he finds a shoot out going on, and that Sweet has been shot. C.J. tells him about Big Smoke's duplicity, etc. Sweet wants C.J. to leave before the police arrive, but C.J. wants to fight off the Ballas until they do.

Reuniting the Families

During the mission, there are a couple of opportunities for C.J. to leave the Jefferson Motel and explore San Andreas without a wanted level. 

Sweet wants his Grove Street gang to meet with the other GSF leaders at the Jefferson Motel. Have C.J. drive them there. On the way, Ryder picks on C.J. again, and Big Smoke tells him to "cool it." Ryder says he's as "cool as a Shaolin monk." Shaolin temples are an order of Chinese Buddhist monasteries famed for association with Japanese Buddhism and martial arts. Once there, Sweet goes inside alone--one representative per family can attend. The LSPD moves in with police cars and S.W.A.T. agents rappelling from helicopters, and get into a shoot out with the gang members. Big Smoke and Ryder leave while C.J. stays to help Sweet.

C.J. is given a Shotgun by the game, but for better have him switch to something powerful with a steady burst, like an M4 or SMG, or switch to Molotovs, which are good for getting around corners. Have C.J. shoot the attacking S.W.A.T. agents on his way up through the motel to Sweet. The S.W.A.T. agents may appear on upper balconies, come through a skylight, bound out of rooms up ahead, etc. When C.J. gets to the sign on the wall that says the next hall has "Rooms 5-8," have C.J. go down that hall, around the corner, down the hall to the 2nd room on the right, and into the room, where Sweet is waiting.

Los Sepulcros

Sweet wants the Ballas to be attacked at a funeral for a Balla called Little Weasel, whom C.J. and Big Smoke killed. C.J. learns about recruiting gang members. Target a prospect with the RMB so an arrow (green, if they're in good health) points down at them, and press G. Draw recruits near with G and have them wait in place with H. Holding G or H, or going far away, will disband the group. After making a couple of recruits, C.J. drives them and Sweet to the funeral at the graveyard in Los Sepulcros (Spanish for "The Tombs"). Kane is considered to be Balla "front yard" (a euphemism for hair around a pu**y--Urban Dictionary) "royalty," and he'll try to make a getaway if there's trouble. 

Once there, have C.J. jump the wall to join the others, then go after Kane, killing the other Ballas as needed to stay alive to kill Kane before Kane makes it a vehicle chase. Kane is wearing Armor, so have C.J. move in with something strong. Reader Chen Dong's method returns from "Gray Imports" to work more melee magic here: have C.J. chase Kane and use his Knife and fight moves on him, knock him down, and give him a belly ache. Have C.J. drive the Grove Street guys back to Sweet's place. C.J. gets Respect.

Doberman

Sweet calls, following up on the previous call, to send C.J., alone, to Ammu-Nation, then to take over Balla territory and drive out the ex-Grove Street guy there. Send C.J. to the "S" icon at the Downtown Ammu-Nation to pick up "Doberman"- C.J. learns that Glen Park is the Balla territory to attack. Stock up on whatever upgrades C.J.'s arsenal. C.J. learns about turf wars. Have C.J., on foot, kill some Ballas to provoke a gang war, which is comprised of three waves of attackers. If C.J. shoots a policeman, he gets one star. The other pedestrians and traffic disappear and Heart and Armor pickups appear.

On the radar and in-game map: The attackers, Ballas this time, are seen as red blips. Another gang's territory is covered in translucent purple. A territory under attack has a Families icon--a little person--and the territory flashes translucent red. A Grove Street Families territory is covered in translucent green. A territory can be owned by C.J. but jointly with one or more other gangs if C.J. didn't finish a gang war or ignored a call to go to a gang war. Such a territory is pale gray-green until C.J. does a full takeover for it. A GSF territory will have GSF gang members that C.J. can recruit. C.J. can get the money from a takeover from the gold dollar symbol in front of the Johnson house. A fenced-in yard with a gate, or whatever such situation that provides protection for C.J. and forces the attackers to enter one at a time, makes the attackers easier for C.J. to handle. A rooftop can be a good vantage spot, too. C.J., having drawn out the gang member gone bad, has to kill him.

Gray Imports

Tenpenny doesn't want any one gang getting too powerful for him to control. He heard the Ballas are getting strong weapons from Russian arms dealers, so sends C.J. to an Ocean Docks warehouse.

Have C.J. go through the blue warehouse on the left, use the M4 on guards and the explosive barrels carried by Forklifts, get the Armor by the other warehouse door if he needs it, and shoot the lock to open the door. I've used the M4 or Molotovs for C.J. to get the three men revealed when the door opened and for any guards encountered on the way through the warehouse. You can have him shoot a pallet that's suspended near the ceiling to have it fall on one. Clear out all the Russian guards till all that's left to handle are the two Ballas and the Russian arms dealer in the room at the top of the stairs.

If C.J. enters the room, the Russian tries to run to a Banshee to make a getaway. Have C.J. shoot the two Ballas from outside the room. Then have C.J. run out through the door he came in, and the Russian's Banshee will be just beyond it. Have C.J. drive it forward to the end of the lot, do a 180 degree turn, and run down the Russian, comes running from around the far side of the building. Have C.J. chase him and do his fight moves on him, armed with a Knife. Have C.J. knock him down and gut him like a pig. If the Russian gets up, have C.J. do it again, etc.

I've also done this mission with C.J. able to fire through the door at enough of the side of the Russian arms dealer to kill him.

Burning Desire

Have the Fire truck mission done so C.J. has the fireproof feature. Have C.J. go to the donut store (the C icon) and meet Tenpenny, Pulaski, and Hernandez. Tenpenny wants C.J. to kill a Vago--"a drug-dealing, cop-killing bi**h--just like you"--who doesn't like the corrupt officers. It sounds like C.J. is being ordered to kill someone just like C.J.--someone being manipulated by Tenpenny the same way.

The game tells you to have C.J. get some Molotovs, go to the Vago's house, and throw them through the five windows indicated. Have C.J. throw them at any Vagos around, too. The longer you hold the LMB before releasing it, the farther C.J. throws. There are Molotovs nearby if you run out. This is one act that will never play Vagos again (sorry).

A woman cries for help from a 2nd floor window. Have C.J. go in the front door, up the stairs in the back, and down the hall to the last door on the left. She's afraid to leave, so have C.J. go downstairs to the kitchen, get the Fire Extinguisher, go back to her room, and shoot the Extinguisher at the base of the flames. Have C.J. go to her.

House Party

OG Loc quits his job at the Burger Shot; it's a parole violation, so he throws a party to give his rap routine a last chance to be heard before a possible jail sentence. C.J. agrees to go there after OG Loc says his microphone is broken.

Send C.J. to the party across the street from the Johnson house from 20:00 to 6:00 (with new clothes and a haircut if C.J. needs the upgrade). But when he gets there, the mike's been fixed, so he steps outside to find and Sweet and Ryder have been driven outside by OG Loc's enthusiastic but untalented act, too.

Sweet organizes a defense against a Balla attack--a blockade of cars is formed in the street. Using the radar to help locate targets, have C.J. help attack eight Ballas in the street (1st wave), snipe four on the overpass (2nd wave), then shoot twelve that approach from various directions (3rd wave).

C.J. gets Respect.

Management Issues

OG Loc has this mission for C.J. from 12:00 to 17:00. OG Loc tells C.J. that Madd Dogg's manager Scipio is trying to drive OG out of the music industry by telling everybody that OG is whack (nuts or horrible) (as about anyone with decent perception has noticed about OG). As C.J. drives off to take care of it, OG Loc calls: the manager's limo driver is going to pick up the manager.

If you have C.J. bump the limo with his vehicle, just give it a little bump. Thanks to spaceeinstein for telling me the manager's car is an Elegant and that "It's a whole lot better to just park your car in front of the manager and jack him. The car won't be damaged that way." Have C.J. kill the driver who gets out of it , jack the limo, take it to a Pay 'n' Spray if needed--the limo must not be damaged, and park it between two limos, parked in the same direction they face.

Madd Dogg's Rhymes

When C.J. recommends a writer for OG Loc (he hadn't lost his mind helping OG Loc get amplified--he was just helping a friend), OG Loc wants him to steal rapmeister Madd Dogg's rhyme book (Barnes and Noble and the public library were closed?). C.J. goes to Madd Dogg's mansion. C.J. has to use stealth on the guards there. 

The guards are shown as red icons on the radar, and point in the direction the guards face.

Have C.J. sneak up behind each guard, armed with the Knife provided, target them with the RMB, and press the LMB for C.J. to treat their neck like something unfortunate at Perdue Farms. Once C.J. has the rhyme book, have him get out the same way except using the Silenced 9mm Pistol he can take from fallen guards.

Have C.J. use the mountain bike outside and get the book to OG Loc.

C.J. gets some Respect. 

Life's a Beach

This mission is available by the Marina Burger Shot, which is by the Verona Beach save house, from 22:00 to 6:00. OG Loc wants C.J. to steal a sound system for him. Have C.J. go to the beach party, talk favorably (press "Y" for "Yes") to the lady at the sound system, which is in the open back of a van, then play the dance game with her (press one of the directional arrows, or W,S,A, or D, as the corresponding arrow rolls before the circle in the middle of the screen and in rhythm to the music).

Have C.J. jack the van--the lady gets in but is thrown from it--elude some shooting by party-goers, and park it in a garage. All the Pony vans in the game have the same sound system in the back. C.J. gets some Respect. 

The BradyGames guide says this opens the Dancing odd jobs, but the dance game is always available:

Just Business

Big Smoke has C.J. drive him to the Atrium to kill some Russians, one of whom killed a cousin of his (but remember, he says everyone is his cousin). The Russians are dressed in black and fire at them. Have C.J. help Big Smoke fire at the Russians and get them before Big Smoke's Health is gone. The Russians leave behind SMGs C.J. can use if you don't want him to use the Micro-SMG provided, and there's Armor nearby.

Then C.J. is driven on a BF-400 by Big Smoke. Have C.J., in the 1st person view, shoot at the shooting pursuers, who use BF-400's. (It's like the 2nd half of "Supply and Demand" in "Vice City.") Each motorcycle has a driver and a shooter, so C.J. can either take out the shooter or disable him by taking out the driver, which makes the bike flip out. C.J. can't take out the big Packer, but the Russians don't shoot from it so don't

waste time having C.J. shoot at it.

Wrong Side of the Tracks

Tenpenny and Pulaski leave Big Smoke's place again. Big Smoke says Three Deep gave him a good lead and has C.J. use Big Smoke's Glendale to drive him to Unity Station. There, he tells C.J. he's looking for a meeting between some San Fierro Rifa and some Vagos, who are making a deal. When Big Smoke sees the Vagos, without the Rifa, standing on a ledge over a train tunnel, he tells C.J. the Vagos "clocked us": beat them there and the Vagos jump on a moving passenger train to make a getaway.

The game wants you to have C.J. take Big Smoke on a Sanchez to speed along the locomotive so Big Smoke can shoot them with a Tec9. The BradyGames guide and most others say to stay just to the right of the track to the right of the train, avoiding the car the train hits, the oncoming train, and taking the high road by the track when Big Smoke says to.

Running Dog

Tenpenny and Pulaski, arrogant again, leave Big Smoke's home. Big Smoke wants C.J. to take him to meet his cousin Mary--marijuana--from Mexico. The deal goes sour--Big Smoke hits one Vago with a bat and C.J. chases the other. 

Add the fast repeated tapping of Left Shift to W so C.J. can catch him and kill him.

C.J. gets Respect.

OG Loc

Big Smoke and Sweet want C.J. to pick up Jeffrey, just released from prison and now calling himself OG Loc, from a police station. He wants Freddie killed for raping him in prison. At Freddie's home, Big Smoke and Sweet leave C.J. alone to help OG Loc.

Freddie makes a getaway on a motorcycle. C.J., with OG Loc on board, gives chase on another; have C.J. do a forward drive-by while OG helps. The game is forgiving if you make some wrong turns, but you fail the mission if Freddie gets too far away for too long. Freddy doesn't go so fast if C.J. generally follows from about half a block away. If the chase lasts till the end of the run, Freddie stops by three Vagos who open fire. Have C.J. help OG shoot all four of them, then take him to Burger Shot.

Robbing Uncle Sam

C.J. says Ryder has been a drug dealer since he was ten (and likely getting high on his own supply like he is currently, too). Ryder thinks a local National Guard Depot would make a good place to steal weapons (see what I mean?). Have C.J. drive Ryder down there in a truck, which is quickly supplied by someone Ryder only identifies as "LB."

Once there, don't open the main gate as prompted. As Rusk instructs, have C.J. go clockwise around the big building to the left, shoot the couple of guards by the warehouse and one by the gate, shoot the lock box of the warehouse door to open it, and shoot the two guards inside. As the BradyGames guide instructs, you can use the Forklift (NP8 to raise the fork; NP2 to lower it) to put six boxes to the side of the inside of the warehouse door.

Catalyst

C.J. can get this mission at Ryder's house between 20:00 and 6:00. Ryder is cooking that water now (preparing the PCP to make it more potent?), unconcerned that C.J. wants him to knock it off. Tenpenny, Pulaski, and Hernandez come in without asking and accept what Ryder is doing--Tenpenny wants some of the water for his wife. Tenpenny tells C.J. to check out something that's arriving by train.

Have C.J. drive Ryder in Ryder's Picador to the train, kill three Vegas, then kill four Ballas who emerge from a car.

C.J., with the 1st person view, has to throw ten crates of weapons from a flat car of the train to Ryder, who stands in the bed of the Picador which follows the train, in a minute and a half. The longer you hold down the LMB before releasing it, the farther C.J. throws; aim with the Mouse.

Then have C.J. drive S to the Pay 'n' Spray, to get rid of three wanted stars, and drive Ryder home.

C.J. gets more Respect.

Home Invasion

This mission is available at Ryder's house (next door to the W of the Johnson house) between noon and 20:00. It's like the "Burglary" mission (which the BradyGames guide says becomes available after this mission but which is really available from the start of the game).

Ryder is looking for water in the holes in his back yard. Ryder, whose license plate says "SHERM," has holes in his backyard because that's where he hides the PCP (he calls his "water") he sprays on his marijuana or dips his joints of them in. Marijuana treated that way is called Sherm. (I'd wondered if it was something to cook crack with, but Ryder at this time agrees with C.J. in being against crack dealers.)

Ryder wants to upgrade their weapons by stealing crates of weapons from Col. Fuhrberger's house.

C.J. takes Ryder in the "black" Boxville to the Col.'s house, where C.J. has eight minutes to steal at least three crates and drop them at (load them into) the back of the black Boxville. C.J. has to be quiet in the Col.'s house--if the Col. wakes up, C.J. gets two stars, and if the Col. sees him, the Col. uses a Shotgun. Every time C.J. enters the Col.'s house, have him Crouch, C, and press W to have him sneak; you can press W repeatedly at a rhythm that has C.J. sneak slowly, if you want. Use F or Enter to have him pick up a crate, then tap W quickly and repeatedly so C.J. walks forward in wiggles without raising the noise meter except when he opens a door. C.J. got all five crates when I tried it that way.

High Stakes, Low-Rider

Get a Voodoo, which has the best handling of the lowriders, and take it to Loco Low Co. for 10x Nitrous. (The lowriders that aren't Voodoos handle like cra*. Try not to hit anything if you use one of those, because they spin around easily. Without Nitrous, the Slamvan has the best acceleration of the lowriders, but it has poor cornering ability.)

There's a Voodoo in the driveway of a house three houses E of the El Corona save house.

Lowriders handle better when they're low to the ground. Use the pit maneuver--nudge the back of the side of the car ahead of you to spin it out--whenever you get the chance. It can't be that hard. Some lowrider that's slippery for racing--got spun out a couple of times.

C.J. gets $1,000.

Lowrider Challenge

Have C.J. enter the red shaft of light by the guy standing just outside the E wall by Unity Station. It's the same as the musical game with a bouncing lowrider of "Cesar Vialpando." 

A Voodoo is easier to do this with. (You use one for the next mission, too.) Depending on how much you bet, C.J. can win up to $2,000.

A lowrider has had the suspension lowered to ride as low as possible; sometimes the roof or body is lowered, too. 1961-1964 Chevrolet Impalas were often used, and in cholo culture, originally. If the vehicle has hydraulic suspension, you can raise the body for bumpy roads. A "jumpcar" or "hopper" can be used for bouncing and even jumping: "hitting switches."

Cesar Vialpando"

Kendl talking to Sweet Johnson

C.J. finds Sweet giving their sister Kendl a hard time because she's dating Cesar, whom Sweet refers to as a "cholo" (an Hispanic gangster, here meant in the derogatory sense of U.S./Mexican half-breed). After she leaves, he tells C.J. to go to the lowrider meeting Cesar and Kendl are going to. C.J. meets a mechanic, who tells him Sweet phoned ahead and he owes Sweet big, so he gives C.J. a lowrider. The mechanic says it's the kind used to compete with by "eses" (or "esses"--male gangstas of Hispanic ethnicity). When you drive it into the garage to learn about car modding, you can get it modded if you want to.

You can choose to gamble up to $1,000 at the competition, which is like the dance game for lowriders. A hooker gets into the car. Press NP2 for down, NP8 for up, NP4 for left, NP6 for right, and whichever two of those are the closest for diagonal arrows, in rhythm to the music to make the corresponding directional arrows light up as they pass in front of the circle in the middle of the screen. I had the best luck the last time I tried by lagging behind the rhythm a bit sometimes to press the keys when the arrow was in the middle of the circle.

Sweet's Girl

CJ in Sweet's house

C.J. can't find Sweet or Big Smoke in Sweet's house. Sweet calls: he's trapped at a girlfriends house by fire from the Seville Blvd. (Playa Del Seville) families. (These gang members look the same as the Grove Street gang members.) Send C.J. to help in a four-door car, like Sweet's Greenwood. The game suggests that you get C.J. a Pistol at Emmet's place and have him crouch behind walls across from the girlfriend's house for cover between shots, but you can do it any way you want. 

Drive-By

Ryder complains on CJ

Ryder complains to Sweet, then to C.J., that C.J. can't drive good enough for a drive-by they want to do on the Ballas.

Instead of having C.J. get into Sweet's car, you can have him collect Oysters, etc., in the off-limits areas. During this mission, you can have C.J. explore San Andreas with no police rating no matter what you have him do or where you have him go.

Nines and AKs

CJ talking with Big Smoke.

Ryder doesn't like losing to Big Smoke and ends the game of dominoes they were having. C.J. takes Big Smoke in Big Smoke's Glendale to see Emmet, of the Seville Blvd. gang that's become estranged from theirs, to get some weapons, even if they are old weapons. Emmet is a little confused at 1st and thinks C.J. is C.J.'s late brother Brian. We also learn from Emmet that C.J,'s Mom was called Beverly. C.J. and Big Smoke take a couple of 9mm Pistols.

Los Santos gym

Sweet calls and doesn't want C.J. to let his remorse about their Mom cause him to fall out of shape. Have C.J. use the equipment at the Ganton Gym. The treadmill and stationary bike are quick ways to lose Fat, and the weights are a good way to build Muscle (alternate between Left Shift and the LMB to have him use the weights). If he's past the Buff stage, have C.J. fight and defeat the boxing trainer.

When C.J. beats the trainer, he's taught some boxing moves:

- Running attack: while running, lock onto the target with the RMB and press Enter or F.

- Ground attack: lock onto a downed opponent with the RMB and press Enter or F.

- Combo attack: lock onto the target with the RMB and press Enter or F repeatedly.

(To have a longer look at onscreen instructions or dialogue, press Esc and go to Brief. You can go back through earlier instructions and dialogue by pressing Up and go forward through them with Down.)

All three indoor gyms are open (but the other two are in areas that are offlimits).

(A 4th indoor gym, the private one in Madd Dogg's mansion, is available after "A Home in the Hills,")

C.J. uses the last fight moves he was shown after beating a trainer, so you can send him to an earlier one if you want to change his fighting style.

Drive-Thru

Ryder talking to CJ.

Big Smoke talks C.J. into taking him, Sweet, and Ryder to get some chicken. On the way, Ryder says the ones that killed C.J. and Sweet's Mom were trying to shoot Sweet, and that some people say they saw a green Sabre drive away from the drive-by; Big Smoke sounds like he's trying to talk Ryder out of saying so. While at the Cluckin' Bell, Ryder sees a Voodoo of Ballas, C.J notices they're driving toward Grove Street, and Sweet calls for a drive-by.

Cleaning the Hood

CJ talking to Ryder

Big Smoke sounds like he's trying to talk Ryder into crack dealing. C.J. wants his gang the way they were before and to get old gang members B-Dup and Big Bear back in the fold. After C.J. uses the nearby Greenwood to drive Ryder to B-Dup's place, they see Big Bear has become a subservient crack addict to B-Dup, who tells C.J. to get lost. C.J. gets a Baseball Bat and learns a fight move: while pressing the RMB, press F or Enter to have him attack or Spacebar to have him block. Blocking diminishes the number of attacks on C.J. that can lower his Armor or Health. C.J. and Ryder find the crack dealer. Have C.J. clobber him with a baseball bat. C.J. sees he was a member of the Ballas and lived nearby, so he takes Ryder to the house to kill another drug dealer and other Ballas who put up a fight about it there (at the start of this segment, a prostitute seems to be giving a Balla a BJ in a room at the far right). Then have C.J. drive Ryder home.

C.J. earns some more Respect.

Tagging Up Turf

Carl Johnson comes to meet sweet.

Sweet leaves a basketball game with Big Smoke to encourage C.J. to help him spray over some Balla's tags. (Spray with the LMB. Sprayed ones become unsprayed again for the mission.) C.J. sprays a couple of Ballas, too, while he's at it.

We also learn that C.J. can jump up and grab onto a ledge, then climb up onto the roof, or climb over a fence, by pressing the climb/Jump key. Sweet gives C.J. $200 and Respect. 

Officer Hernandez calls and tells C.J. not to leave town. C.J. curses him for just doing what Tenpenny and Pulaski tell him to do. 

There's a Spray Can in C.J.'s bedroom, and the basketball game is available

Health tips for CJ

Usually keep C.J.'s Fat between 1/5th and 1/3rd. It puts a good margin of safety on the work it takes to get his Muscle maximized at the outdoor gym at Verona Beach. Whether you do those things or wait till the restaurants open to start on the preliminaries, feed C.J. every day or two. Take-Two Games has said that feeding him every day can prevent the glitch of C.J. being unable to use the gyms, a glitch that may appear near the end of the game. Having C.J. use the weights at Verona Beach is the fastest way to have him build Muscle. C.J. can use the Verona Beach gym from the start of the game. If you manage to make C.J. too Fat, having him use a gym treadmill or stationary bike is the fastest way to have him lose only the extra Fat. Feeding him 11 times at once at a fast food restaurant to make him vomit makes him lose about all of his Fat, but it's better if he has some. The outdoor gym at Verona Beach has a stationary bike.

Ryder

Carl Johnson with Ryder

Ryder has C.J. agree to help him get even with the owner of a pizza place that keeps covering up their "hit up" (a tag--graffiti that symbolizes a gang). 

He has C.J. drive to get a haircut at a barber shop, then chides him he looks "jacked up" (not quite right). Then Ryder has C.J. get food at the pizza place. Ryder holds a handgun on the owner/clerk of the pizza place, who recognizes Ryder, telling him no one else is so small and he feels sorry for his Dad. When they get outside, the owner comes out to fire a Shotgun at them. Ryder runs for the car; have C.J. drive him home. If you're not prepared to have C.J. shoot down the owner.

Ryder tells C.J. to see Sweet about Tags.

The restaurants, barber shops, and tattoo parlors are open and shown on the radar and in-game map.

Big Smoke

Carl Johnson with Big Smoke

While C.J. looks around the Johnson house in mourning, he remembers his Mom and sister talking with him years ago, and takes a picture of his Mom to hold and look at as he sits at the living room table. Big Smoke, the chubby fellow with glasses, a goatee, and a derby-like fedora, comes from the kitchen with a baseball bat, thinking C.J. is a burglar. He recognizes him and they hug. Big Smoke has C.J. drive them in Big Smoke's Perennial station wagon to the cemetery.

At the cemetery, C.J. meets his sister Kendl, their brother Sweet (he has a cap and a beard), and his friend Ryder (he has a cap, mustache, and a blunt--a cigar filled with marijuana). Sweet, Ryder, and Big Smoke all wear green, the Grove Street Families gang color. Sweet is PO'ed: he doesn't like that C.J. ran off for five years so he gives him a hard time. Kendl walks off to see Cesar, and Sweet gives her a hard time about that and berates Cesar as unprincipled. He points to several nearby graves of people they knew, like their brother Brian, and tells C.J. the local fighting put them there. As the four guys go to Big Smoke's station wagon, some Ballas do a drive-by on it and blow it up.

In the beginning

CJ being captured by the officers at the start of the game.

C.J., at Francis International Airport, Liberty City, remembers his brother Sweet telling him that their Mom died. When C.J.'s Taxi gets about a block S of the Johnson house, C.J. is ordered out of it by Officer Tenpenny, who's accompanied by Pulaski and Hernandez. They hit and harass C.J., then take him for a ride in their police car to make sure C.J. knows they think the worst of him and need him to do things their way. Tenpenny frames C..J. for the murder of a dead policeman. Why he bothers holding this over C.J.'s head when he could just follow C.J. around for ten minutes with a camcorder is never explained. They throw C.J. in an alley. C.J. knows it's hostile Balla gang territory; Ballas are the guys in purple who'll attack C.J. if you don't keep him away from them. Reminiscent of the booklet that came with "III" calling Liberty City "the worst place in America," C.J. says he's in the "worst place in the world. Rollin Heights Balla country." (Later, while having C.J. spray Tags, you'll see Tags that represent the Ballas' neighborhoods: Rollin Heights Ballas, Kilo Tray Ballas, Front Yard Ballas, and Temple Drive Ballas.)