Feed: GTA-MANIA - AggScore: 45.7

Thermal Goggles

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These, as one might guess from the name, allow you to to see the heat signatures given off by peds, cars, and whatnot. By selecting them from your item list and pressing circle to equip (or unequip later), the screen turns a rather psychedelic set of blue, purple, pink, and red hues; with blue being cold and red being hot, of course. After equipping the goggles, you're free to switch to another weapon so as to freely take out enemies you couldn't have seen otherwise. Naturally, they're best to use at night when it's hard to see otherwise, but even then they're still better suited to longer range combat. Moving about with these on can be somewhat tricky at times due to cooler landscape/building objects blending together with the ambient background heat (or lack thereof rather).

Parachute

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Whether you're jumping/falling off a tall building, or leaping from a plane thousands of meters up, the parachute is an absolute necessity unless you want to be a puddle for some bizarre reason. After equipping the 'chute (which happens automatically when jumping from an airborne plane), you can dive, rotate, and glide a bit during free-fall with the left stick. At some point or another, it would be a good idea to deploy the parachute by pressing circle. After it's opened, you can steer yourself with the left stick- left/right turn, up speeds your descent gradually, and pushing down gives you a bit of extra lift allowing you to move forward while slowing your fall.

Fire Extinguisher

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Considering the new ability to set the environment on fire, it's only natural that a fire extinguisher was included in the game. Unless you're the conscientious criminal type who likes to clean up behind your fiery rampages, chances are you'll really only use this in missions which require escaping from burning buildings. Whatever the reason you use it, doing so is just a matter of aiming with R1 and the right stick, and pressing circle to spray the foamy stuff. For best results, aim at the base of the fire and continue spraying until it goes out.

Camera

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The camera first made its appearance in Vice City as a one-off item used in a single mission. This time around, the camera is not only used in a few missions and side quests, it actually has some fun uses in and of itself. By holding R1, the screen switches to the viewfinder where you can aim with the right stick plus zoom in and out with L2 and R2. In mission situations where you're required to take pics, the circle button takes the picture and you're done. If you're so inclined to actually save the pic to look at later, hitting L1 will allow you to save the image to your memory card, where you can access it via the gallery in the pause menu any time you want.

Spraycan

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Kind of looks like an old can of Montana spray paint, which was made by and for graffiti artists, but that's beside the point. Or, maybe it's not, as the main purpose for the spray can is to throw up Grove Street tags over those of rival gangs. Using the paint is really quite simple, just hold R1 to target a tag (or ped, if you really want to), and hold circle until the tag is finished. If you're in a real tight spot you can use it as a weapon with similar results to the tear gas, thought it's hardly effective enough to rely on for a primary defense. Oh, and you can always find one in the upstairs bedroom at the Johnson House in Ganton should you need some paint.

Heat Seeking Rocket Launcher

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RPGs and other shoulder-fired missiles have long had a place in Grand Theft Auto. The STINGER is the next level. Lightweight and portable, this shoulder-fired guided missile system is designed to shoot down low-altitude jets, propeller-driven aircraft and helicopters. The fire-and-forget system allows the player to lock onto a heat source, usually a car or plane, fire the weapon, and begin acquiring new targets before the warhead has even destroyed the first target. To activate, bring up the targeting reticle by pressing R1. Continue holding down R1 and center the viewfinder on the target. The reticle will acquire the nearest target, and then change from green to yellow and finally to red, indicating that you have achieved target lock. You can fire the weapon at any stage of the lock-on process, but the closer to red, the more effective your strike will be. The production, research, and development of the Stinger Missile System is a secret, but intrepid pilots flying over the deserts on the outskirts of Las Venturas have a ton of stories about near misses with the Stinger. *

Rocket Launcher

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Ah yes, the classic Soviet RPG look-alike is a must have for any one man army out to take on an entire state full of gangs and such. Basically, it's just a big tube with a scope and a trigger to ignite the rockets which propel impact-triggered grenades. Just aim it at a target using R1 and the right stick, fire, and *boom*. One shot is usually all it takes to blow up any car (or group of cars for that matter), although there are a number of vehicles which require multiple hits to destroy, such as tanks and armored vans. Obviously, you don't want to use one of these in any sort of close quarters combat, but if you couldn't figure that out, chances are you can't read this page anyway.

Vulcan Mini Gun

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This formidable weapon is the player's best friend. Designed to deliver massive and withering barrages of ammunition at an alarming rate of fire, this weapon is designed for total destruction of the target and anything around it. Despite its massive size and weight, the gun is portable enough to be carried--and fired--on the streets of San Andreas. Police responding to an incident where a mini-gun is in use would be quick to call in SWAT to deal with the menace. An intricate piece of machinery, its belt driven mechanics will turn the barrels even if the gun is not firing, a sound that eerily forecasts the destruction that is about to be unleashed. Hold R1 to spin up the barrel and squeeze L1 to fire. *

Flame Thrower

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Flame Thrower - As the name would suggest, it throws flames. The basic concept behind a flame thrower is a tank filled with napalm which is sprayed through a nozzle and ignited by a pilot light on the way out. In the hands of a skilled user, this weapon can prove to be quite hazardous to all involved- including said user. While it does a lovely job of setting enemies, cars, and, well, everything on fire, one runs the risk of burning themself as well. Between panicked flaming people bumping into you, thereby sharing their pain, you've also got to look out for the fire on the ground spreading to you. Especially in areas with lots of grass and such. With some luck though, such hazards can be used to your advantage; be it enemies catching other enemies on fire, or setting up a defensive wall of flame around you. Regardless of the risks involved, the flame thrower is great fun and an extremely deadly weapon to play with.

Rounds per reload: 500
Damage: 25, not counting subsequent damage from prolonged burning

Remote Explosives

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AKA satchel bombs, players can throw a number of these about, then conveniently blow them all up later with the separate remote. The potential for mischief with these things is only limited by the imagination, well, and the CPU's ability to remember where they're at, but, still... On a mission where you have to ambush and kill a ped or destroy their car? Try figuring out where they'll pass, and set up a nice booby trap for them! Or if you suspect the next corner you're to walk around has enemies waiting for you, throw down a few bombs, run in, and lure them out to an explosive doom. Any way you look at it, there's much fun to be had here.

Tear Gas

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In real life, tear gas is generally considered to be a non-lethal weapon, but in the world of GTA, it's anything but. Granted, it does take prolonged exposure to the gas to kill, but in confined spaces, this can be arranged. However, seeing as the gas causes people to stop what their doing while they cover their face and cough, the most practical use for this weapon is to slow enemies down while you escape or switch to another weapon. In any case, this stuff opens up some strategy options when it otherwise seems you're hopelessly outgunned.

Grenade

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Long carried by infantry soldiers to aid in removal of pesky hardened positions and enemies hiding behind things, grenades are quite simple in theory. Step 1: pull pin, step 2: throw, and step 3: try not to be nearby when they explode. When used properly, grenades do a bang-up job of taking out cars (and anybody who might use them for cover) and clearing out closed in areas filled with opponents. When used improperly on the other hand, you can just as easily blow yourself up and/or any cars nearby you may be using for cover. If you're not careful, you might also end up causing a chain reaction in congested areas which ends with exploded cars all about and lots of police attention. But then, that may very well be the desired effect in some cases...

Molotov Cocktail

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The idea behind these things is simple enough: Take a glass bottle, fill it with something flammable (usually petrol), shove a rag in the top, light the rag on fire, and give it a toss. Flaming chaos ensues. The primary purpose is, of course, an anti-personnel weapon, but it can also be used strategically for defense. One of the new features found in San Andreas is the ability to set the environment on fire, and the ability for that fire to continue to burn- and even spread in most cases. In the event you ever find yourself facing multiple enemies coming at you from a single choke point (such as a door or alleyway), a well placed molotov can be used to effectively block their route. With a wall of flames between you and them, they'll either be forced to brave the fire (usually with rather fatal results) or wait and shoot from where they're at. If they're smart enough to choose the latter, you can keep your distance and shoot from your somewhat defended position. Or, you could always just toss a few more in hopes of burning the lot of them. With these (and any other thrown weapon), the longer you hold the circle button, the farther they will go when released.

Rifle

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Not much to say about this one really. It's just a basic lever-action repeater rifle one might expect to see in the hands of a hunter or a cowboy. Hitting R1 with this won't invoke an auto-target reticle, but instead skips straight to a free-aim mode like that of its assault flavored brethren. Given its lack of a lock-on feature and slow reloading, one might think it rather pointless to use. However, with a per-bullet damage rate second only to the sniper rifle, mini-gun, and Desert Eagle (at Gangster level and up), it does earn its keep in the hands of a decent marksman. For added accuracy, be sure to crouch when lining up a shot.