Climax
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Spoiler Warning: Plot and/or ending details are in the text which follows. |
A Climax is the point in a text with the highest amount of tension. In Grand Theft Auto games, the climax is usually the final mission, or a group of missions towards the end of the game. A climax consists of the player battling a large force of rival gang and/or mafia members, followed by the player killing the game's antagonist. In most cases, the weather of the climax depends on the player's timing, but in a few cases the weather is predetermined by the game. Some examples are End of the Line in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, and The Sicilian Gambit in Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories.
There are two possible endings in Grand Theft Auto IV, each with it's own climax. in the "Deal" ending, antagonist Dimitri Rascalov is seen killing Jimmy Pegorino, who Niko planned to kill himself anyway, and is killed himself by the player later in the mission. In the "Revenge" ending, Dimitri is killed two missions prior to the ending, and Pegorino becomes the antagonist after killing Kate McReary in the penultimate mission. Pegorino is killed by the player in the final mission.
Climaxes usually span across several parts of the in-game world during some sort of chase, but finally end in a confrontation between the protagonist and antagonist.
Similar to a climax is a mission that involves a climactic battle of some sort but earlier in the game, before the actual climax. In these missions, the player usually kills a secondary antagonist. The protagonist may have had plans to kill the main antagonist but been unsuccessful. Some examples are Pier 69 in GTA San Andreas, where CJ kills secondary antagonist Ryder and minor antagonist T-Bone Mendez, and Light My Pyre in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories, where Victor Vance kills antagonist Armando Mendez in his own home.
List of Notable Climaxes
Grand Theft Auto III
- Mission: The Exchange
- For: Catalina
- Starting Location: Cartel Mansion
- Ending Location: Cochrane Dam
- Antagonist/s: Catalina
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City
- Mission: Keep Your Friends Close...
- For: Tommy Vercetti
- Location: Vercetti Estate
- Antagonist/s: Sonny Forelli, Lance Vance
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
- Mission: End of the Line
- Starting/Ending Location: Grove Street
- Note - The Whole Climax doesn't take place in Grove Street, it spans across almost all of Los Santos, but it ultimately ends with Tenpenny's death at Grove Street, where it started.
Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories
- Mission: The Sicilian Gambit
- Starting Location: Salvatore's Gentlemen's Club
- Ending Location: Portland Rock
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories
- Mission: Last Stand
- Starting Location: Diaz's Mansion
- Ending Location: Diego Mendez's building in Downtown, Vice City
Grand Theft Auto IV
- Mission: A Revenger's Tragedy
- Starting Location: Alderney
- Ending Location: Happiness Island
- Mission: Out of Commission
- Starting Location: Alderney
- Ending Location: Happiness Island
The Lost and Damned
- Mission: Get Lost
- Starting/Ending Location: The Lost MC clubhouse
- Note - Similar to End of the Line in GTA San Andreas, the climax spans across Liberty City but ends back at the Clubhouse, which is also the starting point.
The Ballad of Gay Tony
- Mission: Departure Time
- Starting Location: Tony's Pad
- Ending Location: Meadows Park
- Note - The mission takes place on an abondoned carnival in Firefly Island to the airport. Then, to Ray's private jet and skydive to Meadows Park.
Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars
- Mission: Salt in the Wound
- Starting Location: Steinway Park
- Ending Location: Hsin Jaoming's penthouse on the border of Chinatown and Lower Easton.
- Note: That the main part of this mission takes place at the Charge Island desanilitation plant.