Unique Stunt Jumps

Revision as of 02:32, 24 November 2010 by Icemucewit (talk | contribs)

For the art of stunting, see Stunting.

Unique Stunt Jumps (named Unique Jumps in the GTA III Era; later renamed Stunt Jumps in Grand Theft Auto IV) are a feature in every Grand Theft Auto game since Grand Theft Auto III (with the exception of Grand Theft Auto Advance). A Stunt Jump usually involves using a vehicle or motorcycle to jump of a ramp of some sort (sometimes a actual ramp, or something similiar to a ramp like a slanted roof or staircase), then to catch a few seconds of airtime, then land on the ground without dying. The game tracks these for your stats, and completing all is usually required for 100% completion. Each unique jump has pre-defined takeoff and landing areas; miss either, and the jump is incomplete. If your vehicle hits the takeoff area in more-or-less the right direction, the game switches to a slow-motion cutscene panoramic view as your vehicle launches from the takeoff area. Upon landing, indication of success is given, while an unsuccessful jump will receive no message. Some jumps require high speed, thus are only feasible on a fast motorbike such as a PCJ-600 or NRG-500, and sometimes also require the character to lean forward on the bike for increased speed. In other jumps, too much speed may lead you to overshoot the landing area. In the GTA III Era, there are also Insane Stunt Jumps, which aren't required for 100%, don't have to done at a set location and pay different amounts depending on the difficulty of the stunt.

Evolution

Stunt jumps first appeared in Grand Theft Auto III, and have been in every game since except Grand Theft Auto Advance. Early GTA games gave no indication to distinguish failed unique stunt jumps from those successfully completed. To address this, modders have developed add-on tools such as Demarest's Uniquecall to list or show on the map which jumps remain. Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories and Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars give the player the option of showing completed jumps on the radar.

GTA III

This introduced stunt jumps. There are 20 stunt jumps spread throughout Liberty City, 8 in Portland Island, 4 on Staunton Island, and 8 in Shoreside Vale. Compared to later games, the stunt jumps in GTA III are easy.

GTA Vice City

There are 36 unique jumps in GTA Vice City, and are most easily completed using the PCJ-600 motorcycle. In fact, some jumps cannot be performed using anything else. The jumps in GTA Vice City are more difficult than those in GTA III, some being much longer and even extending over water.

GTA San Andreas

There are 70 unique stunt jumps in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, most are quite difficult. The majority are situated beside each other, with very few being isolated. These jumps are relatively easy to find throughout the State of San Andreas, with fairly obvious take-off and landing areas. Completing the 70 Jumps is not necessary for getting 100% completion. This is the only game in the GTA series that doesn't require it.

GTA Liberty City Stories

There are 26 stunt jumps in Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories. They are spread evenly throughout the 3 islands. Completing the first stunt jump will reward a player with the 'Underwear Outfit', available at all three safehouses.

GTA Vice City Stories

The PlayStation 2 and PlayStation Portable versions of Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories differ in the number of jumps. The PSP version contains 30 Stunts, and the PS2 version contains 36.

GTA IV

In the Grand Theft Auto IV version of Liberty City, there are 50 stunt jumps. Completing all 50 will bring the player two ticks closer to 100%. Completing all 50 unlocks the Daredevil achievement, awarding 30 gamerscore on the Xbox 360 or a silver trophy on the PS3. There are major changes in unique stunt jumps from the GTA III Era to GTA IV, the largest being that the player no longer collects money for doing stunt jumps. Another significant change is that instead of landing without crashing like in previous games, the player must land directly on the destination area. These stunt jumps are still available in its episodes, however when they're done, no text appears on the screen.

GTA Chinatown Wars
File:Rust Browns Billbord CTW.png
One of the Rusty Brown's Ring Donuts billboards that marks a USJ in GTA Chinatown Wars.

In this game each Unique Stunt Jump is marked with a wooden Rusty Brown's Ring Donuts billboard that you have to destroy, making locating them easier. Despite each billboard having a ramp leading up to it, the player technically doesn't have to "crash" through them, as any part of the vehicle can be used, even a single tire gliding down. It is the first game to present USJs in this way. There are 30 throughout the game.

See Also