Chapter 2 - Pastimes

It wouldn’t be Rockstar without a bunch of mini-games and optional tasks to attempt and complete. This section provides details on numerous pastimes, races, and other diversions.

Taxi Driver

Requirement: $5,000 in fares.

Upgrade: Boost Jump for Taxis

Jack one of the taxis around Vice City and activate the Taxi Driver pastime. Drive around the city looking for a fare, pick up the patron, and drive as quickly as possible to the marked destination. You receive cash for delivering the fare but you can score bonus cash for reaching the destination quickly. An onscreen tip meter reveals how long you have before that bonus cash expires. Avoid smashing into cars, walls, or other objects; knocking the taxi around dramatically reduces the tip meter.

Earn $5,000 from the taxi missions to unlock the upgrade: it adds "boost jump" to the taxi cars. Press "down" while in a taxi and it will essentially hop. You can actually unlock this early in the game and use the taxi’s boost jump to hop over the wall barricading the second island. There won’t be anything to do over there but you can at least say you did it!

You can earn money faster by completing consecutive fares. Complete five successful fares in a row (regardless of tips) and you earn bonus cash. This bonus cash goes up with each set of five fares. You can quit at any point and your running money total remains saved (check it in the stats section) but you will lose any bonus cash for getting consecutive fares.

Paramedic

Requirement: Level 15

Upgrade: Unlimited Sprint

Help the citizens of Vice City with the paramedic missions. Jack an ambulance (easily found at one of the hospitals) and begin the Paramedic pastime. The location of a needy patient appears on the mini-map. Pick up the patient in the ambulance and return him or her to the hospital before the timer expires. Each level adds an additional patient (15 patients at level 15!); however, picking up a patient and every three patients delivered to the hospital adds additional time.

The ambulance only holds three patients, so you will be making multiple trips to and from the hospital. Check the mini-map to spot the locations of each patient for that level. Look for clusters of three patients so you minimize the amount of ambulance drive time.

Vice City simplifies pastimes (the challenges that feature different levels of completion) by saving checkpoints at every five levels. So if you complete the fifth level in the Paramedic challenge, you can quit and start over again at level six. So you don’t have to complete these pastimes in one sitting.

Firefighter

Requirement: Level 15

Upgrade: Become Fireproof

Drive the fire truck parked at the fire station downtown and press "up" to begin the firefighter pastime. The marked location of a fire appears on the mini-map and you have a limited amount of time to extinguish it. Drive to the location and use the "Circle" button to put out the flames. Adjust the hose to spray water onto the fire (watch for the steam indicating a successful shot).

The firefighter pastime is now saved after every five levels. You should take the opportunity to jack another fire truck if you have caused heavy damage to your vehicle through hitting buildings and trying to weave through tight alleys. The biggest challenge in firefighter is reaching the helpless civilians in time. The fire truck is sluggish and not particularly maneuverable. As soon as a level begins, check the mini-map and note the fastest, and easiest, route to the marked location.