5 strange GTA Vice City facts that you might not know about

GTA Vice City may be over two decades old, but the title is so filled with details that many of them are relatively unknown. Rockstar Games paid a lot of attention to the small things when making its explorable open-world environment. As such, there are bound to be elements that are carefully hidden from the average player. Those who have spent hundreds of hours in the game, on the other hand, have unearthed some intriguing secrets and facts.

Here's a list of five such bizarre GTA Vice City facts that not many are aware of. Some of these can be quite simple yet hard to notice, while others can end up being revealed entirely by accident.

Note: This article is subjective and reflects the writer's opinions.

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5 strange facts about GTA Vice City

1) Civilians can drive tanks

The Rhino tank has been present in most GTA games, and in GTA Vice City, it can be obtained during the mission "Sir, Yes Sir!" It can also be obtained from the Army as they show up when Tommy Vercetii has a six-star wanted level. In both scenarios, this military vehicle is driven by the military themselves.

However, there's a certain exploit that allows random in-game pedestrians to get in and drive a Rhino. This requires getting this tank first and then using the cheat HOPINGIRL (Hop in, girl) to get nearby female pedestrians to get in the vehicle and take control of it. Once you find an NPC and she gets in, you have to simply exit the vehicle, hijack it back, and wait for the character to take it back from you.

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2) Secret bus driver mission

Rockstar left behind a functioning Bus Driver minigame in Vice City that isn't recorded or even mentioned anywhere. Get on a bus and start picking up passengers, making money in the process. The commuters will be queueing up at the various marked bus locations around the city.

However, if you look closely, you'll notice that there are some oddities. Firstly, the passengers only pay $5 regardless of where they get up. They also never leave the bus, being stuck inside forever. The issue is that Rockstar never implemented this feature fully and only left some scraps from it. The beta version of GTA Vice City even had bus stops and shelters.

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3) DeadDodo

The DeadDodo is a feature in both GTA 3 and Vice City. It's a scripted Dodo aircraft that flies along a fixed path around the map and has a news banner on its tail. What makes this vehicle unique and the subject of many spooky mysteries is that it has no pilot, and its propeller doesn't spin either.

The DeadDodo is also transparent, as attempting to crash into it will simply make your vehicle go through it. Surprisingly, Rockstar gives players the ability to blow up this aircraft, but doing so results in a three-star wanted level.

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4) Parking meters

Although Vice City hasn't aged well in terms of graphics, the sheer amount of detail it offers, in comparison, is still held in high regard. For instance, the parking meters in Downtown can be broken down, which reveals a ton of cash. This is best done with a vehicle, as the parking meters are right by the road.

This way, you can take down many of these in a single attempt. Many have accidentally stumbled upon this discovery after crashing their vehicle around Downtown.

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5) Flashing traffic lights

Vice City is based in Miami, Florida, a place known for seeing storms often, especially hurricanes. In fact, the game begins with a storm warning, which causes the second island to stay locked. Moreover, if you observe closely, the traffic lights will be flashing yellow during a storm.

This is a small detail that Rockstar added to make the natural hazard feel more immersive. The flashing yellow indicates that there is no power, probably as a result of the storm. Players should note that this detail doesn't work with cheats; the traffic lights will remain like they normally do when those are used.

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Check out our other GTA Vice City guides and articles:

Essential Vice City mods || Lore-friendly Vice City mods || Vice City remastered in RAGE || Most iconic tracks from Vice City || Why Vice City Stories is underrated