GTA: Liberty City Stories

by gtaadmin on 15/03/09 at 3:35 pm

Released	2005
Protagonist	Toni Cipriani (a boss from GTA 3)
Time Period	1998
Locations	Liberty City (divided into 3 islands: Portland, Staunton Island, Shoreside Vale)
Featured Characters	Salvatore Leone, JD O'Toole, Maria La Torre, Vincenzo "Lucky" Cilli, Mickey Hamfists, Paulie Sindacco, Franco Forelli, Leon McAffrey, Ray Machowski, Kazuki Kasen, Toshiko Kasen, Jane Hopper, Massimo Torini, Giovanni Casa, 8-Ball, JD O'Toole, Phil Cassidy, Wayne Featheringay, R.C. Hole, Dan Sucho, Ned Burner, Avery Carrington, Ma Cipriani, Uncle.

Created by Rockstar Leeds and influenced by Rockstar North, Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories (GTA:LCS) is set in Liberty City three years before the setting of Grand Theft Auto 3. The city is basically unchanged, except for updates to some of the buildings and an enlargement of Shoreside Vale (the 3rd island in GTAIII).

Still some years away from the garlic bread and candles, Cipriani is fresh back in the city after a while laying low, having killed a fellow mobster as a favour to Don Salvatore Leone. The grateful Salvatore puts Cipriani straight back to work beating people to a pulp. As Cipriani, you can accept a variety of missions from many people, including:

• Salvatore
• Salvatore's wife Maria
• JD O'Toole
• wise guy Vincenzo "Vinnie" Cilli
• even Toni's own mother
• the "Avenging Angels", similar to the Guardian Angels. Completing these missions earns special vehicles and wardrobe rewards

Toni is introduced to Vincenzo Cilli, Salvatore Leone's current Caporegime, and Vincenzo is tasked to give Toni some work. Toni dislikes Vincenzo, as Vincenzo acts like his "daddy" and keeps pushing him around, Vincenzo is also bossy towards Toni as well.

GTA: Liberty City Stories: Portland

It's the late 1990's and a bus rolls into Liberty City. Among the departing passengers is our main protagonist - Toni Cipriani. Toni did a favour for the mob a few years earlier and has been laying low ever since. He steps off the bus and back into his old home town. Cipriani's first port of call is Salvatore Leone's Gentlemen's club in St Marks. Liberty City is a Mafia playground and the Leones are extremely powerful. However the rival Sindacco family are attempting to take more than a fair share at the moment. Toni is greeted by Sal who introduces him to Vincenzo Cilli who sets Toni up with an apartment but also expects him to do all his dirty jobs for him. Toni Cipriani had expected to return to a high position in the Leones and isn't happy having to answer to this newcomer. Toni is no pushover and it's not long before he quits taking Vincenzo's orders and proves his point by taking Cilli's car to the crusher.

If only everyone was as easy to deal with. Ma Cipriani doesn't seem thrilled to see her son again. Despite moaning that he hasn't called and won't move back home she constantly picks on him and talks of her admiration for the "better" examples of "real men" among Liberty's residents. None more so that the now departed mobster that was Toni's father. Toni will never live up to be half the man that he was in her opinion. She eventually decides that the best thing to do is call out a 'hit' on her own son. That way, at least he'll die like a man.

Salvatore Leone has woman trouble. Two women.

One is Jane Hopper: the trade union leader who is organizing the dock workers strikes. Salvatore helped set up these strikes and now Hopper is refusing to let him use the docks for his own purposes while they are left empty. Luckily Toni soon gets her to see things the Mafia way.

The other woman is harder work. Maria La Torre is Salvatore's young wife. Although Maria enjoys the life of a Mob mistress she is discontent with Sal's companionship and tries to fill her day and body with numerous drugs and men. If she's not offering herself to a biker named Wayne, then she's declaring her love for Toni himself. Cipriani's having none of it, but will look out for Maria for Salvatore's sake.

Then, of course, there is the Sindacco problem. Luckily they have a weasel among their ranks. J.D. O'Toole isn't happy with his position among the Sindaccos and is now trying to get in with the Leone's. J.D. acts as an informant for the Leones by tipping Toni off from the back of Paulie's Revue Club whenever the Sindaccos have something big planned. Thanks to the fat man Toni manages to stop Sindaccos dealing on their territory and also bombing the Leone Gambling den.

In retribution Toni Cipriani plants a bomb in the Sindacco owned casino/brothel known as the Doll's House. His little gift certainly brings down the house and wipes out the Sindacco's biggest hold on the City.

The Sindaccos fight back by kidnapping Don Salvatore and almost succeed in killing him before Toni comes to the rescue. But Sal doesn't back down. He storms into Paulie's Revue Bar with guns blasting and puts them out of business once and for all.

So, thanks to J.D. O'Toole, the Sindacco threat has been removed from Portland. J.D. is so proud that he will finally become a "made man" in the Leone Family. He's donned his best suit and is happily escorted by Cipriani and Mickey Hamfists to be officially welcomed by Salvatore. Only - they don't take him to Sal's. They drive him to the junkyard where Mickey swiftly puts a bullet in the back of his head.

He was a rat who turned on his old boss. There's no way someone that disloyal could be allowed to join the Leones.

Speaking of disloyal, it's around this time that Vincenzo decides to make a reappearance. He calls Toni apologizing for the way he acted before and needs some help. Toni only agrees because he's told that Salvatore wants them to try to get along. Of course it turns out to be a trap and Toni is left deep in the bowels of a ship with lots of chain-saw wielding assasins. Once they are dispatched it's fianlly time to say "so long Cilli" forever.

The big boys in Sicily have sent over Massimo Torini to bring the Mob families closer together. However it seems that this guy isn't quite what he makes himself out to be. He is also conspiring with the Diablos and Triads. Toni puts an end to this little inter-gang get-together but not before the Diablos start an all out war with the Mafia for control of the Hepburn Heights district. The Mafia win the first battle but lose enough men for Toni to seriously doubt the Leone's future in this part of town.

Then the Triads make their move. They blow up the Leone factory by Callahan Point. Salvatore can't take it anymore. He's sure that the mayor is going to blame him for all this and decides to leave Portland for a while. The only problem is that not only are the Ferries not running because of the strike, but the ferry port is swarming with police anyway.
There's only one way off this island for Toni and Salvatore. That is to make the jump across the gap in the unfinished Callahan Bridge. So they do.

GTA: Liberty City Stories: Staunton Island

After Toni has settled in his new plush high rise apartment near Belleville Park he gets a call from Salvatore. Mayor R.C. Hole is causing trouble for him and so he has to go. Toni sees that the mayor takes his last jog in the park by killing him right under his bodyguards' noses.

Toni is then mysteriously picked up by Mickey Hamfists and some other mafia goons and made to drive down town. He is told that he is going to be "made" and, in a scene frighteningly reminiscent of J.D. O'Toole's "making", Toni is led down to a cellar. Toni is relieved when Salvatore appears and truly does make him a "made man" and a big shot in the mafia.
Toni's mother is so happy she decides to call off the hit she had on him. Those annoying hitmen are now a thing of the past.

It seems that the Forelli Mafia had a lot of influence on the old mayor and it's them that made him hassle the Leones. During an attempt to find the truth, we discover that it's actually the Sicilians that are behind it all. The pushed Franco Forelli into it in order to create a war between the Liberty Mafia Families. The Sicilians plan to come and and take over once the dust has settled.

Now that Mayor Hole is out of the picture Salvatore has a new candidate ready to take his place. The only other contender is a guy named Miles O'Donavan, but Sal has great hopes for property developer Donald Love. If Cipriani can make sure Love wins the election, then the Leones can run the city. So Toni does his best rig the election, disgrace O'Donavan and destroy any proof of a link between Donald Love and organized crime. All of this is achieved, yet it seems the mere rumours of his association with Cipriani have swayed the voters - proof or not.

Donald Love is now bankrupt and blames Toni personally for his failure.

Toni meets Leon McAffrey of the LCPD. He's a dirty cop who likes the town to run to his rules. He's not against breaking a few laws and letting certain parties run wild. As long as he gets his cut. His partner, Ray Machowski, is not so inclined. He likes to play things by the book. Leon can't see how Ray got to 40 without getting a bullet in his head. McAffrey loves his life of money, fast cars and beautiful women too much to think of being an honest cop.

Both the Sindaccos and Forellis are unaware that it is the Sicilians who have created the war between them. Salvatore ensures it stays that way and prevents any kind of truce in order for the Leones to keep the advantage.

Around this time Toni assists the Yardies to take the Newport district from Forelli control. Salvatore is captured by the Feds and taken to the Shoreside Vale Police Department. He calls Cipriani making out that he is his lawyer named Lionel.

Cipriani heads off to Shoreside to get the Don out of there.

GTA: Liberty City Stories: Shoreside Vale

Toni arrives on the western Island and moves into his lovely new house in the hills. Disguised as "Lionel the Lawyer" he visits the despairing Salvatore in jail. The new mayor is fixing it so that he won't get bail. Either the Sindaccos or the Forellis have ratted him out to the feds. The Leones are fighting with the Triads and Diablos for what was once mafia territory and now the Yakuza are planning to make a play to take over. Sal is not a happy man. After years of mob control they've finally flushed it down the crapper.

Using the local "Hoods" gang as back-up, Toni teaches the Forellis a lesson. Then he removes the Sindaccos once and for all which apparently ends the mafia war, but leaves them open to attack from other gangs.

The Yakuza are stocking up on weapons which even include a tank. So Toni has to move quickly to prevent them from using this advantage.

Donald Love calls again, but he's not as insulting as he was after his mayoral defeat. Love is now an unshaven mess. He's got no money, no car and is living in a flop house. But he thinks he can get it all back and offers Toni 10% of "something big" to help him.

He knows that his old mentor, Property Developer Avery Carrington, is coming to town. Avery will have plans to aquire land in Liberty. He will know the best sites and will have the right contacts. Despite Avery's columbian bodyguards Toni manages to kill him and grab the plans. Unfortunately he was seen by 'Liberty Tree' newspaper reporter Ned Burner.
Cipriani had unknowingly performed some side jobs for Burner earlier when Ned was disguised as a priest. Now he plans to put Toni on the front page and report on his heinous crimes. Not if he's dead he won't.

Toni collects the bodies of Ned and Avery and delivers them to Donald's plane. It has become more and more obvious, for a while now, that Donald has developed a taste for human flesh. He holds a private dinner party for himself and his two guests. He later comments that they are still on board the plane, though it is unsaid in what form.

Toshiko Kasen is the wife of Kazuki Kasen, the leader of the japanese Yakuza gang and owner of the Big Shot Casino. Toshiko has heard of Cipriani's exploits around the city and is aware that he needs to remove the Yakuza threat to the Leones. She is living without her husband's love and wants Toni to not just kill him, but humiliate and destroy him. She believes that this will be beneficial to both Toni and herself. Only after Toni grants her wishes does she realise what she has done and what she has lost. Toshiko kills herself as Toni can only look on.

Donald makes a deal with the Panlantic construction company and is excited that he is on his way back. He just needs to free up an area so that it can developed. That nice part of town known as Fort Staunton looks like a good prospect so Toni goes off to meet Bomb expert 8-Ball to help him prepare the foundations. Once 8-Ball has received his $20,000 up front they go to work.

Cipriani places explosives in the tunnels that run under Fort Staunton and destroys the whole area. Coincidentally this was Forelli territory and the media are blaming the destruction on their underground arms stores.

It's the day of Salvatore Leone's arraignment and he's sure he can be a free man if he can just make it to court. The Sicilians would prefer it if Sal stayed out of the way and launch an attack on the convoy transporting him. He makes it thanks to Toni and is released on bail. The Sicilians call the don wanting peace between them and the Leones. He knows that their idea of peace is different from his and tells them to "go fuck themselves". This might not have been the best move because they then kidnap Mayor O'Donovan who has yet to drop the charges on Salvatore.

The pair pursue the kidnappers across town and across water. All the while under constant fire from the Sicilian mobsters. They eventually stop at the lighthouse where they find Massimo Torini and the captive O'Donovan. Torini jumps into a helipopter and tries to finish them from the air. Toni shoots him out of the sky and returns with Salvatore and the mayor to the Gentlemen's Club. They point out to O'Donovan that they saved him and now own him. The charges against Sal are dropped and the Leones run Liberty City.

Tony and Salvatore go and meet an old Sicilian who Sal calls "Uncle". They agree that they are at peace now but the don doesn't trust the old guy at all. Salvatore is pleased with Toni and gives him half a million dollars as a thank you. Cipriani argues that he'd been promised 2 million, and Salvatore confesses that he'd actually promised 1 million dollars, but he should be grateful. Salvatore has a great respect for Toni, but he's still in charge.