Meltdown (GTA V)

"Congratulations, Mikey, we did it. Such a pleasure working with you. You see. I was here. Unlike your wife. She seems to be...stuck at home."

- Devin Weston

Meltdown is a mission in Grand Theft Auto V, given to protagonist Michael De Santa by Solomon Richards.

Mission
Michael and Jimmy attend the Meltdown premiere at the Oriental Theater on Vinewood Boulevard. On the red carpet, Michael notices that Amanda and Tracey are nowhere to be seen; Devin Weston appears and, under the belief Michael murdered Molly Schultz, coyly hints that the latter are in trouble - specifically, that he has sent Merryweather agents to deal with Michael's family.

Michael rushes to his house within two minutes and fights off several waves of agents to keep his family safe. After being incapacitated by one agent, Jimmy comes to Michael's rescue and knocks the agent out. Michael tells his family to lay low while he makes some calls.

Mission Objectives

 * Buy a tuxedo in Ponsonbys to attend the Meltdown premiere.
 * Meet Jimmy.
 * Get in the limousine.
 * Go to the red carpet.
 * Save your family.
 * Kill the kidnapper.
 * Kill all the Merryweather in the house.
 * Go to your family.

Gold Medal Objectives

 * Time - Complete within 6:30
 * Pedal to the Metal - Reach top speed in any vehicle
 * Tier One Operator - Kill 12 enemies with a headshot
 * Headshot Rescue - Rescue Amanda and Tracey with a headshot

Tips

 * This mission requires very fast reaction times (and use of Michael's special ability) as upon entering the house, the player has a very brief amount of time to prevent Amanda from being shot, and after running to Tracey's room, the soldier must be shot in the head very quickly before he kills Tracey. If either soldier is wounded, not killed instantly, they will immediately shoot and kill Amanda and/or Tracey.
 * It is suggested to use an assault rifle when saving Amanda and Tracey and use any shotgun to clear the remaining soldiers from the house.

Aftermath

 * Following this mission, Michael's family and housekeeper will no longer be present at Michael's house until after the final mission of the game (depending on the ending chosen, they may not appear on screen again).
 * Several posters for "Meltdown" will now be visible in the safehouse. The film itself may also now be viewed at any of the movie theaters, although it is in rotation with the other two films.

Phone calls

 * Right after the mission, Michael calls Lester and tells him what had happened to his family and that he still intends to take part on the Union Depository heist.
 * If Michael phones Solomon after the mission, Solomon will use a quote from Meltdown and ask Michael why he was not at the movie premiere. Michael will ask Solomon to keep his distance for the time being.
 * Michael can also call Devin, apologising for Molly's death but reminding him that she ultimately died because she was following Devin's orders. Devin threatens Michael and his family again by saying that "accidents happen", before Michael challenges Devin to come after him, warning Devin that he isn't going to hide.
 * Both Amanda and Tracey will call Michael after the mission and ask him if he has located Devin yet. Jimmy will also call, but his call triggers the optional side mission Parenting 101.

LS24 Newspaper
"When the screen went dark and Meltdown began, I bathed in the rich images of Liberty City. The vibe was incredible. Then suddenly every movie clich- was unleashed upon the audience in rapid fire, as empty and soulless as the computer-generated backgrounds. A love interest started and didn't go anywhere. A voiceover appeared in weird places. Bizarre music choices were picked for the soundtrack. As the credits rolled, we were left with a warm fuzzy feeling about what happens when greed tries to win. It never wins. I loved the movie. It has flaws, but much like with my wife and her ever-sagging body, I will plod through the motions and get lost in the nuance."

Lifeinvader Posts

 * Amanda De Santa - "See you in a few days. The house is going to take some cleaning."
 * Tracey De Santa - "So much for everything being fine now. Yeah, apart from the robo-soldiers in my bedroom with machine guns!!!"

Bleeter Posts

 * @HaydenDubose - "Either Michael De Santa has the volume way up on one of his war movies again or something really terrible is happening over at that house"
 * @SolomonRichards - "I thought it would never happen but Meltdown is finally released to the world! A movie about the economic crisis almost ruined by economic crisis... wait, are you thinking what I'm thinking? Meltdown 2."
 * @JimmyDS - "I teabagged a mercenary of war!"

Glitches

 * The PS3 version has a glitch after this mission that causes the safehouse icon for Michael to vanish. However, Michael's safehouse remains fully fuctional.
 * When arriving at the house, there might be a glitch where one of the two Merryweather operatives running into the house will remain stuck outside. At this point, he can be killed, although this will not prevent the player from having to save Amanda and Tracey from being executed.
 * When Jimmy is attacking the Merryweather operative, one might notice that the cutscene skips a bit when Jimmy hits the operative, this also happens seconds later when Jimmy is tea-bagging Michael.

Trivia

 * The mission was originally going to be called "Movie Premiere".
 * At the end of the mission, Jimmy makes a reference to modern FPS games. The camera changes to his perspective (First-person view), he enables night vision by using night vision goggles, brings both of his hands in front of him and, using his bong like a melee weapon, takes down the mercenary and then tea-bags Michael by accident.
 * This mission is the last opportunity for the player to keep the Merryweather Mesa. At the end of the mission, when two Mesas pull up in front of the house, the player can kill the agents and park a Mesa (even both) in Michael's garage before going back upstairs to complete the mission.
 * This mission bears a resemblance to the intro of Max Payne, as both games feature the protagonist coming back home to find their homes overrun by mercenaries. Both have their respective wife and daughter inside the house, and both use bullet-time to fend off their attackers. However, unlike Max, Michael knew about mercenaries trying to kill both Amanda and Tracey at their house before arriving and he earns his victory with his family unscathed.
 * This mission is also a reference to the Splinter Cell series with the iconic Tri-focal Goggles, as well as the night vision sound heard when the goggles are equipped.
 * The song that plays on the radio in the Limo is "Hood Gone Love It" by Jay Rock ft. Kendrick Lamar. The song can also be heard on Radio Los Santos, and in Franklin's Trailer.
 * The Stretch used in this mission has a special license plate, "VIN3W88D."
 * Sometimes, if the player switches to Trevor directly after this mission ends, Michael can be found outside Trevor's trailer sitting in a green armchair.
 * In the enhanced version, fireworks can be seen in the sky during the premiere.

Navigation
Meltdown (V) Der Zusammenbruch (Mission) Cataclismo Krach