Franklin and Lamar is the first mission in Grand Theft Auto V, given to protagonist Franklin Clinton by car dealer Simeon Yetarian.
Mission
Nine years after the events of the Prologue, Michael De Santa is having a conversation with his therapist, Dr. Isiah Friedlander. Michael is growing increasingly unhappy at the fact that he is going through a midlife crisis, beginning to release a small amount of stress by shouting at Dr. Friedlander that the perfect life he dreamt of is disjointed, thus ending their brief session for the day.
Michael heads outside and sits on a bench in Vespucci Beach. This brings him into a chance encounter with Lamar Davis and Franklin Clinton, who he reluctantly redirects to their repossession location. The story then turns to focus on Franklin as he anxiously questions Lamar's motives for proceeding with the repossession, as he doesn't see it as legitimate work. They arrive at the property and after Franklin decides which vehicle he would like to acquire, he accompanies Lamar on a high-speed chase throughout different parts of Los Santos.
Franklin and Lamar end their chase at the Union Depository car park. As the men exchange repartee with each other, they hear the LSPD sirens, which causes them to drive away in different directions to lose the unwanted police attention. Once the wanted level is dealt with, Franklin meets Lamar at the back of the Premium Deluxe Motorsport dealership, where they witness their boss and owner of the car dealership, Simeon Yetarian, berating a young man, Jimmy De Santa, for making racist comments about him (the actual reason for this being that he is trying to scam him into buying a BeeJay XL, something that Lamar himself points out to Franklin).
Both Lamar and Franklin leave the dealership and head to the Franklin's house, where Lamar mocks Franklin's appearance after he's been denied access to Franklin's home. The mission concludes as Franklin walks around the house, which also leads to the brief introduction of his aunt, Denise Clinton, and the basics of the game.
Characters
The following characters/protagonists appear in this mission:
- Michael De Santa
- Isiah Friedlander
- Franklin Clinton
- Lamar Davis
- Simeon Yetarian
- Jimmy De Santa
- Denise Clinton
Gameplay
This mission is immediately started after completing Prologue.
- Choose one of the cars.
After the first cutscene, the player gains control of Franklin. One of the first decisions in the game is choosing between a convertible Dewbauchee Rapid GT and Obey 9F Cabrio. This decision has no impact on the story, and will only cause the conversations to differ upon entering the car. The mission will fail if the player damages the cars too severely.
- Return to Lamar.
This objective triggers only if the player decides to walk away from Lamar instead of choosing the cars. The mission will fail if the player continues to walk away from Lamar.
- Follow Lamar.
Upon choosing a car and watching the duo retract the cars' roofs, Lamar speeds away and the player has to follow him. The player starts off on Great Ocean Highway, goes through Del Perro and Rockford Hills, to Richards Majestic, and through Vespucci, Little Seoul and Pillbox Hill, where Franklin and Lamar stop at the car park of the Union Depository. To attain a gold medal in this mission, the player needs to use Franklin's special ability for at least 7 seconds, avoid hitting the actors while passing through Richards Majestic, avoid taking damage to the car and win the race against Lamar. The mission will fail if the player goes too far away from Lamar. There are no repercussions for hitting actors in the movie studio or losing the race against Lamar, apart from being unable to attain a gold medal. Damaging the car too much will result in an alternate version of the post-mission phone call, and destroying the car will fail the mission.
- Get back in the car.
This objective only appears if the player exits the car. During the race it will result in a mission failure as the player will be unable to catch up to Lamar after exiting and re-entering the car.
- Park next to Lamar.
This objective appears if the player is too far behind Lamar on the entrance to Union Depository or decides to go around the garage into the parking lot.
- Lose the Cops.
After Franklin and Lamar meet at the car park of the Union Depository and discuss Franklin's loss or victory of the race, the cops are alerted and Lamar speeds off. The player, on their own, has to lose a two-star wanted level. The easiest way to lose the cops is getting out of their sight and hiding in the alleys near the dealership. Another easy way to lose the cops is to enter the subway tunnel construction site at the Del Perro Freeway (although if you're not careful enough you might damage your car, either from the jump in the tunnel site, or the speeding cars in the freeway).
- Take the car back to the dealership.
After successfully losing the cops, the player has to take the car back to the dealership to continue with the mission.
- Get in your car.
Once the repossessed vehicle is delivered to the dealership, the player needs to enter Franklin's personal vehicle.
- Go to Franklin's house.
The final part of the mission is to drive to Franklin's house, and park the car in his garage. A short cutscene plays, introducing the player to safehouse functions, and the player is now free to roam around the map. The reward for completing the mission is $250 and a "Welcome to Los Santos" Achievement/Trophy.
Any bonus content, such as returning player bonuses (X1/PS4/PC only), DLC weapons (X360/PS3 only), Interaction Menu, Social Club content, or Special/Collector's Edition and pre-order bonuses, will also be unlocked once the player leaves the safehouse.
Pistol, Micro SMG, SMG, Assault SMG (Rockstar Social Club bonus), Assault Rifle, Knife, Grenades, and all five types of Body Armor, are unlocked at Ammu-Nation, including the shooting range activity. The player can also go to Los Santos Customs and Beeker's Garage, Car Washes, Movie Theatres, Barber Shops (as suggested by Lamar after the mission), Strip Club, Cable Cars, and any fairground ride (Ferris Whale and Leviathan), perform Stunt Jumps, find Peyote Plants (Enhanced Version), complete Taxi Fares, use in-game Internet (including Stock Markets), as well as use the Atomic Blimp or complete Stunt Plane Time Trials (both are pre-order bonuses, also available in Enhanced Version).
Gold Medal Objectives
- Not a Scratch – Deliver the repossessed car with minimal damage.
- Try to avoid crashing. Use Franklin's special ability to avoid collisions.
- Focused Driver – Use Franklin's special ability for 7 seconds.
- With the other objectives, this one should come naturally.
- Winner – Win the race against Lamar.
- Before entering the Union Depository, there will be two tunnels. Lamar drives through the right-hand tunnel. Drive through the left-hand tunnel and use Franklin's special ability to pass him.
- We Come in Peace – Avoid hitting any aliens in the movie studio.
- Use Franklin's special ability to navigate the studio.
Aftermath
- It is possible for Franklin to call Lamar after this mission. Franklin will wonder when they will stop listening to other people and work for themselves. Lamar tells him that Franklin needs to make up his mind about what he wants to do.
Lifeinvader Posts
- Darryl Knox – "Am I dreaming or did I just see you and lamar tearing up the del perro freeway on some sick wheels??"
Bleeter Posts
- @nobbly_head – "just saw 2 crazzzzy hoods racing boosted cars on del perro freeway sweet ass convertibles too!!"
Gallery
Trailers
- Screenshots retrieved from GTA V Trailers.
In-Game
Video Walkthroughs
Trivia
- This mission is similar to the Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas mission Test Drive, in which CJ and Cesar steal two cars from a car dealership and must escape from the police.
- Also, the comments that Lamar makes about Franklin needing a haircut is a homage to the second mission in San Andreas, called Sweet & Kendl in which Ryder tells Carl to get a haircut since it's embarrassing to be seen with him.
- Jimmy claims that he would never use the word "nigger" and is not a racist, yet when Franklin breaks into Michael's house to repossess Jimmy's car, Jimmy can be heard shouting the word "nigger" to another gamer over his games console's headset. However, he may have felt afraid of Lamar when he confronted him at the car dealership, considering the fact that Lamar is African-American and is taller than Jimmy.
- If Franklin gets in a fight while Lamar is riding in the Buffalo, Lamar will not assist Franklin.
- The radio is automatically tuned into West Coast Classics and the song playing when Franklin begins racing with Lamar is always "Appetite for Destruction" by N.W.A. In the enhanced version, the radio is tuned into Radio Los Santos, and the song playing instead is always "Bad News" by Action Bronson + Danny Brown.
- If the player stays at the house after getting in the car, the car owner will pull Franklin from the car and start attacking him.
- According to a pre-released screenshot, this mission was originally meant to take place at night rather than during the day.
- When looking closely at the trailer featuring the mission, the 9F Cabrio that Franklin is driving has an "SA Exempt" plate, meaning that it is a government vehicle. This has been changed in the final version, however, and the 9F Cabrio spawns with an ordinary "San Andreas" licence plate.
- After the cutscene turns into gameplay, Michael will no longer be sitting on the bench.
- Because of the scripted nature of the race, Lamar's car is both invulnerable and immovable. If Franklin manages to catch up to Lamar, he will be completely unable to affect Lamar's car in any way.
- As both Franklin and Lamar pull away with the boosted cars, they race along the many streets of Los Santos before finally reaching Simeon's dealership. The entire sequence of the race is scripted, in a very similar style to the escape sequence in the subtle approach to The Big Score. The mission's sequence mainly focuses on Mananas and Intruders.
- A Youga, a Flatbed, a Manana and four Intruders along the Great Ocean Highway.
- A Manana and three Intruders on the Bay City Incline.
- An Intruder and two Mananas on Bay City Avenue.
- A PCJ-600, a Burrito, nine Mananas and eleven Intruders along North Rockford Drive.
- Two Burritos, three Mananas, five Intruders and a group of cyclists along Marathon Avenue.
- A Manana driving down Heritage Way.
- An Intruder and a backing up Benson on Red Desert Avenue.
- A Packer, a Youga, two PCJ-600s, four Intruders and five Mananas on or near South Rockford Drive.
- Three Mananas and three Intruders on Prosperity Street.
- Two Bensons, six Mananas and six Intruders on Palomino Avenue.
- An Intruder travelling along Lindsay Circus.
- Two Mananas and six Intruders along Calais Avenue.
- A Bus, a PCJ-600, two Intruders and three Mananas on Vespucci Boulevard.
- A Burrito and four Intruders within the adjacent parking lot, two Intruders on San Andreas Avenue.
- A sole Intruder on Las Lagunas Boulevard.
- A Benson on Alta Street.
- If the player doesn't leave Simeon's dealership straight away, he can be heard talking with Jimmy. Jimmy will get in the car and start it, and later on, when the conversation ends, Simeon tells Franklin to go away.
- Franklin's wanted level is capped at two stars during the mission.
- Franklin cannot use his Special Ability until the tutorial prompt tells the player how to activate it.
- If Franklin's car gets heavily damaged, some dialogue will change, including when Franklin and Lamar stop and get a wanted level, and during Simeon's phone call after the mission. Screenshot.