Catch the Wave is a mission in Grand Theft Auto IV given to protagonist Niko Bellic by Phil Bell at the Honkers Gentlemen's Club in Tudor, Alderney. It is unlocked by the mission Payback.
Plot
Niko meets Phil at a Strip Club in Port Tudor and speaks about drugs that Russians have brought into the city and have yet to be unloaded. They drive to a truck which was prepared and drive to Docks in Charge Island. After they arrive, two Russians are waiting and ask Niko and Phil who they are. They both get out the truck and attack the Russians. After a shootout in the Docks, Niko and Phil steal boats full of drugs and drive them to North Holland.
Walkthrough
First, meet up with Phil at the Strip club in Port Tudor. After watching the cut-scene, you and Phil get into Phil's Intruder. He tells you that there is a truck under the overpass in Westdyke that's needed for the planned heist. On the journey to the truck, Phil expresses his paranoia about helicopters in the sky and asks Niko if he's sure the car isn't bugged (which explains the events in the next mission). Once you reach the location of the Steed, get in with Phil and drive to the boatyard in Charge Island. On the way Phil explains that the Ancelottis are shipping a large amount of coke into Liberty City, and ever since two of their members (Tony Black and Frankie Garone) have been killed, they no longer use the Albanians as their muscle, instead they rely on the Russian Mafia. Phil tells Niko that James Pegorino's orders are to tell the Russians that they were went by the Ancelottis to pick up the coke. However, this plan fails to fool the Russians and they begin attacking Phil and Niko. It looks like that you're going to have to shoot your way through to steal the coke!
Be careful though, as the boatyard is full of Russians. Take cover every time you shoot the Russians, and make sure that Phil isn't killed, which fails the mission. Try and kill the Russians quickly, because sometimes Phil will stand in the open and get shot to death. He can actually take a lot of bullets, but nonetheless he will die easily. After a while, Phil says to run for it. Run through the boatyard (go left to pick up a health kit on a pillar) and reach the docks. Kill the goon near a boat, and get into one of the boats with the drugs.
Once you're out in the sea, follow Phil to the drop-off in Algonquin. However, two boats with Russians in them will attack Phil. You must shoot them to defend Phil, or else Phil is killed. Shortly later, they will give up, leaving the only thing to do is to follow Phil to the drop-off in North Holland. Disembark on the nearby dock, and leave Phil to transport the coke.
If you're having trouble keeping Phil alive in the shootout there seems to be a glitch that can keep him out of the action. As soon as the Russian on the gate tells you he doesn't speak English reverse the truck up onto the grass verge behind you. For some reason when Phil gets out of the truck he gets 'stuck' behind the passenger-side door, and although he'll call out for help, he's sitting safely out of the way letting you take your time clearing out the rest of the gunmen.
As long as you have full health and body armor the Russian's shouldn't present a major problem, even on your own. When you've taken them all out just go back and use Niko's own body to push the door shut and Phil will run through.
Mission objectives
In order to complete the mission the player must:
- Go to the truck
- Drive to the boatyard on Charge Island
- Get through the boatyard with Bell
- Go to the coke boat
- Follow Bell to the drop-off point
- Protect Bell from the attacking boats
Video Walkthrough
Reward
The reward for completing this mission is $7,500. The missions Trespass and Flatline are unlocked.
Deaths
- Many of the Rascalov Family gangsters.
Trivia
- This is the name of a TBOGT map for Team Deathmatch or Deathmatch, but is not at the same boatyard as this one. This mission occurs mostly on Charge Island, while the TBOGT map is at the Southern Algonquin docks.
- During a conversation between Niko and Phil Bell on the ride to the docks, Phil talks about being "paranoid" and asks Niko twice if he ever saw "choppers in the sky". This is a reference to the mobster movie, Goodfellas; where Henry has a chopper following him, thinks that the cops are all over him, and thinks that his phone is tapped.
- Phil mentions how Niko was helping the Irish cause trouble between the Ancelottis and the Albanians a while back, obviously referring to Gerry's first two missions. The dialogue remains the same even if neither missions have been completed yet.
- There are two body armor pickups found in this mission, one inside the boathouse on the floor to the left, and another outside on the pier to the left.
- It is easy to get Bell killed because he will often charge into the open to shoot at the enemy armed only with a Pistol.
- There are many nods to Vice City in this mission - from the very name (as "Catch the Wave" was a motto of Wave 103 radio station) and drug trafficking by a boat, to Vice City being referenced as the place where from coke was shipped.