In all of its appearances, the RC Bandit is primarily used as either a controllable bomb or for racing. The race car-like design of the vehicle has virtually remained unchanged betweenGrand Theft Auto III andGrand Theft Auto: San Andreas, but theGrand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories rendition of the RC Bandit is redesigned as a miniature pickup truck-based monster truck. While inGTA San Andreas, the RC Bandit uses miniature wheels, other renditions of the vehicle use scaled-down versions of either wheels of sports cars (GTA III &Grand Theft Auto: Vice City) or wheels used on utility vehicles, possibly used on theBobcat or theLandstalker (GTA Liberty City Stories).
TheGTA III rendition originally features only one color scheme, while the other renditions support a wider range of colors, including blue, red, yellow and green. TheGTA San Andreas rendition also lacks an external radio antenna, unlike the other renditions.
Performance[]
3D Universe[]
Performance of the vehicle is as expected; being small and light, the RC Bandit is highly nimble with excellent acceleration, but it has a low top speed. Because the RC Bandit inGTA III toGTA San Andreas features very still suspensions, the buggy is susceptible to rollovers on bumpy terrain. TheGTA Liberty City Stories rendition, however, receives performance tweaks, including a slightly improved top speed and soft suspensions that allow it to traverse uneven terrain much better. Some renditions are electric, while others are powered by gasoline or methanol ("nitro" in RC terminology).
The RC Bandit is only restricted for missions or side missions only, therefore the player cannot use the car in free roam withoutModifications or the use of certain exploits.
Grand Theft Auto III[]
Entering aTOYZ van will trigger a side mission, in which the player must destroy as many gang vehicles as possible using RC Cars rigged with explosives. It is also used inToyminator to blow up three armoredSecuricars.
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City[]
Entering theTop Fun van parked inVice Point, will trigger aside mission, in which the player must race around atrack using an RC Bandit.
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas[]
Thefinal mission forZero involves helping him move an RC Bandit across a model battlefield asBerkley tries to trap and destroy it. The car is controlled only by Zero, with the player controlling anRC Goblin as support. It was originally going to be used in the missionTanked Up, which was cut from the game during development.
Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories[]
There arethreecheckpointraces which involve the player compete using a RC Bandit against three others.
Trivia[]
General[]
"RC Bandit" is a play onarse bandit, another sexual joke by Rockstar.
In the RC racing gameRe-Volt, there is an RC car also named RC Bandit.
The name may also come from the real life RC carTraxxas Bandit.
If the player spawns the vehicle inGTA III andGTA Vice City and attempts to enter it, the game will crash as soon as the player opens the "door". InGTA San Andreas, however, if the player tries to enter it, nothing will happen. But, inGTA Liberty City Stories, the player can normally enter it and drive it around, however, on the PSP version the player has to teleport inside the RC car, otherwise the game will crash.
Grand Theft Auto III[]
The RC Bandit inGTA III has alternate colors programmed in the game, however only one is used.
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas[]
InGTA San Andreas, the RC Bandit's engine noise is the same as theFaggio's.
Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories[]
The RC Bandit inGTA Liberty City Stories bears a resemblance to "Hammerhead" in the gameTwisted Metal: Small Brawl, with both vehicles being monster truck-type RC cars and bearing an almost identical blue-ish teal and yellow paint job.
In the mobile version ofGTA Liberty City Stories, the RC Bandit has a new sound, closer to itsGTA III one.
Also, in the PSP and PS2 versions it appears with a different color on the upper half than the lower half, but in the Mobile version, it is always a single color.
