“Take him out! That's a $60,000,000 project!”
— Military personnel, after Carl Johnson steals the Jetpack.
Black Project is a mission in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas given to protagonist Carl Johnson by pot-growing hippie The Truth from the Verdant Meadows Airfield in Bone County, San Andreas.
Description[]
Carl arrives at the airfield and is welcomed by The Truth, exercising on the top of an aircraft wreck. Truth then berates Carl for having agreed to work for a government agent. He then tells Carl about a secret military research area, where he believes a "black project" is being developed. Truth drops Carl off at the boundaries of the base before leaving the area.
Carl must sneak into the underground area, by using the control tower to open the blast doors and get inside. However, the area is well protected with several soldiers patrolling the area, as well as spotlights. If Carl is spotted by a spotlight, the blast doors will be isolated from the main system, which forces Carl to use a vent to get inside.
Once inside, the alarm goes off, and Carl is forced to kill every soldier on his way to the project. Upon arriving in a lab, a scientist gives Carl his keycard, which he uses to gain access to the launch bay, where the project, which turns out to be a Jetpack, is lying at the bottom. Carl steals it and flies towards Arco del Oeste, where Truth is waiting in his van. Truth takes it, then leaves the area, while Carl complains about Truth refusing to drive him back into town.
Mission Objectives[]
In order to complete the mission the player must:
- The easiest way into the Area 69 bunker complex is through the blast doors. To open these go to the control room
- The control tower has been disabled you must now find another way in. There is a vent that goes into the Area 69 interior. Damage the vent grate and drop in to gain entry
- Go and find the Black Project
- The door to the launch bay where the black project is being stored is locked. Find a keycard to access it
- Collect the keycard and open the door to the Black Project
- The Black Project is located at the bottom of the launch bay
- You've found what The Truth wanted. You must escape using the Jetpack to fly out of the launch bay directly above you
- Deliver the jetpack to a drop off point deep in the canyons
Reward[]
There is no monetary reward for this mission. A few minutes after completing the mission, The Truth will call Carl, which unlocks the mission Green Goo. The Desert Eagle is now available to buy from the Ammu-Nation ($1,200).
Transcript[]
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Post-Mission Phone Call[]
CJ: Hey.
Truth: Carl. It's me. The Truth. We got a date with destiny, man. In about five minutes.
CJ: Where you at?
Truth: At the old airplane graveyard you've been hanging around.
Steal The Mothership[]
- Main article: Black Project/Steal The Mothership
Walkthrough[]
Alternate Cutscene[]
A fat Carl arrives at the Verdant Meadows Airfield.
CJ searches for Toreno at the airstrip...
...and gets a phone call, believing it to be Toreno.
But the caller turns out to be The Truth.
CJ recognizes the voice and realizes it is The Truth's, and asks how he is.
Truth says he is in better shape than CJ, and mocks him by calling him a "fat ass".
CJ asks if Truth is secretly watching him.
Truth says he needs CJ's help for "something special"...
...but tells him to return after he loses weight...
...and hangs up the call.
CJ doesn't think he's that overweight...
...and leaves.
Actual Mission[]
CJ returns to the airstrip after losing weight.
Truth welcomes CJ from atop the wrecked aircraft.
CJ asks where Truth is.
Truth says he is checking if CJ is no longer working for the government...
...and asks where Toreno is.
CJ says he doesn't know and asks Truth if he's OK.
Truth continues his yoga...
...and then jumps off the aircraft.
Truth asks CJ if he has any idea what he's doing for Toreno.
CJ says he is on a need-to-know basis.
Truth explains the consequences of working for a government agent.
As Truth grabs him while explaining, CJ pushes him off and asks what is going on.
Truth tells CJ about a secret place...
...where they have work to do.
He tells CJ to drive and he'll explain on the way.
They arrive at the Area 69 military base. CJ asks if they have a plan.
Truth just tells him to go.
CJ tells him to wait...
...but Truth quickly drives off.
Truth wants CJ to gain entry to the Area 69 research lab and bring him the Black Project that is being developed inside.
The easiest way to get inside is through the blast doors, which can be opened by getting to the control tower.
CJ must evade several searchlights sweeping the area.
If he stays in a searchlight for too long or shoots out more than two, he will be spotted.
This will result in the blast doors getting locked and an alternative route having to be found.
There are also several military personnel patrolling the area. CJ can use the thermal goggles given by The Truth that can help him see in the dark.
He can use stealth to avoid patrols or climb up to the top of a control tower and use a Sniper Rifle to take them out.
He must gain entry to the lab before 5:30.
Taking out the miliary personnel outside.
Getting spotted by one of the searchlights.
The control tower is disabled and the blast doors cannot be used. He must find another way in, which is through a vent that leads inside.
CJ finds the vent and shoots the grates to make his way inside.
Jumping into the vent.
After successfully getting inside, he must make his way to the research lab which gives access to the black project.
There are several patrolling military personnel throughout the installation.
The control room allows CJ to disable the SAM sites outside, making his escape easier.
CJ must go and find the black project.
Taking out the military personnel on his way to the research lab.
Inside the control room.
SAM sites disabled.
Continuing his way to the lab.
Once inside the lab, he must find a keycard that can unlock the door to the launch bay.
A scientist inside the lab drops the keycard to allow CJ to take it.
Taking the keycard.
CJ unlocks the door using the keycard. He must make his way to the bottom of the launch bay, where the black project is located.
Fighting off the military while making his way down.
The black project turns out to be a Jetpack.
CJ has found what The Truth wanted. He must escape by flying out of the launch bay using the Jetpack.
He must deliver the jetpack to a drop off point deep in the canyons.
Heading to The Truth's location after successfully escaping Area 69.
Arriving at the location.
CJ gives the jetpack to The Truth and tells him to hide it somewhere quickly.
Truth congratulates him and is about to leave.
CJ wanted The Truth to give him a lift but left too quickly.
Mission passed!
Video Walkthroughs[]
Gallery[]
Carl disabling the SAM site in the control room.
Trivia[]
- If CJ's fat is above 60% when attempting to start this mission, an alternate cutscene will play in which The Truth calls Carl a "fat ass" and then tells him to lose some weight beforehand, most likely to make it easier for the Jetpack to lift him. A similar thing also happens in Green Goo.
- When inside the Area 69 research area, various announcements tell the employees a variety of things including (but not limited to): "downloading pornography is strictly prohibited", "anyone caught stealing alien technology will not be invited to the next staff night out", and that "running with scissors is dangerous and not permitted". These announcements continue even after security notifies everyone of the breaches.
- The announcement made about running with scissors not being permitted is a possible reference to the video game company Running with Scissors, best known for its Postal games, which are considered by some to be "GTA Clones".
- "General Mills" is likely a reference to a well-known food manufacturing company in the US, best known for cereals such as Cheerios.
- The scientists in the base all have German/European accents. This could be a reference to Operation Paperclip, in which the U.S. Government employed 1,500 ex-Nazi scientists to prevent their knowledge from falling into Soviet hands. The operation ended in 1990, two years before the game's events.
- When navigating through the hallways near the scientist who gives Carl the keycard, the player can spot a crowbar on a table in a lab. This is a reference to Valve's 1998 FPS Half-Life, where the protagonist is a scientist escaping an alien-filled underground lab, with a crowbar as his melee weapon of choice.
- The ability to remove the Jetpack once equipped is disabled during the mission. This is also the case in the mission Green Goo.
- There is an area where the player can jump out of bounds on the way to getting the Jetpack that will then teleport them to the room where they leave the base.
- The alarm in the PC and original Xbox versions uses a unique sound which is slower compared to other versions of the game. The alarm from the mobile versions and remastered Xbox 360 version of the game is similar to the PC version, though it is much faster, while the PS2 version reuses the alarm sound from Vertical Bird, which is much faster.
- In The Definitive Edition, sneaking into the underground base without setting off the alarm will earn the player the "They Can't Stop All of Us" achievement.
- The achievement name is a reference to the Storm Area 51 Facebook event.
