The Chainsaw is a melee weapon that appears in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories and Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars.
Description
The Chainsaw is a portable mechanized saw commonly used as a tool for cutting down trees. Due to its intimidating noise and potential for mutilation, it is frequently employed as a weapon in pop culture, such as horror movies, violent games and some Grand Theft Auto games as well.
Design
3D Universe
The Chainsaw remained largely the same throughout the 3D Universe, only differing in color and detailings. Depending of the game, the rendition in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City and Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas is of an orange body with a dark grey blade. Later, it changed in Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories with a yellow body instead and changed again in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories with a blue body and a light grey blade.
Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars
The rendition of the Chainsaw in Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars has a yellow body with a light grey blade, combining the appearances of the "stories" games. The blades are more pronounced than in other renditions.
Performance
3D Universe
Standing still while pressing the attack button will allow the player to swipe with the chainsaw; pressing the button while moving does not allow swiping, but allows the player full mobility. The Chainsaw is the only melee weapon which slows the player to a walking pace; in GTA San Andreas, the player also cannot jump with the Chainsaw equipped. As such, it is unsuitable for attacking fleeing _targets. In GTA Vice City, drops of blood can be seen spattered at the screen when the player successfully attacks a _target (although this was removed in the game's mobile release). Despite its immense damage, the Chainsaw cannot decapitate a person, unlike the Katana.
Like firing guns, revving the Chainsaw in public will scare pedestrians in the vicinity, and if a police officer is nearby, the player will gain a one-star wanted level, regardless of whether the player harms anyone in the process.
The Chainsaw can easily damage parts such as hoods, bumpers and even doors from vehicles. If it is used against a heavily damaged car (which emit black smoke), it will catch fire and explode after several hits. Likewise, the car will instantly explode if hit while burning.
3D Universe Overview
| Damage | Fire Rate [?] | Range (m / ft) |
Ammo Specifications/ Capacity |
Reload Mechanism | Reload Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 35 (GTA Vice City) | 250 (GTA Vice City) | 1.7 / 5.6 10 / 32.8 (Lock-on) |
1000 (GTA Vice City) | N/A | 100 (GTA Vice City) |
| N/A | N/A | Cannot be determined | N/A | N/A | 0.1 second |
Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars
The Chainsaw remains identical to its 3D Universe counterpart. Being a slow and cumbersome weapon, the player might experience difficulties at using it when comes to armed _targets.
Image Gallery
In-game model
HUD icon
Locations
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City
- Given to the player in the mission "Treacherous Swine".
- Ocean Beach, Vice Beach - In the bathroom of Apartment 3c.
- Little Havana, Vice City Mainland - Available to buy from Screw This after completion of Phnom Penh '86 for $500.
- Spawns at the Ocean View Hotel, the Vercetti Estate and the Hyman Condo after collecting 20 hidden packages.
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
- Ocean Docks, Los Santos - Beside a staircase near the southernmost bridge.
- Willowfield, Los Santos - Beside a little cabin near a pile of coal.
- The Panopticon, Red County - In front of a cabin near many tree log stacks.
- Hampton Barns, Red County - In a farm between Blueberry and Montgomery.
- Flint Range, Flint County - At Helena Wankstein's storage shack, available after meeting her.
- Avispa Country Club, San Fierro - Inside the tennis courts.
- Doherty, San Fierro - In the construction site next to CJ's garage, on top of a collapsed building.
- Garcia, San Fierro - Inside the Final Build Construction site.
- Hunter Quarry, Bone County - Opposite to the treadmill exit of the big, red and southern mineral crusher at the bottom of the quarry.
- Whitewood Estates, Las Venturas - In the area of the chips factory featured in the mission You've Had Your Chips.
Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories
- Can be found behind the sawmill next to a trailer in Trenton.
- In a small garage east of the police station at Pike Creek.
- Dropped by Vincenzo's men in the mission The Portland Chainsaw Masquerade.
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories
- Can be taken from one of the Sharks in the hull of the ship in the mission Leap and Bound.
- Ocean Beach, Vice Beach - Behind a Hardcore Pawn store not far from the empire site by the gas station.
Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars
- Firefly Projects - Can be found at Hairy Al's Scrap and Auto Parts and can be picked up during By Myriads of Swords.
- South Bohan - At the construction site which is destroyed in the mission Trail Blazer.
- Castle Gardens - At Yusuf Amir's construction site (2 spawnpoints in the whole area).
Trivia
General
- The Chainsaw also makes an appearance in Manhunt, another Rockstar title.
- In addition, the Chainsaw model from Grand Theft Auto: Vice City is briefly used during the cutscene in Border Patrol in Manhunt, instead of the Chainsaw model used in-game.
- All renditions of the Chainsaw in the 3D Universe have some kind of brand name on their blades. However, they are illegible.
- In Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, tapping the attack button will make Tommy rev the Chainsaw, and frighten nearby pedestrians. This can be done both while moving and standing. It can only be done while moving in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas.
- On most occasions, killing someone with a Chainsaw will produce the same sound as running over pedestrians with a vehicle.
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City
- The blood stains and the Chainsaw found in the bathroom of the Apartment 3c are a reference to a murder scene in the movie Scarface.
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
- By pressing "
" or " " while aiming to someone, will make Carl Johnson raise the Chainsaw in the air, causing people to flee. - Extended use of the chainsaw causes max Health, Muscle and Stamina to rise.
- Like the Baseball Bat in GTA III, one can kill many pedestrians without penalty as long as there is no law enforcement in the vicinity. This can lead to large sums of money if planned correctly next to a save point or a Pay 'n' Spray.
- It is possible to open locked car doors using the Chainsaw, although it is difficult.
- The only NPC to use a Chainsaw is the mobster in the mission The Meat Business, making this the only time the player can fight someone who has one. However, a glitch may disable this.
- There is a prop of a Chainsaw with a Dildo as a blade inside the enterable Sex Shop XXX store.
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories
- Pressing " " while _targeting someone with the Chainsaw will make Victor swing it; the animation resembles that of the Katana, and the Chainsaw makes the same sound upon hitting an opponent.
- In the PSP version, the player itself cannot use the Chainsaw for quick-killing purposes as it have a much lower damage and can only be swung like any other melee weapons. This was later rectified in the PS2 version, where it performs like previous renditions.
- In the PS2 version, the Chainsaw sound's pitch is increased slightly.
HD Universe
- In Grand Theft Auto IV, a powersaw can be found by workers in construction sites, though they are not usable by the player.
- In Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars the player can hijack cars in front of the police by using the Chainsaw on the car. When the passengers walk out, one can take the car without any worry of alerting the police. However, one must be careful not to accidentally kill the escaping passengers.