I’ve never completed Vice City, and I don’t know why. Maybe it’s because some of the later missions have a huge difficulty spike, or maybe it’s because the mission structures aren’t quite as well defined as in GTA3. More than once I’ve found myself at a bit of a loss as to what to do next, with a main story missions appearing at first as a side quest. Maybe it’s because Vice City is such a fun place to drive around, watching people interacting with each other and the gangs, chasing people who are being pursued by the police and getting a “good citizen bonus” for knocking them down (and then more and more bonuses for kicking them again and again). There’s more to do here than in Liberty City, with businesses to buy and shops to rob and a golf course to tear around in a buggy.

But, similar to when I played GTA3, over the past couple of years I’ve been picking at missions from time to time, and I’m not at a position where I think the end of the game is nigh. Tommy Vercetti owns the mansion in the middle of the map, many of the gangs have been beaten down, and I am left with a single mission marker.

Yet when I go there, there is nothing to start.

I last did a mission in which I had to steal some police uniforms and a car, then go and plant a bomb in the shopping centre. I did that, then ran away very fast, with a five-star wanted level (which I knocked down to two-star by planning an escape route through some police bribe markers). That was all fine, but nothing else opened up. I did get a phone call, but it seemed unrelated to the story.

I am hoping that the game hasn’t bugged out. In the meantime I’m travelling around finishing some of the side missions I hadn’t done before – buying a couple of the properties (not the Malibu Club though, it’s far too expensive), carrying out an assassination contract, and racing around in a fire engine. It’s very pretty.

Well, Jonah didn’t last long. Trinity had the atlas which meant they looked to see where the Divine Source was, and discovered it was under a glacier. A shootout saw Jonah badly injured, and Jacob demonstrated his marvellous healing skills. Turns out he’s a bit special. This set up the thrilling climax of the game – our objective is in the Lost City; I’m going in through the secret entrance, and Trinity’s going to try going in by force through the glacier. It’s a race against time.

Well, except it’s not, because the next urgent thing doesn’t happen until you reach the next checkpoint. But still.

I was warned about the Deathless Ones. I’d seen them briefly before, when running up a large statue of the Prophet which I’d caused to fall over, but the Lost City is where they protect. When I first heard the villagers talking of the Deathless Ones I must admit my eyes rolled – yet another game where you get to fight zombies – but having encountered them while progressing through the city they’re really just another faction of soldiers, with less advanced weaponry but better armour. Because of the checkpointing system, I spent a lot of time sneaking up on the enemies and killing them from behind, or using the handily-positioned fire jars to explode them. There were a couple of big fights where hiding was not an option, but even then using the bow meant that few got close enough to actually fight.

I fought through the lower city, using a trebuchet to break down a gate; I then found another gate which also needed to be destroyed, using two different trebuchets in the area. Lots of Deathless Ones abounded. I reached a tower, at the top of which is the Divine Source – and then Trinity broke through the glacier.

The last half hour has been action-packed, with Trinity and Deathless Dudes fighting each other and me climbing the outside of the tower. Sofia turned up to help, firing one of the trebuchets at the advancing Trinity soldiers. I am concerned that I’ve reached the end of the battle with severely depleted ammunition, although I can at least craft arrows using my stocks of wood and feathers. Only the last battle to go.

I journeyed through the mountain and found the geothermal valley, where Jacob’s people live. This was a large area to explore, with some parts barricaded off with obtrusive spiked gates. After running some varied errands, including helping to reinforce guard towers, a big battle occurred with helicopters dropping waves of enemies, none of whom seemed to be able to kill Lara. They killed many others, it seems, but that was a pre-ordained conclusion, and I felt no sense of urgency while pushing through the linear path. Indeed, I knew there’d be no progress in action until I reached the next checkpoint, so with the sounds of gunfire and screams of torture around me I frequently went looking for coins or relics I’d passed, or spend time reading random documents left on the path.

While the game is overall relatively coherent, there is a clear distinction between different gameplay types. There are combat sections, exploration sections, and puzzle sections. The last two of these are slightly combined, with the need sometimes to climb on certain things to progress. The second one has the occasional danger from wildlife, but you can tell when this happens because Lara suddenly crouches and moves stealthily rather than just running as usual, and the music suddenly gets all exciting. Similarly, during the combat sections, once you have killed the last enemy, even if you aren’t aware it’s the last one, Lara will suddenly stand upright and the music will finish. At least this meant I wasn’t swimming under the ice for hours waiting to see if anyone was still there to shoot me.

I am compelled to continue through the story, partially because I am intrigued as to what the Divine Source may be, and partially because it will mean that I’ve unlocked all the equipment and abilities and I won’t, for example, spend ten minutes climbing up a wall and jumping between platforms to get to a cave entrance, only to find I need breathing apparatus to swim along the tunnel.

Speaking of which, guess what I’ve got now. I’d better go back and find that cave again.

Anyway, I have travelled into the cathedral and found the atlas, which isn’t a Collins reference book, but instead is a pentagonal dodecahedron which shines light through and projects a map of the city. That shows you where the Divine Source is, and a secret path to get there. Jacob seems to know already. I’ve also met up with Jonah, who was saved from the storms by Jacob’s people, but who was then captured by Trinity. I’m back off now to rescue him from the gulag.