Customer Reviews

Grand Theft Auto: Episodes from Liberty City

5 star:		(36)
4 star:		(21)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

It took forever and a day, but PS3 owners finally have access to the two outstanding "Grand Theft Auto IV" expansions on one reasonably-priced disc. As is custom for the GTA series, the game includes a small booklet and the ubiquitous full-size fold-out poster. In addition to the disc version, the Playstation Store has both expansions available for download as well. This is an option of convenience or useful if you only want one of the expansions.

Buying both, however, is the same price or more than the disc, so you might as well buy the disc. You'll get the nice poster and booklet in addition to the hard copy you can either sell or give to a friend when you're finished. The poster has an image of a party girl in a pink dress on one side and a detailed map of Liberty City on the other. The booklet contains brief paragraphs outlining the premise of each expansion, a full list of the radio songs, and the game credits.

Both "The Lost and Damned" and "The Ballad of Gay Tony" are amply sized and playing through both took me around twenty hours, and this is considering I ignored much of the many interesting diversions and side-quests (everything from arm wrestling, gang wars, bike races and more) present in both. A very dedicated player could easily spend forty to fifty hours completing all the side-quests and obtaining all the trophies, making this disc a nearly mandatory purchase for PS3 owners who enjoy a good sandbox-style romp.

Of course, both games are rife with the bizarre hallmarks of the GTA games. The nudity is particularly bizarre, including a scene of full-frontal male congressman nudity, which is ostensibly intended to be amusing but only elicited a furrowed brow from this gamer. This sort of thing is nothing new to the franchise or even the genre, so I'm not complaining, just making note. The language is often coarse but I wouldn't have it any other way. It lends atmosphere to the storyline, and after all, we're dealing with a biker gang and a bodyguard/drug dealer. Speaking of which, it's amazing to me how many parents complain about the content of games when specific ratings are provided on each title's sleeve and detailed content descriptions of games can often be found online. But that's another story entirely.

Unfortunately, much as in GTA IV, the AI scripting for your teammates is rather weak. Occasionally they can even become a hindrance, as they get in the way during chases, and even with relatively high attributes are often unable to hit their targets (particularly if the enemy is behind cover). Another slight mark against these expansions are those missions that frankly don't even make much sense. For instance, during one mission on "The Lost and Damned", your character is to ride his motorcycle to find three rival gang vans driving around Liberty City. Once you find a van, you're to throw pipe bombs at the van until it's destroyed, all while the heavily-armed crackshot gang members are leading you with semi-automatic weapons. To be fair, the mission can be completed without resorting to the pipe bombs (I stood in the street and used a rocket launcher instead), but I just couldn't shake the feeling that Johnny Boy had taken too many knocks to the skull. Well, no one said biker gangs were very bright to begin with, right?

This is admittedly a small complaint. Besides, I appreciate that Rockstar tries to add a bit of variety to the missions so that each one isn't simply a full-throttle shootout. At least no mission on these expansions is as ridiculous as that one in "Vice City" where you had to plant bombs using a very unwieldy remote-controlled helicopter! Story-wise, however, neither expansion disappoints in any way. "The Ballad of Gay Tony" is colorful, amusing and more characteristic of a typical GTA storyline. As far as mission variety is concerned, "TBOGY" wins hands down. One moment you'll be piloting a high-tech aircraft, the next you're in a speedboat chase, and before long you're parachuting from a skyscraper to escape the police.

My personal favorite storyline, however, was "The Lost and Damned" which features a darker, more involving plotline. It's nothing terribly complex, mostly a series of drug deals gone awry, mixed with gang wars and internal conflicts within your own gang, but Johnny Klebitz (the player character) is my favorite of the entire franchise. This is due in large part because, despite the limited and somewhat dated graphics (keeping in mind GTA IV was released almost exactly two years ago) I'm always impressed with how solid the acting is. The voice acting and scripting are top gear, but what really sells the cutscenes is the dead-on body language and gestures from the characters.

The numerous multiplayer modes add nearly endless replayability to the title and are often a source of great amusement. My favorite multiplayer games include: "Chopper VS Chopper", where one player rides a motorcycle through a series of checkpoints while another player in a helicopter tries to destroy the biker, "Lone Wolf Biker" where every other player is trying to kill the one who is tagged the 'lone wolf', and "Witness Protection" where one team is trying to destroy a bus full of witnesses while the other team is trying to protect it. There are also a multiplayer motorcycle race mode, a "Club Business" mode where the players act together as a team to carry out various tasks, and a "Own the City" mode where the players attempt to take over the city piece by piece.

My personal favorite addition is the mission checkpoint system, which really cuts down on wasted playtime after a failed mission (i.e. having to take a ten minute drive back to the mission site after every mission failure). I hope this becomes the norm on every subsequent GTA title. All things considered, it was well worth the wait. For the modest price this title typically averages, it's highly recommended, and a great way to stave off the waiting for the next GTA title (or, in my case, the upcoming "Red Dead Redemption").

Quite how it's taken so long for this to be released on PS3, I cannot understand, but after the long wait, you won't be left disappointed.

Although the game plays exactly like GTAIV (there was never going to be a major upheaval on this front), there are enough additions to make the two included games feel new. Plenty of new, more fun weapons (grenade launcher anyone?), and a sprinkling of new vehicles around the streets.

Liberty City is opened up completely from the start, and a lot of the weapons you may have taken several days to earn in GTAIV are available within half an hour of playing this one. But that's a good thing; I imagine most gamers buying this will have completed GTAIV, so there is no need to go through the same process of slowly earning better weapons as you progress.

If you're like me and you love the radio stations on GTA games, you'd be pleased to hear a totally new radio soundtrack to complement the game. My favourite by a country mile would be Vice City FM - being an 80s music fan, I am of the opinion that Vice City had the greatest soundtrack to a game ever. Fernando Martinez hosts, and hearing an excellent selection of not-so-obvious 80s tracks playing in Liberty City just brings back a little bit of that "Vice City feeling" when playing this one.

The Episodes are notably shorter than GTA, with around 25 main story missions each. Looking on the bright side of this, you won't end up with the ridiculous unspendable amounts of money Niko had in GTAIV, which I suppose makes money a little more valuable.

Difficulty wise, there doesn't seem to be much difference between IV and the Episodes; I would say the Episodes are maybe slightly more challenging (the harder missions naturally come along a lot quicker with there being fewer missions overall). The missions themselves offer more variety to the gameplay, you'll have heard about the parachuting etc in Gay Tony for example. For those who like this sort of thing, missions interweave with Niko's progression in IV, adding depth to the original plot and providing interesting background to some of the tasks you carried out as Niko.

All in all, Episodes from Liberty City are two superb games if you loved GTAIV, and whilst not entirely new games, they are just new enough to be well worth the money.

Don't get me wrong. GRAND THEFT AUTO IV is a great game, but the lack of checkpoints and the wonky driving mechanics slow the pace and make missions tedious to retry (eg. Do I really need to steal another car and spend 5-7 minutes driving across the city again just to retry a mission? Argh!)

That being said, my grievances with GTA IV were all fixed in EPISODES FROM LIBERTY CITY. The driving mechanics, especially the motorcycles, have been smoothed out. Driving in the game has now actually become fun, and it is now easier to handle a motorcycle than a car. Also, when you get killed on a mission, the game will take you back to the start of the action. These two changes alone radically change the gaming experience and make EPISODES one of the most fun video games I've ever played. I literally didn't want it to end.

The stories are compelling and fast-paced. If you've played through GTA IV, you'll notice and appreciate some intersections with that story, but by and large these are standalone story lines. And the characters are quite a lot more fun than the rather dour Niko Bellic of GTA IV. I won't give away any more than that.

The main point I'd like to drive home is that if you haven't played GTA IV, I strongly recommend skipping to this game, Episodes from Liberty City. If you have played GTA IV and are on the fence about getting Episodes, don't even think twice. Make this your next game. You won't regret it.

Long time fans of Grand Theft Auto know that each of the games in the post-PS1 era is thematically linked to a particular genre of movie. GTA III is heavily indebted to Mafia movies such as Goodfellas and The Godfather, as well as to the cable television series The Sopranos. Vice City is clearly influenced by Miami Vice and Scarface, while San Andreas draws a great deal of inspiration from Colors and Boyz N the Hood.

Episodes from Liberty City carries on this tradition by transforming Grand Theft Auto IV into an homage to Akira Kurosawa's Rashomon. As in Kurosawa's film, a set of events is seen from multiple points of view, leaving the player to decide which perspective he or she believes is the most credible. Niko Bellic, Johnny Klebitz, and Luis Lopez, the main characters, each bring a different experience and interpretation to GTA IV's story line. Niko is an immigrant, forced to assimilate and adapt rapidly to a world completely new to him. Johnny is caught in a classic master versus apprentice situation. Luis, who is the only character with any kind of insider status, must choose between building his future and honoring his past.

These are all familiar character situations in videogames, of course, but Rockstar creates deeper and richer stories and characters than most other game developers. The majority of games stick to the bare rudiments of character motivation and development. Rockstar has given us THREE strong stories in the GTA IV series, each with a complex and compelling main character. It was ambitious of Rockstar to release Niko's view of the story first, in isolation, without any indication of what was to come later. Many of the events in the Niko version of the story, in fact, aren't fully explained until the Luis and Johnny episodes. Compare that to the usual rote or clichéd story arcs found in too many games, even multi-episode games. There are a few studios that consistently produce well-written games in addition to Rockstar--Bungie, Valve, and Kojima Productions are three standouts--but the vast majority treat story and plot as afterthoughts.

Story and influences aside, the bigger question is whether or not Episodes from Liberty City is fun to play. The answer is YES, even though it is clear that Rockstar devoted a lot more development time to Luis' episode than it did to Johnny's episode. TLAD feels somewhat stripped down and is similar to GTA III in many ways. You'll spend most of your time following the main story, driving or riding to combat missions. If you fully explored Liberty City in Niko's episode, there isn't a whole lot to discover or do that you haven't already experienced. On the other hand, TBOGT contains a much broader variety of missions, side activities, and minigames. Most players will spend more time with TBOGT than with TLAD--but now that they're both part of a value priced twofer disc, it's no big deal. The important thing is to play the series in the order in which it was released (GTA IV then TLAD then TBOGT). If you don't, you'll miss out on properly experiencing how the full story unfolds.

Well worth picking up.

"Episodes From Liberty City Stories" is comprised of two games that were originally only available via downloading. They both use the world, gameplay, and story of "Grand Theft Auto IV". If you can stomach some of the problems with these two games, then this will be a fine addition to your collection.

The Two Games included:
* The Lost and Damned
* The Ballad of Gay Tony

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The Premise
* Both games take place during Niko Bellic's criminal activities from "GTA 4". Although both have their own unique story, they will often center around what happened with the diamond heist that went horribly wrong in "GTA 4".

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The Story
* "The Lost and Damned" chronicles the turmoils of a biker gang, currently led by Johnny Klebitz. However, when gang president Billy comes home from prison, Johnny clashes with Billy's more violent, care-free way of doing business.
* "The Ballad of Gay Tony" tells the story of Luis Lopez, a man who was saved from a lowly life of crime by Tony Prince, owner of the hottest nightclubs in Liberty City. But Tony's indiscretions and personal demons force Luis to get involved with some dangerous people to keep the businesses - and his personal & working relationship with Tony - stable.

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Gameplay
* "The Lost and Damned" is heavily based around running with the biker gang. You often ride with other gang members to complete missions, your home is the L&D bar, and several members are available to call for backup or sell you weapons. Most of the missions take place in the state of Alderney.
* "The Ballad of Gay Tony" is mostly based in Algonquin, since that's where Tony's businesses and dealings are. You have your own safehouse and more fanciful wardrobe, and the gameplay is more similar to "GTA 4" where you tend to be more of a solo operator with some friends on the side.

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Side Activites
* Both games feature unique mini-games outside of the main story. Because "Lost and Damned" is mostly based around the gang, your side activities revolve around them. You can fight Gang Wars, where your crew will try to take out some competing gangs. The biker hangout allows you to arm wrestle, gamble on a hi-low card game, and just hang out.
* "The Ballad of Gay Tony", on the other hand, allows you to fight in an underground fight club, do some baseline jumps off the skyscrapers, shoot at the golf driving range, help a couple of old friends with Drug Wars (take out the competition), and watch over one of Tony's nightclubs.

Either title's minigames are good and bad. It's nice to watch over a nightclub, but it gets repetitve. I love playing hi-lo, but you can't increase your gambling wage. The Gang and Drug Wars are very fun, but they don't do much except increase your completion percentage.

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Which Game Is Better?
* I prefer "The Ballad of Gay Tony" in almost every way. I think controlling a motorcycle in any of the "GTA 4"-based games is annoying (though it's probably more realistic than past "GTA" games). I love doing missions in Algonquin (the Manhattan-inspired city), but pretty much hate doing missions in Alderney (the Jersey-inspired state). "Ballad of Gay Tony" is a more colorful story and world overall, whereas "Lost and Damned" features a more grungy, hardrock kind of backdrop. I had a hard time telling the L&D gang members apart; in "Ballad", I never once forgot who anybody was. I enjoyed the minigames in "Ballad" more than the activities available in "Lost".

Overall, I thought "The Lost and Damned" was a pretty good, whereas "The Ballad of Gay Tony" was even better.

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OVERALL
* Now, I want to be clear about this: Both games are good, and both are worth playing. I just thought that "Ballad of Gay Tony" had a more compelling lead character in Luis Lopez, and the story flowed smoother from start to finish, especially since many characters play a part in the main story. In "Lost and Damned", I knew where the gang's infighting would lead, and I wasn't terribly surprised by the conclusion.

The great thing about "Episodes From Liberty City" is that both games are unique enough that there will fans of both. The bad side is that I believe players are gonna really like one, and feel indifferent towards the other, just like I did.

The sad part about this is that even when you combine the games together, there still isn't much to do compared to "Grand Theft Auto IV". The characters were deeper, the story more surprising, and the things to do to kill time more plentiful. These two expansions had a lot to live up to, and for the most part, they're satisfying add-ons.

I recommend picking this two-pack compilation up. Both "The Lost and Damned" & "The Ballad of Gay Tony" are good games. Just don't expect the masterful epic that was "GTA 4". They weren't meant to surpass that game in the first place.

THE LOST AND DAMNED = 8.0 / 10
THE BALLAD OF GAY TONY = 8.5 / 10

It took a while, but Grand Theft Auto: Episodes from Liberty City is finally here on the PS3. Containing The Lost & Damned and The Ballad of Gay Tony; Episodes from Liberty City does a spectacular job of expanding the GTA IV universe, providing a wonderful amount of characters, action, and overall gameplay. Both games are different enough to provide unique experiences, there's a host of new weapons, vehicles, and features at your disposal in both episodes, and a mission checkpoint system, which manages to relieve some frustrations if you fail a mission. Combine that with some colorful nods and references to GTA IV and the fact that you get two great games for a relatively good price, and you can easily forgive the small shortcomings that lie in the aging graphics engine and stiff multiplayer modes. All in all, if you managed to blast your way through GTA IV, Episodes from Liberty City is a must have, and it's great to see it finally hit the PS3.

Having been a fan of the GTA series for many years now I was very disappointed when I got word that the expansion packs for GTA4 would only be made available to 360 users upon. The thing that pissed me off more than anything was that GTA started off as a Playstation exclusive game. Of course it was only time before the expansion packs came out for PS3 as well, but it still wasn't a smart move on Rockstar's part if you ask me. That's definitely not a good vibe to send to your PS3 owners out there.

Anyway, on to my review, and I'll keep this brief. I just got this game last week and I've already beaten it. First off when buying this game you need to be realistic. Combined the two expansion packs The Lost & The Damned and The Ballad of Gay Tony add up to a solid week of gaming in my opinion in which time you can beat both games. Story wise, the Ballad of Gay Tony wins hands down. But,...I do have to give The Lost & The Damned the 1up on the title though. Really? "The Ballad of Gay Tony"? Anyway, Gay Tony just had a lot more to offer. More vehicles, a better story, and all the excitement you could ask for. One thing I noticed between the two was little intricate details. In Lost & the Damned a grain filter was used to make the game look a little more gritty. Also, in the game there was almost always a constant overcast, or it was raining. Further adding the realism to the dark nature of the story. And on the flip side, Gay Tony also had the details in this area. A gloss filter was applied to give everything more of a shine, and it was almost always sunny in the Ballad of Gay Tony. But what really got me was the intertwining stories. That was what did it for me :) The creators of this series managed to mix the stories of The Lost & The Damned and The Ballad of Gay Tony together and blend it in the with the original story of GTA4. That was a winning attribute in my book. I'm not gonna bother spoiling the stories of either game for you. I'll just leave it to you to see how good it is for yourself. For the $20 that you'll probably pay through Amazon or a 3rd party source, this game is well worth the purchase. Another winning installment from the great Rockstar Games Inc.

I originally bought a strictly for GTA4. The series has always been one of my favorites and Episodes from Liberty City just found a new place in my heart.

Episodes from Liberty City is the continuation of the GTA4 storyline, weaving in and out of Niko's storyline. Before buying the game, I replayed GTA and noticed small instances of Johnny and Luis throughout. Many people have complained that the two main characters are not as complelling as Niko, but I feel that their job is not to be complelling, but to add to the already huge Grand Theft Auto Universe.

In "The Lost and the Damned" you play as Johnny the Jew, the VP of the Lost Biker gang. Because the story is so short, I will not give away the plot and will just talk about the game play, but if you have ever seen "Sons of Anarchy" on FX, it includes many of the same elements. Many reviews I read prior to buying the game was that "The Ballad of Gay Tony" was the only one worth buying... this would have definitely been a mistake. Though TLAD is run of the mill run and shoot missions just like GTA4, the world is extremely entertaining. The grit system used to give the game a different appearance is extremely effective... the storyline is much more serious and the darkened graphics enhance that. There are a plethora of side missions; stealing bikes, racing using bats, cleaning up "dirty laundry", and leading the Lost in gang wars. Even after the required number of races and gang wars are complete, they continue regenerating, giving what most GTA players are looking for... the ability to fight and drive with some sort of purpose. The game also contains new weapons including a machine pistol, pipe bombs, and the incredibly powerful combat shotgun. This is the first of all the GTAs I have been compelled to complete 100%.

In "The Ballad of Gay Tony" you play as Luis, the business partner and bodyguard of Gay Tony. Again, with such a sort story I will not give anything away, but the real purpose of TBoGT is to blow things up. Again there are many new weapons, my favorite being the shotgun with explosive rounds which actually causes cars to fold in on themselves. The game also has numerous things to do outside of the missions, including drug wars, base jumping, club management, and even a dancing minigame.

All in all, I'd personally say I enjoyed TLAD more than TBoGT. Both are short, which encourages you to do all of the side missions; most of the time I found myself performing gang wars, races, and base jumps before taking the effort to complete other missions. Because both games continue re spawning gang and drug wars, they both have alot of replay value. TBoGT also allows you to replay missions (similar to Red Dead Redemption) to continue getting higher scores and more achievements.

I would recommend both of these games. If you look on Amazon's New and Used section you can find some for cheap that qualify for free shipping too! I got my copy for $28 with free shipping, and it arrived before the expected date.

PS If you look in the manual of Episodes, there is a small picture about saying goodbye to Liberty City, with a rip in the corner that gives a hint to the next GTA game! Search online... some people imaged it again the other two games to find out what it means!

Disclaimer... its late and I don't care about proof reading this so... yeah. I just wanted to put my opinion on it.

I'd start off with the best of the two. The Ballad of Gay Tony. If you miss San Andreas, than again get the Gay one. After playing both, Gay Tony's seems longer than the Lost and Damned, and the humor and entertainment of the game doesn't go stale.

Lost and the Damned feels weak. The only thing new are some weapons and cars. Since you're in a biker club, you have to roam with them haft of the time. A lot of follow the leader. Mini-missions are stale. Either race or go to war with other biker clubs. Also the main vehicle you use is slow.
Their are some good things about the episode. The continution of the game main game. The story sorts of interact with the main Niko missions, and you're more stable on the bikes than you did before. And a tid-bit for me, in the beginning of each mission, your bike is there waiting. I wish now that we can choose which vehicle could be available for us would be great. This thing works for me. Soundtrack has expanded, but talk radio only has one available.


Gay Tony has a lot of things to do. Manage Clubs or go clubbing that include dancing, drinking and then having sex. Yeah the sex is back. A new better batch of vehicles. A lot more mini-missions. A cage fighting style mini-mission. An almost new pack of weapons. Soundtrack has expanded with also a radio talk show. During mission or mini-missions, you can leave one of your team mates and they will drive another car independently. You can either do missions and mini drug missions or just live legit. Oh yeah, A LOT MORE FUN THINGS TO DO: Play golf(yes I said it). It actually feels peaceful. You can play air hockey, but I haven't gotten there yet. Base-jumping... ah, but the only problem is that you have to purchase an item everytime you do a basejump activity.

The only problem I do have with the game is that it is glitchy as well. The GPS is screwy. It will show you on path to the location and then change when you're near a bridge and subway tracks. Also, sometimes items that you need to finish a mission is missing or located in out of reach areas.

If you can purchase the DLC, you'll really need only one and the other can be purchased later or when the price is lowered.

That's it for now. Get the gay one... you know you want it.

Grand Theft Auto: The Lost and the Damned
This add-on was a bit of a mixed bag for me. The graphics engine is holding up pretty well being two years old and looks rather good. There is an option to turn of the grain in the menu and I advise that you do because without grain the game looks a lot better. The missions at the beginning are pretty boring and monotonous. Basically you go after the rival gang and kill them. After you get past the first maybe ten missions the game gets more interesting along with the story. I feel like the characters in the gang could have been branched out more, because I didn't really know who was who. It does connect a few times with the story of GTA IV and you get to fight alongside Niko on a few ocassions.The story does kick into gear a few hours in and ends on a satisfying final level. I wish the game developers could take out the first few missions because a lot of people will get bored of them and stop playing the game, which is a shame because there are some fun missions to play. The end does feel rushed and some characters are left on the sideline in the final few missions. Like Niko and other characters that Johnny meets throughout the game.

The gameplay is mostly the same as GTA IV with the exception of the gang and motorcycle controls. The bikes drive better and make turns with a lot more precision. Some weapons and vehicles have been added, but considering you drive a bike 99 percent of the time its hard to notice the vehicles. The weapons though are pretty cool. There is an automatic shotgun that obliterates cars in seconds along with pipe bombs that can be thrown like grenades. The cover system along with the auto aim really feel dated and need an overhaul. There just too stiff when compared to some other games in the third person genre namely Uncharted.

The gang itself is pretty fun to ride with. It is annoying to follow Billy around, but its nice to have backup at the touch of a button on your cell phone. If members of your gang die they are replaced with worse members. I accidentally shot one of my members in the face because he was stupid enough to walk in front of my shotgun. I really wish they would have made the crew invincible or at least let them re-spawn after the current mission, because the guys you have at the end are really stupid.

A major flaw in the game is the lack of med kits. They are added at the end of the game, but for most of the game you are left to committing suicide before a mission to get full health. Another problem besides that is that you ammo does not return to pre death state when you re-spawn. You start with the same ammo that you died with which is really annoying when you can't get to a gun shop during a mission. Also there is male nudity in this add on. Why must we see a mans family jewels but the women are covered up. Does Rockstar not know it's audience?

Overall a decent game. If they could have taken the first few levels away it would receive a higher score. Another problem along with a slow start is that it can be beat in seven hours. Now I know what you're saying it is just an add on, but I expect more compared to the forty hour campaign from the original. There are some bike races and arm wrestling modes added in, but you'll get tired of them very quickly. Riding in a gang of bikers is a cool concept, but I wish Rockstar would have worked on making some better missions to keep your interest. Overall 3.5/5


The Ballad of Gay Tony is the true sequel to GTA IV. It is right off the bat a whole lot more interesting than The Lost and the Damned. The graphics are more colorful in this ad-on due to the "gay" color scheme. Which has a lot more glitz and color compared to the other games. I really like the scheme because it brightens up Liberty City and it's no where near as dreary as the normal game.

The story in this game is a lot more absurd than The Lost and the Damned, but that is a great thing as it is a lot of fun. The characters are zany and power hungry and are fun to work with throughout the campaign. You are Luis who is the right hand man to Gay Tony. He runs night clubs and Luis has to keep his partners happy by helping them do odds and ends jobs. The final level and end of the story itself are very well done, and I can only hope these characters are in a future game, but if not at least they got a great sendoff.

A cool feature that is added is the mission select option. Once you beat the game you can go back and redo any mission which is pretty cool considering there is a good number of them I want to do again. There are some new vehicles added like a tank which blows the police and any bystander to hell, a good handling muscle car, and a helicopter with missiles among many others. Another fun feature is parachuting which is very welcomed when online and your buddy decides to bail out of the helicopter leaving you to die. Now you just pull your chute and get even with him when you hit the ground. Perhaps you could use the new shotgun with explosive shells to settle the score.

Unfortunately the gameplay issues that plagued TLAD are still there in this one like the cover system and overall gunplay mechanic. Thankfully there are not a lot of gunplay missions and the ones that do exist are not nearly as handicapped by these issues, and are fun to play unlike the missions in TLAD.

Overall this add on is everything that made GTA IV great along with some great new features that made the experience even better. The game time is about nine and a half hours which is a great length for me and it also doesn't drag on like other titles of that length. The characters are another reason to buy this game. They are really fun to watch and interact with. This is a great game that is well worth the money. 4.5/5

This set is a great deal if you want to play both titles. I can't recommend the Lost and the Damned though. If you are a completionist then you might as well buy the set with them both, but if you want to save money then just buy The Ballad of Gay Tony and just leave TLAD alone as it is more pain than fun. Overall 4/5