Grand Theft Auto: Episodes from Liberty City Review

The original Grand Theft Auto IV still has a special place in my heart. The story was so well crafted, the lead character had depth and soul, and the game world itself was a thing of beauty. Ah, Liberty City... a bustling metropolis, rich with opportunity for those willing to explore its darker underbelly, a city populated with some of the most interesting and endearing characters ever to appear in a game. For fans of the series, the opportunity to once again walk down the polluted streets of this crime-infested anthill will be enough to make Grand Theft Auto: Episodes from Liberty City an essential purchase.

There are two sizeable episodes included here, one of which has already been available for download via Xbox LIVE for many months, the second having been released as DLC just recently. Both episodes are big enough that they could just about have been justified as stand alone discs, so to have them here on one disc for a budget bin price is a dream come true for the GTA faithful. To sweeten the deal, you don't even need to own the original game to play the new episodes. Then again, if you somehow managed to miss out on the adventures of one Nico Bellic in GTA IV, some of the charm of these two episodes will be lost on you, with many inside jokes and references carrying over from the original. Similarly, it is possible to play either episode first, but I would recommend playing them in the order which they were released, it just adds to the flow of the storytelling. And with GTA, story is king.

Kicking things off is the tale of brotherhood and betrayal, in The Lost and Damned. This first episode revolves around a renegade biker gang called The Lost, putting you in the dirty leather boots of the gangs second-in-charge, Johnny Klebitz. As Johnny, you play the part of the forward thinking biker who is under the thumb of recent rehab attendee Billy Grey, the leader of The Lost, who is hellbent on brutality and old fashioned biker mayhem. Their relationship is strained at best, and it leads to an almost unfriendly start to the episode. There is a more serious atmosphere here than in previous GTA titles, and I personally found it hard to relate to the biker gang and their personalities. Johnny does get better as the game progresses, but initially I just didn't feel a connection with him like I did with Nico in the original game. I guess violent bikers aren't supposed to be instantly likeable characters, and many might prefer the more hardcore attitudes here, but I suppose I would have preferred a more lighthearted setting.

The missions start off slowly, and it initially feels a bit rough, but the game opens up nicely once you've progressed into the story a bit. Riding in formation with your gang can be fun (the bike handling has been drastically improved)), but the gang war element becomes repetitive, although the ability to phone your gang members for back up does come in handy. It isn't long before a couple of more interesting side characters are introduced, and then things become a lot more entertaining. Missions become more varied, and you actually get to know your own character and his gang a little better, which brings some much needed personality to the proceedings. Once the story starts to flow, things gain momentum and you will enjoy being pulled along for the ride, but you have to push through the rather slow start and somewhat harsh atmosphere.

The second episode, The Ballad of Gay Tony is the other side of that coin. Colourful and vibrant, this story is all about glitz and glamour, and in my opinion it is all the better for it. Rockstar does this sort of thing so well, the camp humour, the playful atmosphere, and they have really nailed it with this episode. You are Luis Lopez, bodyguard and business partner of night club boss, Gay Tony. Like Nico before him, Luis is just one of those guys you can't possibly dislike. Something of a mix between Scarface's Tony Montana and that guy from The Transporter, Luis is a tough talking Latin American with swagger and style. The same goes for the story itself. Sure, it's still all about drugs and murder, and the darker side of the Liberty City clubbing scene, but it's done with flair and panache.

Luis' quest is more varied than The Lost and Damned, adding new twists and turns right from the beginning. As Gay Tony's muscle and right hand man, there are the obligatory fetch and carry missions, but these are often approached in more inventive ways, making them seem fresh. The side quests and mini-games are worthy distractions too, especially the cage-fighting, which lets you either fight for money or bet on other fighters. The supporting cast for The Ballad of Gay Tony is sublime, with some of the best voice acting of the series. This stands out in stark contrast to some of the voice work from The Lost and Damned which comes across as sub-standard in comparison. Underneath it all, The Ballad of Gay Tony is probably the more accessible of the two episodes, mostly due to a more relaxed atmosphere and a more charismatic lead protagonist.

Both episodes add new weapons to the proceedings, none of which dramatically change the way you play the game. The Lost and Damned has a rather cool grenade launcher and sawn-off shotgun, and The Ballad of Gay Tony has a useful sticky bomb and various upgraded versions of the standard weapons. Liberty City is also now populated with a host of new vehicles to borrow or steal, and while these are obviously not going to impact the game in a major way they are welcomed additions none the less. Also added to both is a pile of new content for the existing radio stations, with some big hits and some really funny DJ bits and adverts.

Once you've put in the ten or so hours it takes to complete each episode, your next stop is bound to be the multiplayer modes, which have seen something of a revamp for both games. The Lost and Damned has the more title specific changes, based on the biker gang aspects of the game, including a co-op Club Business mode and the tense Lone Wolf Biker mode - which sees you as a single biker on the run, with everyone else out to get you. The Ballad of Gay Tony has fewer unique additions, instead focusing on making the existing modes as much fun as possible. The much vaunted parachute is a worthy addition to the game, as is the new Buzzard attack helicopter, but it would have been cool to see more in the way of original modes here. I spent most of my time with multiplayer GTA listening to American youths swearing at high volume and making their own gun noises, but I guess you can't blame the game for that.

One thing that becomes clear as you get stuck in with either of these new episodes is that the GTA engine is not getting any younger. I still say that Liberty City is one of the best looking game worlds of this generation, especially considering the scale of it all, but even I will admit that it is showing it's age. Small issues rear their ugly heads now and then, like some sketchy AI pathfinding, a few instances of dodgy texture work, and the occasional random stutter, just enough to remind us that GTA IV has been out for quite some time. Having said that, there are still few other games which create such an expansive and believable world in which to run wild.

As Xbox 360 gamers, we can count ourselves lucky that Rockstar and Microsoft put this deal together to bring these two episodes to our chosen console. My preference for The Ballad of Gay Tony over The Lost and Damned comes down purely to my own ideas of what makes GTA fun, and I am in no doubt that many other gamers will see it differently. Both episodes offer many hours of entertaining gameplay, including way too many 'oh, snap!' moments to mention, for the price of a budget release. Whether you like your adventures to be gritty or glamorous, I challenge anyone to find a title which packs in so much joy for your money. Two more brilliant chapters in the classic Grand Theft Auto saga.

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