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Grand
Theft Auto: Episodes From Liberty City
By Jay Williams
Rockstar games has released its two downloadable
episodes -
The Lost and Damned and The Ballad of Gay Tony on one disc. So, for
those of you who don’t have access to Xbox Live you can now play these
two episodes for just $69.95 rrp. And the good thing is, you don't
even
need a copy of GTA IV to play the new episodes.
Firing up the
system for the first time players are presented with the option of
playing either The Lost and Damned or The Ballad of Gay Tony. Both
stories are quite different but take place within the large confines
of Liberty City.
If you have played GTA IV you shouldn't have any
trouble finding your way around, but if you do run into trouble the
handy GPS in the bottom left-hand corner of the screen is more
than
helpful in finding your way around.
A lot of the in-game tutorials
are simplified, so you can assume that the new episodes were
designed for people who are familiar with the GTA IV franchise.
This is a
good thing and a bad thing. The good thing is the action starts
from the get go, without any annoying tutorial windows that slow down
the action. The bad thing, for newcomers it may take a little
longer to try and figure
out what to do.
The Lost and Damned sees you assuming the role of
Johnny Klebitz, a highly ranked member from the bikie gang, ‘The Lost’.
Johnny’s story revolves around the growing instability of Billy, the
'crazy'
leader of The Lost. It’s up to Johnny to make sure that the gang runs
smoothly, while dealing with his leader Billy.
While
The Ballad of Gay Tony, puts you in the shoes of Luis Lopez, the right
hand man and bodyguard to nightlife entrepreneur, Tony “Gay Tony”
Prince.
Luis’ story sees him dealing with debts owed on the clubs that he runs
for Gay Tony and how they’ve made a few dodgy business moves with the
wrong people.
Both episodes do a great job in telling an in
depth and engrossing story for both characters.
The
great thing about both stories is how Rockstar has managed to weave
them seamlessly with Niko’s story (the main character of GTA
IV).
For example the ‘diamonds’ heist
mission found in GTA IV, but these references will be lost on those who
haven’t played
through GTA IV, but this isn't really a problem.
One of the most
welcome additions to both episodes is a checkpoint system. The
checkpoint system allows players to restart a mission from a checkpoint
instead of the beginning of each mission. This eliminates the annoyance
as we
found with GTA IV.
A new feature to the GTA franchise is in
The Ballad of Gay Tony episode, at the end of each mission players are
given a score to rate how well they did during any particular mission,
this score can then be improved upon once the game has been completed.
In
addition to story missions there are little side missions and
activities to
complete, in case you're getting bored with the main story.
The
Lost and Damned - You have races (where you can beat other riders with
bats), gang wars and stealing custom bikes. Multiplayer modes, such as
‘Witness Protection’ and ‘Chopper Vs Chopper’ are also interesting
additions.
The Ballad of Gay Tony - has golf shooting
range, drug
wars, nightclub dancing, cage fighting, parachuting and base
jumping - for both single and multiplayer.
Other additions to
the game include three new radio stations and newly recorded audio for
existing stations.
Each story in
its entirety will take around 10 hours to complete. This means you are
getting 20-hours of action packed game play, which is pretty
good
considering the price.
For GTA IV fans that want a little extra
and newcomers that want a taste of Liberty City then Grand Theft Auto:
Episodes From Liberty City is a great package!
Game: Grand Theft Auto:
Episodes From Liberty City
System: Xbox 360
Online: Yes
Developer: Rockstar North
Distributor: Rockstar Games
Rating: 75%
(Ratings Key/Explanation)
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