Download HD Video

The gameplay for these episodes is identical to Grand Theft Auto 4, so apart from a couple extra weapons and vehicles, these episodes focus heavily on story and character. In The Lost and Damned, you take the role of Johnny Klebitz, the Vice President of a notorious biker gang called The Lost. The gang's unstable leader, Billy, is released from prison and his crazy behavior sets in motion a sequence of events that could tear apart the whole group. So Johnny must try to hold everything together. The Ballad of Gay Tony has you playing as Luis Lopez, a bouncer, nightclub manager and bodyguard to Tony Prince (Gay Tony). In this story, Tony gets in over his head with drugs, debt and get rich quick schemes and it's up to Luis to put everything back on track.

Both characters profess to being killers and criminals, but still want to stay on the good side of doing bad. Johnny is dedicated to protecting his biker brothers while Luis wants to put his criminal past behind him doing slightly more honest work as a nightclub manager. The stories are very well written when great characters in them. They also have everything you'd expect from a Grand Theft Auto story, including sex, violence, drugs, betrayal and revenge. There are some great overlapping scenes and character cameos between the two episodes and from the main GTA 4 storyline. For example, the opening of The Ballad of Gay Tony starts with Luis as a bystander in the GTA 4 bank heist. Players can also experience the stolen diamonds plot from multiple points of view.

Unfortunately, if you're suffering from any performance problems in GTA 4, they'll continue to be issues in Episodes from Liberty City. While playing, there were numerous times where we parked our vehicle in a bad spot and the main character, who couldn't figure out how to get back in, kept dancing around it. Performance takes a nosedive when on the water for boat sequences. GTA 4 also has some of the worst helicopter controls we've ever used, even with a gamepad controller. Keyboard and mouse controls are even less enjoyable, since players have to use the mouse to lean the chopper so that it moves forward or back. Things become worse when you have to shoot something with the chopper, since there's targeting reticule and aiming your guns causes the chopper to move around. Shooting became a guessing game where we would pound on the trigger in hopes of hitting something. The Ballad of Gay Tony has a handful of chopper sequences and each one feels like slow torture.

Driving control is generally much better with a gamepad than with a keyboard, although the latter is generally acceptable. However, it should be noted that both stories have at least one sequence where players have to outrun the cops using slow and unwieldy vehicles like buses. Shooting is much easier and precise using a mouse, so players might want to consider switching between that and a controller. The Lost and Damned has a lot of motorcycle sequences, and hitting bumps at high speed can send players flying. Missions are also spread out further across Liberty City than in Ballad, so players should expect to do a lot of driving. There are some sequences that require players to shoot while riding a motorcycle, but the game doesn't allow target locking while in vehicles, so players are faced with choosing between sacrificing precision or control. What makes the games even more infuriating is the fact that shooting out the tires of a car doesn't slow it down, it just makes it harder for them to turn. We had a tough time believing that a limo with three of its tires blown out could so easily outrun our fully intact motorcycle.

Each episode comes with signature features, but the ones included in The Lost story impressed on us the most. The problem is, some of these features aren't completely thought out. For example, the gang logo appears on the ground whenever the group rides in formation. Driving inside the badge recovers health and armor for the player, but the computer controlled drivers don't stay in formation long enough to make it worthwhile. Then the feature gets dropped altogether midway through the story. Furthermore, the game encourages players to call upon their biker brothers for backup on missions, and their performance improves with each mission they go on. However, they don't contribute a lot to road chases and players can't exert any control over them, so all characters except the ones critical to the plot invariably get themselves killed.

On the plus side, Episodes from Liberty City keeps the best aspects of GTA 4 such as the politically incorrect humor on the television and radio. These episodes also downplay how much time you have to spend hanging out with the characters in order to maintain friendships. In The Lost, the entire gang gets to hang out, which appeases multiple characters at once. However, if you don't show up for booty calls on a regular basis in Ballad, your girlfriends are likely to move on. Both episodes include plenty of side missions to earn extra money. As Johnny, players have the option to steal motorcycles for rich collectors or go on special jobs to help a crooked politician further his career. Luis is free to do everything from entering into an underground fight club, to base jumping off buildings, to helping friends from the old neighborhood corner the drug cartel. While the main stories are much shorter than what's in GTA 4, players willing to take on these side missions will have plenty to keep them occupied.

The Episodes from Liberty City benefit from having stories that are so well written that we can try to look past the many of gameplay issues. Generally speaking, if you have trouble playing GTA 4 on your PC, then suggest waiting a bit before picking up these add-on stories. For fans of the game, these stories provide a deeper look into the altogether hilarious, over-the-top and violent world of Liberty City and that's plenty of incentive to pick one or both of them up.