Grand Theft Auto: Episodes From Liberty City – PS3 Review

Reviewed by Sam Atkins on May 11, 2010

Grand Theft Auto: Episodes From Liberty City - PS3 Review  | read this item

Old news to most, the much heralded 360 exclusive expansion packs to modern classic Grand Theft Auto IV have finally arrived on Playstation 3. Has the long wait been worth it? Or do The Lost and Damned and Ballad of Gay Tony fail to live up to their predecessor?

Thankfully, as many would have expected, everything found inside Grand Theft Auto: Episodes From Liberty City is top notch, both of the roughly 10 hour episodes representing only the best that the sandbox series can offer. From the bike led exploration seen in Vice City to the madness of certain minigames found in San Andreas; Episodes has it all. As an expansion of GTAIV these really are their own stories and games. While they share the same city, select characters and even overlap with Niko’s story at certain points (you encounter him for one of the most exciting missions in Lost and Damned for instance) an expert knowledge of the original game will only make the experience sweeter. These are two distinctive games in their own rights too, and while they may be packaged together, both explore opposing sides of the GTA landscape.

The Lost and Damned falls on the more action heavy, linear side of the GTA formula. You are Johnny Klebitz, a high ranking member of elite Biker gang ‘The Lost’ this gang aspect of the game being the most noticeable addition to the series. Following the return of the gang’s poorly chosen leader Billy, all of the work that Johnny has done to establish ‘The Lost’ throughout Liberty City in his absence is thrown out the window. A gang war spanning the entirety of the city begins and the main story missions focus heavily on defeating your rival bikers, ‘The Angels of Death’. The story starts with a bang and doesn’t let up, so unlike the original GTAIV and Ballad of Gay Tony, side missions are rarely a focus for Johnny. That said, he can indulge in a spot of work for those outside the gang, corrupt congressman Tom Stubbs for instance (digitized manhood in tow). One such mission is a direct extract from GTAIV, Niko accompanying you for a soon to be failed drug bust, your escape from the scene running parallel with Niko’s in the previous game. One of the best missions on offer here, outside of the biker gang sections, the action heavy missions are what Lost and Damned does best. Riding around on your custom built Bike while on your way to blow up an oncoming helicopter with a rocket launcher feels the right fit for Johnny’s exuberant character.

You begin to really enjoy playing as Johnny too, his strong willed attitude contrasting nicely with the more relaxed elements of other GTA protagonists. Thanks to some tinkering to the bike handling controls, two wheeled driving is the transport of choice this time round too, especially when tagging along with ‘The Lost’. Stay in a set formation, and you gain more respect from your fellow members, bonus conversations being your just reward for achieving the surprisingly difficult task of staying with a group. This sort of storytelling is where Lost and Damned excels, the communal nature making the experience that bit more fufilling.

As a GTA game Lost and Damned stands up as a shorter more focused take on series standard ideas. Some may miss the minigame stylings of series highlight San Andreas, but luckily there are two games on offer here. The Ballad of Gay Tony achieves what Lost and Damned doesn’t, showcasing a side of Liberty City never seen before.

You follow the ups and downs of legendary club owner ‘Gay Tony’ Prince the first to manage the leading straight and gay clubs in the city. Played through the eyes of his right hand man/bodyguard/best mate Luis, tasks range greatly, one minute you’re dancing your way to a one night stand, the next escaping a gang in a golf cart. This variety is the main reason why the game works in its nightlife driven setting, most of the main story missions taking you through Tony’s entrepreneurial journey. The story on offer here is less of a focus when compared to Lost and Damned, which makes each scenario that appears more enjoyable in the long run. Luis has a ball throughout The Ballad of Gay Tony, a stark contrast to the harsh reality seen in L&D, the original GTAIV slotting nicely in between. It’s good that there has been this development over the GTAIV games, each title being its own style of experience.

Reminiscent of Vice City, Gay Tony is by far the most glitzy and colorful of the trilogy, seen in spades during the all new mission completion screens. The emphasis here is on replaying missions once the game is complete, leaderboards and the like being integrated if you happen to beat a mission without retrying. Subtle changes that were made in Lost and Damned such as the mid mission checkpoint system are as vital in Gay Tony too, both games taking away the problems that stopped the original from being perfect. That said, these games run on a now two year old engine, and as such suffer in the visual department. Janky support character models and environmental pop in are commonplace here, though driving around Liberty City is still as pleasurable as ever.

By far the most impressive aspect of Episodes From Liberty City, or the whole series in fact, is the voice acting. Anyone who has played GTAIV will know how high caliber the vocal delivery is here, but characters such as Johnny or Gay Tony push the series to a new high. A Crass delivery by the actor playing Johnny creates a near perfect representation of what a real biker gang would be, with piercing emotion creeping through every now and again to stop the game from becoming a parody of the biker genre. The soundtrack excels too, with exclusive songs added for the PS3 disc release, though physical copy purchasers will lose out on the songs built into the original GTAIV. It’s become a cliché but as licensed music goes, GTA is still top of the list.

And the same can be said for everything in Episodes from Liberty City. Both The Lost and Damned and The Ballad of Gay Tony are top tier releases in their own right, but together they combine to create the perfect GTA package. By splitting the experience up into two distinct, but focused pieces, Rockstar have not only lived up to the excellent original in quality terms, but delivered two fantastic stories in the process. Both are worth owning, even though you will definitely prefer one game to the other, and so it’s up to you whether to go with the download or disc version. Not own GTAIV? It would be preferable to start with Niko’s adventure, but it’s definitely not necessary. Everyone should play these games, even if they are your first taste of Grand Theft Auto.

Tags: Ballad of Gay Tony, Grand Theft Auto, GT, gta, Lost and Damned, PS3 Review, Rockstar