Grand Theft Auto: Episodes from Liberty City Super Review

Unlike The Lost and Damned, The Ballad of Gay Tony doesn’t really bring any new modes to GTA IV’s 16-player online action. Instead, it simply overhauls what’s already there, littering the playing field with its new weapons and vehicles and introducing new, tighter deathmatch arenas and new features like kill streaks and assisted kills. (And believe us when we say that those kill streaks are a lot easier to maintain with explosive shotgun rounds.) It also adds parachutes, which can make Free Mode particularly interesting; even though you can’t shoot while gliding to earth, there’s something undeniably fun about skydiving with friends.

OK, back to talking about the episodes as a collective disc, instead of separate games. While the episodes are relatively short (taking around 8-10 hours to complete, as opposed to GTA IV's more epic runtime), bundling them together makes for one badass, two-part adventure that easily rivals GTA IV’s greatness and makes Episodes from Liberty City a little greater than the sum of its aging parts. In short, it’s no less fantastic for having made us wait for the PS3 version, and if you’re any kind of GTA fan, you should pick this up immediately.

Is it better than%26hellip;?

Grand Theft Auto IV? Individually, no. Taken as a package, however, The Lost and Damned and The Ballad of Gay Tony easily measure up to the scope and depth of Niko Bellic’s immigrant tale. Episodes from Liberty City isn’t the trailblazer GTA IV was, but it does improve noticeably on its gameplay while filling out the rest of its story, and it’s as worthy a successor as any sequel could be.

Just Cause 2? Depends. If you compare them on the basis of sheer playground value alone, Just Cause 2's sprawling tropical nation, infinite grappling wire and emphasis on destruction make it a hell of a lot more fun than the immensely detailed but mostly indestructible Liberty City. On the other hand, Just Cause 2's story and missions are uneven, shallow and way too short, giving Episodes from Liberty City an edge for players who want to do anything that isn't racing around and blowing shit up.

Saints Row 2? Yes. Again, while Saints Row 2 delivers a fun playground filled with things to destroy and interesting stuff to do, The Lost and Damned and The Ballad of Gay Tony are more coherent, better constructed and ultimately more believable than SR2’s nihilistic cartoon take on urban crime.

Just for you, Metacritic!

While great on their own, bringing The Lost and Damned and The Ballad of Gay Tony together makes for an impressive package that rivals GTA IV itself while completing the story it began. The new missions, gameplay tweaks and parallel stories make this a must-buy for fans who want to wring a little more life out of Liberty City.

Apr 13, 2010