Introduction

Rockstar North has been the driving force behind the hugely popular Grand Theft Auto series for more than a decade. It achieved its first mainstream success in 2001 when GTA III made the transition to 3D on the Playstation 2. Due to the game’s ability to push units for Sony, Rockstar/Take Two was paid to delay its porting to other platforms. Thus, a tradition of “exclusivity” has been established, which boils down to the PC version of each game coming out approximately 6-8 months after it debuts on consoles.

The newest to follow this trend is Episodes from Liberty City, a 2-in-1 standalone expansion to GTA IV that includes both full-size DLCs that were released on Xbox 360 last year. The Lost and Damned and The Ballad of Gay Tony follow the misadventures of Johnny Klebitz and Luis Lopez, respectively. These two intrepid businessmen each have a knack for violent crime and struggle to make it big in Liberty City, with their stories taking place in parallel to the events of GTA IV. In several instances, you will cross paths with prominent characters from that game, particularly its protagonist, Niko Bellic. While it’s not required that you play through the main story first, those that have will find these episodes to be much more interesting in terms of overall plot.

New missions, characters, weapons, vehicles, activities, music, and more await you in this, the latest addition to one of the most prolific and critically acclaimed franchises in gaming history. Frankly, I don’t know why you would even need to read a review, but since you’ve already started, might as well turn the page!