A fantastic addition to the new era of GTA

I thought I'd review this title, as it is the main title I have been playing since I've been away from Gamewise.

I have been playing Grand Theft Auto: Episodes from Liberty City during my time off, on the Xbox 360 version. I had played the Episodes before, but I never managed to fully beat both Episodes. As a completionist, it bugged me that I never managed to get either game at 100% complete. So when I played it, I set out to at least try to enjoy every aspect of both Episodes.

Needless to say, playing as both Johnny Klebitz, the Biker, and Luis Lopez, the Dominican bodyguard/socialite, was one of the best experiences I have ever had as a gamer. The environment of Grand Theft Auto: IV was enough to amaze me, and the addition of both The Lost and Damned and The Ballad of Gay Tony enhanced it further with some neat and subtle additions - from new vehicles, guns, side-missions, and of course the additional content, including two short storylines, a significant change to the in-game radio to the original game, and the new side-content to complete.

However, the reason I rate it as a 4.5/5 is based on the trouble I had with the extra content. I could handle the new missions, but some of the side-content annoyed to the point of almost snapping my controller clean in half. For example, the Arm Wrestling side-mission in TLaD, which I did manage to beat after 15 minutes and a dead arm from trying to push the Right Stick as fast as I could; some of the trouble I had to go to for a 100% score in each mission for the Ballad also annoyed me.

Despite this, though, I did manage to achieve 100% Completion in each game, as well as all 15 extra Achievements that came along with it. And I wouldn't really change the game drastically, but there are some areas where I struggled and wasted many hours trying to complete.

All in all, Episodes from Liberty City is something I love to have under my belt as a game I beat 100%, and is displayed like a trophy in my gaming collection. A well-earned rating for a fantastic game. It was tough, but I'd be happy to do it all again for the sake of nostalgia, once it has gathered some dust.