Minus Helicopter missions and off-balanced auto aiming during Ballad of GT side missions, this is GTAIV greatness.
-More GTAIV action
-Improved weaponary
-Bikes are finally fun
-Two Completely different outlooks on Liberty City
-Alot of Content (Side missions, TV, etc.)
-More Sport Cars (Ballad of Gay Tony)
-Great Voice Acting
-Well written dialogue
-Answers unanswered questions from GTAIV
-Two well-presented storylines
-$39.99
Cons:
-Took a year and some change to arrive on the PS3
-Vehicles still slide like ice
-Helicopters control terribly during combats (need auto aim)
-Off balanced auto aiming during Ballad of Gay Tony side missions
-Poor enemy A.I. in Lost and Damned
-Glitches
The Lost and Damned:
Shockingly enough, Johny Klebitz's story was far more intersting and personal than the story presented Ballad of Gay Tony. Lost and Damned's story is very dark filled with just enough bad language and undeserved violence. It shows thel life of those named by society as 'scum', 'degenerates', or the 'underbellies of society' (lol) in a very accurate way. The whole story is based on brotherhood and sticking together and it is told in classy rockstar fashion.
From the intro I knew this episode would be darker than the original GTAIV based on what I knew about Johnny in the previous game, but damn, this guy and his friends are low lifes and its is really hard to actually like Johnny and his friends based on what they stand for. I hate gang banging, I lived around it during my younger years and despised it. Instead of crips and bloods, this game uses bike gangs. Different package, same product. Even though I enjoyed this episode, I couldn't get over the fact the Rockstar created a episode based on a terrible man doing terrible things, but then again that is all Rockstar makes anyway, but Johny may just be the worst ironically enough because he is just a foul character, but he does have character and he is actually a great anti-hero. Aside from Johny's anti-hero's beliefs, Rockstar did a fine job putting together a stroy that is both immersive and offensive, if that makes any sense.
As for gameplay, Rockstar finally gave us some real weaponary. My favorite weapons are the merciless shotgun and grenade launcher. This episode also delivers new vehicles, but nothing truly impressive, just a buch of bikes and a few dirty hick vehicles. But I can honestly say, I hated the bikes in GTAIV, now I love them. They are fast, nimble, and on top of that, they fit in any space making for some quick getaways. As far as missions go, I think Rockstar nailed it again. I personally think the pacing of these missions are handled better than the original project, but thats just an subjective opinion.
Though the story and overall theme of this episode is great, this game suffers from some of the worst enemy A.I. I have ever seen in a GTA game and we all know enemies in GTA already aren't the brightest fellas out the gates. People running in circles, enemies not even paying attention too me, inaccurate shooting though they are right next to me, and more that I can't remember. The A.I. were not consistently doing this, but damn was it noticeable. Another thing wrong with this DLC was the poor graphics. GTAIV will never be considered the best looking game ever, but it still had good graphics especially at the time. I don't know what Rockstar did , but somehow, they actually made the graphics appear worse in this cut or GTA IV's engine is showing its age in a bad way. The blur/hazzy look is still alive in this one, you can believe that, but it is not as bad as the original.
Besides those issues, The Lost and Damned GTAIV episode is shockling good and not full of cliche and racist dialogue that I thought it would be plagued with. On top of this, Rockstar finally introduced some true black culture in GTAIV. We had Playboy X in GTAIV, but I think the Black character in Lost and Damned is a more accurate depiction of black culture especially in New York.
The Ballad of Gay Tony:
This episode is lighter in tone when compared to Niko's 'GTAIV' and Johny's 'The Lost and Damned'. This episode is clearly trying to hit the Vice City vibe, but it never reaches the true potential of GTA Vice City greatness. That is partly due to the fact that it is in New York so I hold nothing against it.
This episodes story, for the most part, doesn't have anything on the Lost and Damned. First off, the main character Luis Lopez has no true story. More or less it is an episode of his life...makes since right. Though this story isn't as good as the previous game or episode, I can certainly say it is more enjoyable due to the fact the the main character and subject matter is more relatable to most people, even the homosexual aspect whch is not a flambouyant as I feared it would be. Luis Lopez is kind of a dry character because he comes of a arrogant and full of himself in the beginning, but he actually turns out to be a guy who is actually trying to better himself, but for some reason or another, the streets keep calling his name. Oh this guy sounds so familiar. Anyway, I always wanted Rockstar to have a lead Puerto RIcan character, and bam, we have this guy. I did not think they would make his story so over the top, but it is satisfying.
And talking about over the top, man the weapons provided in this game along with some crazy mission varieties are some of rockstars best minus the horrible chooper missions. The explosive shotgun has to be the most 'zaniest' gun Rockstar has created. It takes out everything and everyone. Alot of guns you would see in a FPS are also found in this episode and damn does it raise the tension in gun fights. I have always enjoyed GTA's gameplay, not too easy, not too hard, and with the assistance of new weaponry, destroying Liberty City never felt so good. I think in insertion of Drug Wars was the best thing Rockstar did for GTAIV. The Drug War sidemissions actually take me to parts of Liberty City I never new existed or areas I wished Rockstar would have used in GTAIV.
But just like any game, there is always a problem. For some odd reason, during Drug Wars (side mission with Luis's friends), alot of weapons are ineffective. If I am locked onto a character with auto aim, I can clearly see my bullets miss my target which makes no sense. And if I do they hit them, they take less damage than an enemy during a regular mission or just normal insane GTA side activities. Some weapons are accurate, but for the most part, most of the fun weapons are ineffective at long range and even mid range during side missions. Short range also has problems. I solved this issue by just using hand guns, explosives, and the new SMG offered in this episode, but I shouldn't have to settle. The enemies eventually get killed, but I can say this trully ruined some side missions for me with cheap deaths and all. I also found Helicopter combat to be awful. There are two missions the use Helicopters. The one where you actually fight other helicopter is just terrible. It's fun when I actually think about fighting in the sky with helicopters, reminds me a GTA San Andreas, but unlike GTA SA, GTAIV has no auto-aim in aerial vehicles. Rockstar really should have inserted this feature because it would have prevented me and maybe alot of other gamers from having to restart this mission. I didn't even use the helicopter to take out the other ones, I just land on a roof and used my overly agressive explosive shotgun.
Overall Opinion: Personally, I loved The Lost and Damned more because of darker tone and better missions pacing/selection. The Ballad of Gay Tony may have better graphics, weapons, action, and better free roaming, but none of those top the atmosphere and presentation of Lost and Damned story of conflict. Plus, Luis Lopez was involved into too many random/ pointless and over the top missions for my taste. I only played Lost and Damned for its story and some side mission and I played the other for the story (which is not better), side missions, and just to vibe as Luis Lopez. It didn't feel right playing as Johny outside of the story, he just not my type of guy. It's weird, but Johny kind of felt like a doped up attack who killed people. They never showed him take drugs, but that is definitely what he came off as. Both episodes are great, but when it comes to free roaming in GTAIV, playing as Luis Lopez is the best of the bunch. If anything, he fits into the urban culture left behind in San Andreas better than the Niko and Johnny. That is what I like about his DLC. Though he is not a charismatic as the character in San Andreas, he is the closest to Rockstars last generation characters when it comes to Rockstars new generation characterisations. If I had to choose which is episode is a must have over the other, I would honestly choose The Ballad of Gay Tony because it feels more GTA than The Lost and Damned and I had more fun being Luis. But if you are looking for just a great and involving story with greath main missions, then Lost and Damned is your choice. At the end of the day, these episodes are in one package and they both deliver a diverse gaming experience all around, so there is no way to feel cheated or dissappointed. My only concern was trying to actually figure out how these episodes greatness stacked up against some of my favorite games of all time.
Rockstar just knows how to make outstanding mature titles, plain and simple. Gaming in my opinion would not be the same without Rockstar's efforts because they are determined to make games that are more than just games, look at the GTA series and Red Dead Redemption. Rockstar did a fine job showing different faces of Liberty City. Alot of open world games do not take advantage of there enviroments like Rockstars does, but I did feel GTAIV underused Liberty City. Thankfully, both packages show me sides of Liberty City I never knew existed. Both stories have good voice acting and realistic dialogue, something I think Rockstart does the best in gaming. Nothing comes close except Naughty Dogs Uncharted Series. Even the almighty MGS series can't escape cliches. Heavy Rain, is a game based on storytelling, but its dialogue doesn't hold up too Rockstars quality. Heavy Rain is more convincing because of it music score which I loved, but Rockstar has untouchable writing, but the lack of music during cutscenes is becoming more noticeable overtime.
But, I will stick to my opinion, Rockstar owns gaming. I would like to see the GTA formula get tweaked some and Rockstar should either get rid of or limit all these 'Yes Man' missions types that plague Rockstars hit titles. After playing this and RDR side by side in such a short period, I noticed that Rockstar protagonist are pretty much slaves to others orders. Go here, kill them, come back, do it again. It works, but it can only be successful for who knows how long. The Lost and Damned hints toward a new approach to GTA storytelling. Anyway, I will never get tired of Rockstars style, but they do need to create a story that focuses around the actions of the hero/anti-hero, and not others.
For those who are tired of GTA, you are missing out. For those who are still avid fans and are holding out on these episodes because of the late PS3 release, you are missiong out. Definitely a must play if not a must have for all gamers who appreciate mature gaming like I do even if it does involve a whole bunch of pointless killing. For $40, you get more game than you deserve.