More Liberty City is ALWAYS Welcome
More GTA IV: Any chance to go back to the world of GTA IV is a good thing.Rockstar created a wonderful sandboxnamed Liberty City, and it's great to have more contentto play in it.
Tighter Experience: Being episodic content in nature, Rockstar was able to create a tighter, more focused experience compared to the main GTA IV story arc. The narratives are well written, well (voice)acted, andeasy to follow. There are less missions (as to be expected), but there is a good amount of variety. It's a joy to experience what Rockstar can do when they already have an engine/template to work with.
Brother Johnny: I really liked theTLAD's main protagonist Johnny Klebitz. The Rockstar writers definitely have the knack of crafting likeable characters. I thought I would like TBOGT's Luis more, but it was the biker gang dude I liked the most. Johnny is a cool mofo.
Friends with Benefits: Very early on in each DLC episode you have access to friends with guns and vehicles. No need to woo them into helping you out. This meant that for every mission, I had a bulletproof vest and plenty of ammo. A wise decision by Rockstar.
I heart Liberty City: As I stated in my main GTA IV review, the sandbox deserves it's own praise. It's a technical marvel to me. Liberty City is the most "alive" digital city I've experienced.
HATED
What the HELLicopter?!: Absolutely atrocious helicopter controls. Very frustrating, and it's even worse when you consider how well all the other vehicles in GTA IV control.
On Easy Street: Episodes from Liberty City is almost too easy. But maybe I'm just better at the game, and/or I was better prepared (bulletproof vest, plenty of ammo) for the missions. I dunno, but I expected a little more challenge.
CONCLUSION
As with the mainGTA IV story arc, Episodes from Liberty City is a fantastic experience that should be experienced by all. Rockstar flexed its creative muscles in crafting 2 very entertaining narratives set in their wonderful sandbox of Liberty City. The voice acting is once again top notch and the action is varied in what is a more-focused experience than what is found in mainline GTA IV.
The only setbacks I could find were the atrocious helicopter controls and the easy difficulty. Otherwise, this game is a great excuse to experience the technical marvel that is Liberty City again.