Not just a collection of DLC. Both games in this compilation are arguably just as good as the original.
Out of the 2 games in this collection, LATD felt my like the DLC. I say this due to its length and how much of its story relied on GTA IV's. The plot actually just gives another person's perspective to key points in the original story. That's not to say that LATD's story isn't interesting because it is but its nothing compelling. Its about as superficial as Vice City's was...a biker gang in an interal war against each other and everything that goes down because of it. Outside of story related missions, there really isn't much else new besides gang wars and to hunt for the very few new trophies offered. The quality of the missions definately meet "GTA standards" but a lot of them were noticably more difficult than the GTA IV's.
My Breakdown:
What's Good:
- Ties a few loose ends to GTA IV's plot
- Gang wars can be fun
- New episodes of "Republican Space Rangers"
- New playlist for the radio
- A few random encounters
- New weapons and bikes are pretty neat
- New checkpoint system within missions
- The final mission is bat sh!t insane!
What's Not-So-Good
- Out of the 3, its relatively short
- Gameplay wise, it doesn't add much to the GTA IV experience
- The difficulty range of some missions compared to others is uneven
What's Bad:
- Lack depth
In all, LATD is a good DLC and should be a fun experience for fans as long as they keep that in mind. Overall score: 8.0
The Ballad of Gay Tony Review
TBoGT felt like a completely different full lengthed GTA game in itself and is definately the better of the 2! While its story does tie into the original game's, it doesn't rely on it as much LATD does in order to move its own plot along. TBoGT's story as an interesting one as it shows the central character, Luis Lopez's struggle between staying on the straight and narrow or returning to a life of crime. He seems to be the most human out of all the GTA protagonists yet...by the end, you may have mixed feelings about him and realize just how realistic a lot of his ify decision making was. Outside of the central character, the story and supporting cast is mostly humorous which kind of deviates from the more darker tone of the other 2 GTV games. The game play is pheonominal and addictive. Being the complete polar opposite of LATD, TBoGT offers drug dealing side missions, club managing side missions, an underground fight club, more random encounters, skydiving, and even a dancing mini-game. I would also have to say that its the most sexually vivid GTA yet. There are several racey sex scenes that virtually pop up out of the clear blue. Also, for some odd reason there were a lot more missions based on flying helicopters.
What's Good:
- Very entertaining to play
- Funny cast of characters
- Life like central character
- High replay value: The new mission rating system adds to this
- Insane weapons!
- TONS to do outside of the story
What's Not-So-Good:
- Drug dealing missions can be a bit redundant
- Skydiving side missions can be annoying
What's Bad:
- The main antagonist feels like they were just tag on to the story at the last minute
In all, TBoGT feels like a different GTA on its own and is arguably just good if not better than GTA IV. I highly recommend any fan of the series to check it out. Overall score: 9.0
A great compilation!