Grand Theft Auto 4: Episodes From Liberty City (Includes The Lost And Damned & The Ballad Of Gay Tony)

I downloaded the lost and damned from xbox live and enjoyed it allot.
I work 45 hours a week and struggle to find time for games like oblivion, fallout 3 and gta 4.
I found this bitesize version of gta 4 much easier to play.
For a start all islands are unlocked from the start, there's no taking your friends out for meals, and the story can be completed in 5 hours (with lots of other stuff to see and do after wards).
I'm sure that Gay Tony will be something similar.

I agree with many people when they say that the Ballad of Gay Tony is the best one out of the whole of GTA IV. Better than Lost and Damned and the original Nico story. Brilliant characters, brilliant intertwined plot. Every mission feels like the best mission you have ever played thanks to the addition of the parachute, which is why the scoring system fits in so nicely. You can go back and replay individual missions to try and get the 100% rating on each one. I struggled to get into Lost and Damned at first, due to the grittiness that overruns the game and menus, but once I turned off that grainy "Noise Effect" I started enjoying it more and by the end of it I loved it. The characters in Lost and Damned definitely aren't as likeable as the ones in the original story or Gay Tony but it is still worth playing. I think everyone who liked GTA IV should definitely get these two new episodes for hours and hours of refreshed gaming.

Where these titles lack the bravado and character arcs of the original GTA 3 they are not lesser games, oh no.
What they add, particularly TBOGT is fun.
Right from the off you can be running around causing chaos knicking helicopters and generally being a bad ass and its great!!!!!
The city is still as alive and vibrant as ever but now it seems even more of an adult playground due to the mission structures and goals.
Technologically its not as in yer face as it was when it first came out but the game engine still is strong.
Overall a very worthy standalone purchase indeed.

...I completed The Ballad of Gay Tony in under 10 hours. As much as I thoroughly enjoyed the missions, I was a little disappointed with the lack of choice. GTA IV had several missions where you could make your own choice of what to do, i.e. Kill an enemy or go to Kate before Roman's wedding. TBOGT doesn't provide this choice, but there are other things you can do, such as sky diving. A lot of the missions include helicopters, which I'm not fond of, but the gameplay and graphics are amazing. I also enjoyed the freedom to work as security in one of Gay Tony's nightclubs.

I'm now working my way through The Lost and Damned. So far, so good. The gang of bikers, the rival gang wars, the Clubhouse hangout. I have no complaints upto now, but I'm guessing this one is as short as TBOGT. Amazing game overall though. I'd definitely recommend buying this one.