Bought the game for a brother of mine.. stopped working after only 3 times of him playing it!!! Had a go a new one.. the game was suppose to be new but why would it quit working after such a short time, spent $50 more @ Best Buy works great, but already lost $50 on this first purchase :(

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I haven't had any of the technical problems that others have. I'm not a gamer, but do have a quadcore and a bunch of RAM because I need that for other stuff. Even though my video card is crap, the game runs well. I've only had two experiences with missing textures: the Chrysler Building but only when it is way off in the distance, and the road in a tunnel. The latter only happens for a moment and the texture comes back. I live in Texas and it's hot. My apartment is a loft and is usually about 84 degrees inside this time of year. Even after playing for hours, I have no problems, even without special fans or other cooling schemes.

I cannot comment on the DRM stuff. I just installed the game and started playing it. Did notice I had to sign up for Windows Live but didn't know what that was about at the time. Guess it's that. Not sure how this limits me.

Anyway, the story is great and I love what others call "open gameplay". The city is huge. I've never played any other GTA games before this one.

The only problem I have with it (and it's turning out to be a pretty big one) is that I cannot seem to learn how to shoot and ride at the same time. I usually use a gamepad, but that's too much. Tonight I've tried the keyboard and mouse, but it messes with the camera and while shooting is easier, it does no good if you keep driving into walls or cars because you can't see where you're going. In Eps from Liberty City you have to ride your bike around, chasing guys trying to kill them. The easiest way to do this would be to use the keyboard for driving (a little harder than the gamepad but it can be done) and the mouse for aiming and firing. When you do this, though, the camera doesn't snap back when you stop firing. More often than not you're watching yourself from the side and you end up hitting something, which is kind of a big deal when you're chasing someone at high speed. Often you'll fly off your bike after a collision and go so far that you don't even know where your bike is. It's extremely frustrating. Perhaps this game is meant for kids who were born after 1990 or something and they have specially developed gaming skills. I do not possess the kind of skill to keep the camera in front of me, avoid obstacles at high speed, and kill people at the same time. It's impossible. Somehow I think I will get around this. There must be an option or something that I'm missing. If I can't figure it out then I will quit and revise this review harshly.

Aside from that, I think it's a great game. Again, the city is really amazing. Lots of things to do. You can mess around for hours without getting bored, though I sure would like to complete this next mission. Unless I can it will get boring eventually.

EDIT: I had to edit the review. Eventually I did figure out the riding and shooting part of the Lost and Damned. It's just difficult but if you keep trying, you will get there. Toward the very end of that game I experienced a freeze on a loading screen. Didn't think much about it at the time, but since I've started playing The Ballad of Gay Tony it has become a constant occurrence. First couple of times was after the mission in which you have to hit the guy with the golf balls. That was a mission that was stupid and not fun to start with, and having to replay it twice because it kept freezing bothered me. Now it's happening again. Right after the mission in which you have to cage fight two guys and then take a dive in a third one, it crashes every time. I have so far been unable to get past this. Also the game suddenly minimized once while I was just driving. Lastly, I've started to have problems with Windows Live not letting me log in from the game. In this case, try logging in outside of the game, then restart GTA. That worked for me.

Unless the problems get worse, I think I still have to recommend it. It's a fun game. Too bad for the bugs. If they make the game unplayable or so frustrating its not worth it, I'll come back here and say so.

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I just had to write a review for The Ballad of Gay Tony. This expansion alone is worth purchasing the Episodes of Liberty City. Tons of great action missions. The new weapons are alot of fun and extremely usefull. Most of all, the characters are great. I couldnt say enough great things about this expansion. A perfect way to leave Liberty City behind.

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I'm really disappointed on this game is like the guys of rock-stat are not trying any more it's, it have some good missions but all they are too short and bolt of the games you can win in just a weekend so i will wish just to rent this game before own it is reaally too short + not that good stories really boring stories so thumbs down for rock-star you did reaaaaaaaaaally bad last good game from gta was San Andreas

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Note: I first posted this as a comment to a separate review. But then I realized I wanted my chance to add a one-star review. Bottom line--stay away from this game!!

Had exactly the same experience. I am so disgusted with Rockstar and all of this Steam or Games For Windows Live crap. It must be really hurting PC gaming. I have always preferred PC gaming over console. I like the keyboard/mouse combo over the hand-cramping and often confusing buttons of a hand controller.

My experience was a complete lock-up of the game. I tried several things, including an nVidia driver update, etc. etc. to no avail. To add insult to injury, now my copy of the original GTA IV also locks up. I have a kick-butt alienware gaming tower that has never acted up with games.

And it is just damn-near impossible to get any help from Rockstar, or GFWL.

Just a horrible state of affairs for PC gaming. I hope Rockstar and the others read these posts.

PS - I am really intrigued by Red Dead Redemption for PS3, but am loathe to give Rockstar any more of my money.

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This game is amazing, it was only [...] and it comes with two completely different GTA stories...I love it and glad I bought it!!!!

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Im not sure why, but the graphics in TLAD are really messed up compared to TBOGT, They look kinda of old and tv rainy, hard to explain. The gameplay is great though, jack cars, bikes, kill people especially in gay tony there is more than just going to shoot-outs.

But i suggest you download Gay tony for the xbox and save 20 bucks because Lost and Damned is coming to the PC apparently Rockstar released some achievements for the Pc version of Gta Iv containing Lost and damned achievements. So i guess ill have to spend an extra 20 bucks to get lost and damned for the PC so i can enjoy the maximum experience Of gta. Nice going ROCKSTAR ill be happy to support your PC VERSION again.....

OH AND NO YOUR CHARACTER IS NOT GAY. i rather have this guy because he does many more things than Niko, and there is a better chance that he aint communist either. not saying that niko is but he is from Russia....

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Let me first say that I have never given just one star out. I always try to find some redeeming quality of the product but this company and this game clearly does not even merit one star.

Rockstar has not had a decent grand theft auto game since vice city. Manhunt one was awesome, but Manhunt two was a complete flop. Why? Because Rockstar is caving into the pressures to be politically correct, and; instead of making games they believe in, they put their bottom line ahead of what consumers really want. I'm afraid Rockstar is simply riding on its name it created early on. Today, Rockstar is known for politically correct games that are complete garbage. I will not buy another Rockstar game unless I see it first.

Why is this game so lousy? I will go into one category only. A complete lack of research on biker gang/club lifestyle. The creators of the game must be reading some fair tale book instead consulting an attorney or reading a book written by a 1% MC member. I cannot image a biker gang/club where brothers don't help each other out. Where they don't ride in formation. Where you don't get seriously beat for riding ahead of the president. Where a prospect mouths off to a VP with no consequences. Where other club members can't ride straight and constantly crash into you. I bought this game for the club experience but end up with Mr. Rogers on wheels. The game is a complete joke. I will quit while I am ahead.

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Months ago when The Lost and Damned was made available for download, I purposely waited for the disc package to be made available. I'm glad I did. These two games really don't feel like expansions on the original at all, but more like their own separate experiences. The disc reiterates that by taking out some of the original material, For example, you can't play as Niko at all, Ricky Gervais and Katt Williams are gone, and none of the songs from the first game are included here. Instead there are completely new playlists and radio stations, new storylines, and a new comedian, the very off-color and hilarious Frankie Boyle. And the disc has it's own exclusive radio station, Vice City Radio. If you've seen the trailer with "She's Got The Look," know that that's only found on the disc package.

These two storylines couldn't be more different from each other. Lost and Damned is a serious and stern story of the inner drama of a motorcycle club. I got a little lost at times and the characters look a lot alike. It's still a good story that really makes you feel like you're part of a brotherhood. The best parts of the game are often the simple talking sections when you ride in formation with gang. The only problem is that the only radio stations that sound appropriate for these parts are Liberty Rock and LCHC, so you'll probably be hearing the same songs a lot. The missions themselves now include checkpoints to cut down on having to replay the commutes. You get new bikes and new weapons (my favorite being the automatic pistol), but the missions themselves are often fairly repetitive, even more than in GTA4. Almost all of them involve shootouts and getaways and there's very little variation from the formula. There are also gang wars and hitman jobs throughout, though their mostly the same, just without the cutscenes. Many reviewers have noted that the graphics are a lot different on this game, which I assume was intentional. There is a grain filter and the colors are very washed out. To me, it enhances the game in its own way, drawing you in while making this microcosm of the GTA universe feel more plausible.

The Ballad of Gay Tony flips all of that upside down. Here, the graphics are even more colorful and the draw distance is further (the framerate does take a minor hit at times). This story is about the oddball relationship between a former street thug and a nightclub owner with a drug problem. I found myself more involved with this one and the story made me laugh out loud at times. The game seemed shorter, but probably only because I played it more just to see what would happen next. The minigames are more fun in this game, too. Instead of arm wrestling and air hockey, there's cage fighting and club management. The missions are also much more varied with an emphasis on bombs, helicopters, and sky diving. The automatic shotgun with explosive shells is something to behold, which can take down helicopters and destroy cars even better than the rocket launcher. If you like to stick to the story or if you like to just mess around with the city, this episode easily trumps both the original Niko's Story and Lost and Damned. It's smart, funny, self referential, and the acting is top notch all around. This is exactly what made the GTA series great in the first place, and you barely have to go do errands with in-game friends if you don't feel like it. (Also, no girlfriends this time. In Lost and Damned, there are none at all from what I could see, and Ballad just has straight booty calls which skip dating altogether. So there's no trying to fruitlessly entertain women for hours on end.)

The neat thing about having these two games on one set and playing them back to back, you can see the clever ways the developers tried to integrate the two stories and how they overlap at points. There's just a ton of content to be had here, a lot of things to do, and a lot of ridiculous toys to play with (they give you a tank). At a certain point in GTA4, I got a little bored. The storyline was too big and Niko's revenge plot wore a little thin as the hours go by. By putting the game into a smaller package, the stories are a lot more engaging and condensed. I really think the game would have benefitted by going this direction from the beginning, since this offered so much more variety and made the city so much more interesting.

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