Grand Theft Auto IV -- It might feature crime and prostitutes.

hang on, so they changed the name of this latest DLC?

ya it's now called the ballad of straight tony

Both DLCs + GTA4 = the game I wanted GTA4 to be in the first place

so for the record, the best version of Lost and Damned is the DLC version, though they put in a new radio station to make up for it?

There are a few new radio stations, guys-- Self-Actualization is a trancey techno station like The Journey (I thought it'd be a new-age talk station) and there's a new hip-hop station, and the rock station has all new songs and all new Iggy.

Just started TBOGT and I got back in the Liberty City ZONE for the first time in forever (didn't get L&D) - kickin' it on a bike, cruising round and listening to Smashing Pumpkins' 1979 - when it ground to a halt with "unable to read disc". Totally harshed my buzz ;_;

The addition of nitro has RUINED the online racing.

Also disappointed there are no new co-op missions that i can grind to get my ranking up. Although given that bronze to silver takes as much money as n00b to bronze, and it took me a couple of unemployed months to get that far, chances would be slim anyway.

Damn the L&D multiplayer modes look pretty good, maybe I should get that too.

racing in L& D is fantastic.

i haven't played a single deathmatch/race in TBOGT, and i haven't really played more than the first couple of missions either; i just seem to spend all my (admittedly limited) time on the xbox dicking about in online free mode, stealing helicopters and being blitzed by helicopters.

I love both these chapters like I love a milkshake. More of this in the next standalone GTA pls! Less mandatory man-dates and drudgery and inviting people out on a date and then shooting them in the head

Would still like more of the sideshow stuff that was in previous incarnations - stock car racing, trials bike courses in the junkyard, etc.

Yes. And more stores, or at least have stores that sell different things. The thing is it seems like R* doesn't allow you to do anything that the character wouldn't do-- semi-pro dirtbike racing, pizza delivery, etc. You know what would be cool is if you had a much longer story arc for some fun-loving Elmore Leonard antihero style criminal in the midwest or something who starts off small-time as a teenager, boosting cars and maybe a little armed robbery but mostly doing it because he loves fun and doesn't want a real job-- but he also does shit on the side for fun like racing and stuntdriving and wheelman shit-- and he gets more and more involved in serious crime as he gets older, and the story gets darker and darker, until he's like Val Kilmer in Heat.

yeah the current style of "i'm just an easygoing guy trying to get by - oh hey mr crazy guy i've never met before, sure i'll blow up a boat full of arms dealers for you" is a little o_O

immigrants eh? tsk

some of the characterization in TBOGT are wacked. you deal with this Mori dude who's basically the same character as Brucie. except, he's Brucie's (older?) brother. and Brucie himself is totally pussified, but learns to deal with his bullying brother. except this story takes place at the same time as the main arc. it doesn't make any sense. this bugged this shit out of me tbh.

that was brucie?! shit. i was trying to cook sausages at the same time as that cutscene was playing tho.

my fave wish for GTAV: chicago, but taking place in -- get this -- two different times!! the old godfather trick. two difft versions of the same city, one in the 20s, one today, and you flip back and forth at difft times, one as your own grandfather, and decisions you make in the past can affect things in the present. fuckin awesome, huh.

xp yeah, no sense at all.

that is AMAZING idea!

Damn the L&D multiplayer modes look pretty good, maybe I should get that too.

The best one is chopper vs. chopper, but unfortunately no one ever seems to play it.

knees a trembling - getting 360 + all this tonight !!

You forgot the sum of that equation

lol the man at toys r us tried to convince me that the Stories of Liberty City on xbox360 was a direct port of the old PSP Liberty City Stories. I think my sister was shocked that i never punched him in the stomach.

Anyway, like these. not played too much LATD due to hating bikes in gta4 anyway but seems fun. Both of these have far more enjoyable missions already than most of gta4's original story.

some decent new vehicles in BOGT, especially like the Buffalo. Club management is slightly remedial I thought. But HA, Air Hockey!

will waffle on much more when not posting from work..

(also got CODwarfare2 and bionic commandos with my 360 bundle)

Man if someone had told me L&D was all about the bikes i'd have been on it like sonic.

And now they have. And now I can be.

yeah you get some kind of points for riding in proper formation and everything, if you like that sort of thing.

Not too into the Lost & the Damned missions. So far there has been nothing tricky, just follow me over here and shoot 40-60 guys and then drive away. One, it's easy. Two, it's boring. I'm still impressed riding around Liberty City though.

Self-Actualization is a trancey techno station

Autechre is not trance!!!!!!!!!!!

so... how is it, ste?

Gay Tony is pretty fun so far. Hated the opening cutscene though.

Battered this at the weekend, as you could imagine, played it for near 12 hours straight on Friday after work. That was a good day. Finished the main mission in Bogt, although still have all the base jumps and drug wars to do.

Enjoyed the final mission, but the mission before it was an utter fuck and almost made me quit. And then on the last mission, as I'd done all the hard work and was just making my way to the final marker, I managed to get myself run over and killed. AArgh.

Lots of new vehicles in this one, compared to Lost which didn't have many (although the tow truck is pretty funky looking). miffed that I can't drive the sky crane though.

I wish they'd have given us more night clubs to knock about in. Dancing is completely dumb though and I'm not even sure I'm doing it right. so I can move either of the thumb pads in any direction i want? what am i 'holding' when it flashes HOLD?

On the seagull hunt now, with twenty left to get. At least I can hear these now compared to the pigeons too quiet cooing.

Mission wise it's okay, it started off quite promising but ended up as being just more shoot every guy in the place type stuff.

Almost finished Lost now as well, on last mission. Missions pretty so so in that one. And I despise the main character's voice, pretty weak for a so called biker brother.

And on the story front, bogt, love it. The dialogue is well done and just love all the characters.

Lots of Vice city references i noticed, which might suggest something.

and ffs the animations are so sluggish sometimes, on the main player. GET IN THE FUCKING BOAT QUICKER!!

And I despise the main character's voice, pretty weak for a so called biker brother.

Huh, I liked him! But I also like Luis and Niko. Pretty cool dudes across the board.

i think it's because i've heard the voice before, in some cartoons. it ruined the illusion.

okay, how do i replay a mission i've successfully completed, in BOGT?

you have to finish the story first. and then... i don't know? it's off the phone maybe?

oh seriously? bummer

damn nobody plays these games multi do they. i suppose with MW2 nobody is playing anything multi...

oh i play multi every now and again - spent 20 minutes on it earlier and got 2nd place in a deathmatch, which blew my mind cos i'm pretty crappy at video games. my xbox360 name is stevietonychick

So is the PC version of this any good then? I just got a new pc.

pc version supposed to be very good.

stevie, yeah you got to finish the game first. and then choose missions in the phone.

enjoyed doing half the drug wars tonight, finished the base jumping stuff also fun.
i even got into dancing a bit more, winning some sort of gay dance off and then completing the bus stop. not used to the xbox controls so was a bit of a struggle at first remembering the colours.

also, i've noticed that no longer do i see the vibrant blue shadows when the sun is shining, that were in the ps3 version, but is this an xbox change or something unique to bogt?

Don't remember vibrant blue shadows. Dancing is a bit easy, thought it might be a fun sub game but I completed the bus stop first time. Where is air hockey?

air hockey tables in both the bowling alleys

yeah compared to the old san andreas dancing game its a bit stupidly easy, i thought it was going to get faster. although at least i did find myself bobbing to the beat.

and again, races (triathlons) pose no challenge whatsoever.

quite surprised that even after the kagillion amount of hours i put in on the original, that i'm still enjoying just cruising around liberty city in new cars for a whole evening. i guess i have nothing better to do.

eager to restart IV as i never did get the 'good' ending.

are there different endings for gtaiv?

There are two. They're pretty similar, honestly.

good things about TBOGT, the Buzzard and the APC, and the explosive round-shotgun. Lots of fun.

Something satisfying about the machine gun on the buzzard, and watching the debris splinter about from a good strafing session.

TBoGT is so many different kinds of wonderful.

The first couple missions of 'gay' were really good. Now I'm back to the same old shit-chase down this guy or shoot his crew. Snooze...

Will RStar ever create a new mold? I guess people will have to stop buying this shit over and over to force them to innovate again.