Grand Theft Auto IV Episodes from Liberty City is a two-episode game compilation that takes you back to Liberty City and shows you a side of that city and characters that you never knew existed. Available on the PC, Xbox 360 and PS3, this compilation is best enjoyed if you have played Grand Theft Auto (GTA) IV before it. That's because events in both the episodes happen side by side those of GTA IV, therefore characters from GTA IV make a cameo in these episodes and you will only be able to recognise them if you have played GTA IV. Plus this game lets you play some of the same missions from GTA IV to give you a different perspective on them which can be a lot of fun if you have played them before from Niko Bellic's (GTA IV's hero) perspective. The first episode titled The Lost and Damned (TLAD) tells the story of Jonny Klebitz, the vice president of the biker gang The Lost (which makes a brief cameo in GTA IV) who thinks gang wars, riding wild on the street and a life of petty crimes is a thing of the past. He thinks his motorcycle needs to be smarter and make smart 'business' decision if they want to make it in Liberty City. This kind of philosophy often leads Johnny into fights and arguments with the gang's leader and whenever The Lost enter into a fight with their rival motorcycle club The Angels of Death, Johnny ends up being the one doing most of the dirty work for the club.

TLAD is all about the road and while you have other land, air and sea vehicles at your disposal, the focus of this episode is clearly on motorcycles and about what life is like being a member of a motorcycle gang. This focus makes this episode quite a different playing experience from GTA IV, and enjoyable too because you have many different bikes at your disposal such as heavy bikes, which includes Johnny's signature bike, Hexer plus super bikes like the Double T which was not available in GTA IV. You can also call your gang members for back up during missions and while this is a nice addition that adds to the overall feel of being part of a gang, it isn't really that necessary because most of the missions in TLAD aren't that difficult.

The second episode titled The Ballad of Gay Tony (TBOGT) puts you in the shoes of Luis Lopez, the business partner of club owner Tony Prince a.k.a. Gay Tony, who has fallen upon hard times and is seeing his club business crumble and is hopelessly trying to save it. After spending time in prison, Luis is trying to live an honest life but the kind of people he hangs around with, inevitably and unwillingly, see him getting involved in all sorts of activities on the wrong side of the law once again.

TBOGT offers you more variety when it comes to giving you ways to complete missions but the clear focus of this episode is on helicopters and parachutes. The mission formula remains the same in TBOGT but getting to fly different kinds of choppers and then jumping out of them to catch a falling person or landing on a building is very thrilling.

With new game play additions such as a checkpoint system in between missions and the ability to fire weapons when riding a bike both of which were absent from GTA IV, new weapons, radio stations, TV shows and new vehicles, GTA Episodes from Liberty City is an amazing game and a great excuse to visit Liberty City once again.

— Sohail Saleem