Grand Theft Auto: Episodes from Liberty City is a compilation of two expansion packs released for 2008's Grand Theft Auto IV. It includes The Lost and Damned and The Ballad of Gay Tony, both originally released on the Xbox 360 in 2009 as part of an exclusive deal with Microsoft[1]. Both expansions were later released for PlayStation 3 and Windows in 2010.
As with the original Grand Theft Auto IV game, both expansions are set in Liberty City during the year 2008. Each expansion adds new content including missions, weapons, vehicles and side-activities related to the respective expansion's theme and aesthetics. Episodes from Liberty City is set concurrently to the events of the base game, following new protagonists whose stories intertwine with Niko Bellic's, the protagonist of GTA IV.
Episodes from Liberty City can be purchased either digitally as an add-on to the original game or as a separate game physically. If downloaded online, each episode requires the original GTA IV game disc in order to be played, but doesn't require the disc if the Episodes from Liberty City game disc is used instead. In the former case, slight alterations to the base game's map occurs to modify certain buildings and main consistency with the expansions.
Both episodes received critical acclaim, with praise towards the new content and the way the expansions intersect with the original game, though the narratives and characters were met with a more mixed response and were compared and contrasted against the base game. The retail release of the compilation sold less than 160,000 copies by December 2009[2].
List of Episodic Content[]
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Overview[]
Both Episodes were also released together on a single boxed game disc called Episodes From Liberty City, on October 29, 2009. Unlike the individual episodes, EFLC doesn't require the original GTA IV game. The disc includes three new radio stations exclusive to the double-pack version to compensate for some music not carried over from GTA IV. The single-episode DLCs do not contain exclusive music, but the original music has been carried over. Players who do not have GTA IV installed on their console will find that some phone conversation dialog in EFLC are missing.
If the player were to download any episode online and save a game using TLAD or TBOGT in the original GTA IV, and then later use the EFLC game disc, the saved games will still be available, but the GTA IV saved games will not be, thus requiring to start a new game. Nevertheless, the player can still reload their last saved GTA IV and play it as usual.
Episodes from Liberty City also introduces three aforementioned exclusive radio stations; Vice City FM, Self-Actualization FM and RamJam FM. The additional tracks from the episodic content, for the existing radio stations, are also included. However, the original playlists from GTA IV have been omitted. Vice City FM replaces The Vibe 98.8, Self-Actualization FM replaces The Journey, and RamJam FM replaces Massive B Soundsystem 96.9 and Tuff Gong Radio.
As of March 19, 2020, the digital version of EFLC no longer exists as a separate game for PC, as the game was replaced by Grand Theft Auto IV: The Complete Edition. This update combined GTA IV and Episodes as one game, similar to the console versions of The Complete Edition. Until an update on June 3, 2020, the EFLC-exclusive radio stations were temporarily unavailable. This version combines the GTA IV radio station tracklists with the songs that EFLC, but the songs removed in April 2018 due to copyright expiry are still missing in this version. The Complete Edition also lacks all multiplayer modes featured in both GTA IV and EFLC.
Release[]
Reception[]
Episodes from Liberty City received critical acclaim. IGN awarded the pack with a 9.2/10, praising the DLCs' gameplay and features, but criticizing the short story lines. 1Up gave the PS3 version a score of -A. GameSpot gave the PC version an 8.5/10, while both PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions received 9/10 from the site.
Versions[]
PC and PS3 release[]
On January 29, 2010, Rockstar officially announced that both expansion episodes would be released for the PlayStation 3 and the PC on March 30th. However, due to having problems with Sony Europe with the Liberty City radio, television, and Internet content, the episodes had been delayed until April 13 in North America and April 16 in Europe. Like the previous release on Xbox 360, each episode was been made individually available online at the PlayStation Store and at Games for Windows - LIVE Marketplace, as well as together on disc.
Rockstar Games Collection[]
Episodes from Liberty City is also part of the Rockstar Games Collection Edition 1 for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.
Controversy[]
Legal Action in Brazil[]
On October 18, 2010, the Third Civil Court of Barueri, São Paulo State, Brazil, claimed that "Episodes From Liberty City" violates the Brazilian law concerning copy rights by using an unauthorized sample of "Bota o dedinho pro alto", from the Brazilian composer Hamilton Lourenço da Silva, in the game without his permission. Said song was sampled in a track on the Electro-Choc radio station, "Kid Conga" by Daniel Haaksman featuring MC Miltinho; the latter being the son of Lourenço da Silva, who was 8 years old at the time his vocals were recorded for the song. Although Rockstar gained permission to use the track, no approval was given by Lourenço da Silva himself.
The court ordered that all copies of the game for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PC should be recalled from stores. The decision also states that if the game is not recalled in 48 hours, Rockstar Games should be billed in R$ 5,000.00 (approximately USD 3,125.00) per day. The copyright problem has since been resolved in 2012.
Weapons[]
Although both protagonists of EFLC can use all weapons from GTA IV, new weapons also appear. Although the Combat Shotgun appears in all three games, it has a different model in TLAD.
New weapons in TLAD:
New weapons in TBOGT:
Strip Clubs[]
The two strip clubs (The Triangle Club and Honkers Gentlemen's Club) now play different songs during the three private dances.
Songs in GTA IV:
- "Come into My Life" (Triangle) / "Shake Ya Ass" (Honkers)
- "Ooh La La" (Triangle) / "Come into My Life" (Honkers)
- "Shake Ya Ass" (Triangle) / "Ooh La La" (Honkers)
Songs in EFLC:
- "The Look" (Triangle) / "Love Changes" (Honkers)
- "Maneater" (Triangle) / "The Look" (Honkers)
- "Love Changes" (Triangle) / "Maneater" (Honkers)
Locations[]
- In EFLC, The Libertonian's entrance is closed.
- In EFLC, the gravestones of Francis McReary and Derrick McReary are absent.
- In EFLC, the Lost Clubhouse, the Angels of Death Clubhouse and Pretty Boy's garage have different details.
- In EFLC, Brian Jeremy's house now has a visible interior from the outside windows, and there is now a backdoor with a short staircase.
- In EFLC, Dragon Heart Plaza's interior is now explorable, and there are now more obstacles and objects, like boxes, planks of wood, and usable ladders. Also, only TBOGT allows players to use the front door.
- In TBOGT, the scaffolding leading to The Libertonian's window is different, and no longer has a ladder.
- In TBOGT, L.C. Cage Fighters now appears down a previously non-existent alleyway.
- In TBOGT, the pier in Bohan now has more rubble, some containers, and a short staircase.
- In TBOGT, the barges on the Humboldt River now line up, allowing players to drive on them.
- In TBOGT, Luis' apartment has a different door and a yellow parking space in front.
- In TBOGT, Luis can use the parking spaces at Niko's and Johnny's safehouses. In TLAD, Johnny can use the ones at Niko's safehouses in the PC and early Xbox 360 versions; he may also use Luis' in the PS3 and later Xbox 360 versions.
- In TBOGT, Maisonette 9, Hercules, and Bahama Mamas are now more detailed and fleshed out, with people now lining up for entry at night.
- In TBOGT, Golden Pier Swingers Golf Club has a broken fence, allowing players quick access. Also, one of the brown doors is now blue and unlocked, allowing players access.
- In TBOGT, Rotterdam Tower's satellites, silos, and ladders were replaced with new ladders, some stairs, and a sign (Rotterdam Tower, Top of the World). Also, players can now enter the ground floor.
- In TBOGT, two electric signs now say something different than they did previously.
- Amdram Theatre's sign differs in GTA IV/TLAD ("Amdram Presents... Leg-Less") and TBOGT ("Amdram Presents... The Flying Whore").
- Split Sides' sign differs in GTA IV/TLAD ("Split Sides proudly presents special guest Ricky Gervais with resident comedian Katt Williams") and TBOGT ("Split Sides is closed until further notice, sorry for the inconvenience").
- In GTA IV, Used Auto Parts & Salvage is permanently destroyed for the rest of the game after completing Rigged to Blow, as are South Bohan Safehouse and Express Car Service after Roman's Sorrow. In EFLC, these three buildings are destroyed from the start, even though TLAD begins before these buildings are destroyed.
- When Niko blows up some gas canisters at Northwood Fuel Depot, they are permanently destroyed after Actions Speak Louder than Words (GTA IV) and Diamonds in the Rough (TLAD), yet are untouched in all of TBOGT.
- In TLAD, the Lost Clubhouse will be burned after Get Lost.
- In TBOGT, the crane on Frankfort Avenue will be destroyed during Bang Bang, remaining destroyed for the rest of the game.
- In TBOGT, a stone wall which is blown during Corner Kids will have a hole in it for the rest of the game. This wall was a chain fence in GTA IV and TLAD, which had some porta-potties near it.
Crossovers[]
- In Clean and Serene (TLAD), Niko is seen cursing at a man in Serbian ("Fucked up as usual").
- In Blow Your Cover (GTA IV) and Buyer's Market (TLAD), Elizabeta Torres hires Niko, Johnny, and Playboy X for a drug deal.
- In No Love Lost (GTA IV), Niko kills Jason Michaels. In It's War (TLAD), the Lost discover this, but not Niko's identity.
- In Three Leaf Clover (GTA IV) and I Luv LC (TBOGT), Luis is on the floor during the bank robbery. Niko and Johnny are seen driving in the background after the ordeal.
- In This Shit's Cursed (TLAD) and Chinese Takeout (TBOGT), Billy Grey sets up an ambush for Johnny and Jim Fitzgerald, but they escape.
- In Have a Heart (GTA IV), Liz becomes paranoid about the police. In Shifting Weight (TLAD), which takes place soon afterwards, Liz is finally arrested.
- In Roman's Holiday, Johnny kidnaps Roman Bellic on Dimitri Rascalov's orders. Niko rescues him in Hostile Negotiation.
- In Diamonds in the Rough (TLAD) and Frosting on the Cake (TBOGT), Johnny ambushes Luis and kills Evan Moss to steal the diamonds.
- In Taking In the Trash, Ashley Butler briefly meets Niko.
- In Museum Piece (GTA IV), Collector's Item (TLAD), and Not So Fast (TBOGT), Niko and Johnny meet again, but are ambushed by Luis.
- In No Way on the Subway, Niko kills Jim on Ray Boccino's orders.
- In I'll Take Her, Niko kidnaps Gracie Ancelotti on Gerald McReary's orders.
- In She's a Keeper (GTA IV) and Ladies' Night (TBOGT), Luis and Tony follow Packie McReary to Gracie's location.
- In Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend (GTA IV) and Ladies Half Price (TBOGT), Niko and Luis trade each other with the diamonds and Gracie.
- Ray Boccino gives missions to Niko and Johnny. Ray betrays Johnny in Was It Worth It? (TLAD), and Niko kills Ray in Pest Control (GTA IV).
- Throughout the game, radio stations have news reports concerning The Lost MC and The Angels of Death.
- Brucie Kibbutz interacts with Luis in Mori Kibbutz's missions, while Roman Bellic enters Maisonette 9 in some of Tony Prince's missions.
- Ray Bulgarin gives missions to Luis and attempts to kill Niko twice, but fails. Luis eventually kills Ray.
Plot Holes[]
- When Niko and Johnny accompany Playboy for the deal, Niko and Playboy have a chat at the bottom of the stairs. In TLAD, their chat is near the top, where they meet with Johnny.
- Luis' voice lines are redone, notably his very first line, which he actually rephrases between GTA IV ("Luis... but this ain't such a good idea bro.") and TBOGT ("It's Luis, man. I don't think that's such a good idea.").
- When Eugene Reaper kills Michael Keane, he gets up off the floor quicker in GTA IV. Also, he's on his knee when he shoots in GTA IV, yet he stands up to shoot in TBOGT.
- When Packie shoots Eugene dead for killing Michael, the bank crowd is silent in GTA IV, but a woman is heard panicking and crying in TBOGT.
- Just after the bank robbery, the law is seen using the Police Stockade in GTA IV and the Enforcer in TBOGT.
- While Luis is crossing a road in the TBOGT intro, Niko almost hits him in a Presidente (which randomly changes from red to grey). In GTA IV, Niko's crew flee in a Huntley Sport without seeing Luis, and with the police still on them.
- The TBOGT intro canonically takes place on a Saturday. In GTA IV, the mission may be completed on any day.
- In the TBOGT intro, Niko wears the charcoal suit and brown/black loafers, which is true even on PC, where these shoes are unavailable. He also wears this outfit in the TLAD end credits when the crew leave the bank.
- Niko and Luis always canonically wear their default outfits during crossover missions.
- Some characters look different between the games.
- In EFLC, Johnny wears different jackets and accessories than he did in GTA IV.
- When Niko kills Jim, the latter has a different character model in GTA IV than he does in TLAD.
- In TBOGT, Eugene has a different character model with more detail, and The Cook is now clean-shaven.
- In TBOGT, Tony has an updated model, and now wears glasses, rather than sunglasses (GTA IV) or no glasses (TLAD).
- In TBOGT, Luis has an updated model, and now wears white tennis shoes, unlike the black sneakers he wears in GTA IV and TLAD.
Trivia[]
- Episodes from Liberty City has removed features which were present in GTA IV, such as Vigilante and Most Wanted missions (attempting to activate a Police Computer will display an error message), and the ability to buy clothing from the various shops. The ability to go on dates has also been redesigned. Although there are women in the clubs present in The Ballad of Gay Tony, they cannot be dated by Luis and will only have sex with him.
- Unlike in GTA IV, players can now access the Internet from computers in hospitals.
- Episodes from Liberty City, Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars, and Grand Theft Auto V are the only games in the series where the entire map is accessible from the beginning of the game.
- Even though they take place at the same time, the vehicle selection and radio stations featured in the episodes, are different from that of GTA IV, with some of the radio stations being either replaced or removed.
- The game will often fail to load the last saved game for GTA IV if attempting to play the original game, since it interferes with the saves of TLAD and TBOGT. The player will be taken to the very start of the game, and must pause and manually load the last saved data for the original game.
- The cheats from GTA IV still work in EFLC, but the new episodic cheats do not work in the latter. In addition, the new cheats in TLAD do not work in TBOGT, and vice versa. They remain restricted to their respective episodes in Grand Theft Auto IV: The Complete Edition.
- The PS3 version includes trophies by default, thus fixing a trophy glitch that was present in the original version of GTA IV. The same is true for The Complete Edition.
- In the PlayStation Store, the game is incorrectly listed in the Adult category, rather than in the Action or Adventure category like GTA IV or GTA V.
Videos[]