I originally bought a strictly for GTA4. The series has always been one of my favorites and Episodes from Liberty City just found a new place in my heart.Episodes from Liberty City is the continuation of the GTA4 storyline, weaving in and out of Niko's storyline. Before buying the game, I replayed GTA and noticed small instances of Johnny and Luis throughout. Many people have complained that the two main characters are not as complelling as Niko, but I feel that their job is not to be complelling, but to add to the already huge Grand Theft Auto Universe.In "The Lost and the Damned" you play as Johnny the Jew, the VP of the Lost Biker gang. Because the story is so short, I will not give away the plot and will just talk about the game play, but if you have ever seen "Sons of Anarchy" on FX, it includes many of the same elements. Many reviews I read prior to buying the game was that "The Ballad of Gay Tony" was the only one worth buying... this would have definitely been a mistake. Though TLAD is run of the mill run and shoot missions just like GTA4, the world is extremely entertaining. The grit system used to give the game a different appearance is extremely effective... the storyline is much more serious and the darkened graphics enhance that. There are a plethora of side missions; stealing bikes, racing using bats, cleaning up "dirty laundry", and leading the Lost in gang wars. Even after the required number of races and gang wars are complete, they continue regenerating, giving what most GTA players are looking for... the ability to fight and drive with some sort of purpose. The game also contains new weapons including a machine pistol, pipe bombs, and the incredibly powerful combat shotgun. This is the first of all the GTAs I have been compelled to complete 100%.In "The Ballad of Gay Tony" you play as Luis, the business partner and bodyguard of Gay Tony. Again, with such a sort story I will not give anything away, but the real purpose of TBoGT is to blow things up. Again there are many new weapons, my favorite being the shotgun with explosive rounds which actually causes cars to fold in on themselves. The game also has numerous things to do outside of the missions, including drug wars, base jumping, club management, and even a dancing minigame.All in all, I'd personally say I enjoyed TLAD more than TBoGT. Both are short, which encourages you to do all of the side missions; most of the time I found myself performing gang wars, races, and base jumps before taking the effort to complete other missions. Because both games continue re spawning gang and drug wars, they both have alot of replay value. TBoGT also allows you to replay missions (similar to Red Dead Redemption) to continue getting higher scores and more achievements.I would recommend both of these games. If you look on Amazon's New and Used section you can find some for cheap that qualify for free shipping too! I got my copy for $28 with free shipping, and it arrived before the expected date.PS If you look in the manual of Episodes, there is a small picture about saying goodbye to Liberty City, with a rip in the corner that gives a hint to the next GTA game! Search online... some people imaged it again the other two games to find out what it means!