i just bought

[portal1292]

i just bought the GTA 4 collection and i was wondering do i play the main game before the DLC episodes or does it matter

[Meepist]

its better to play the main game first.

[cdh2122]

play main game first the dlc content takes place in between and after. so i recommend main story

[FranklinBoo]

imo it's better to play main storyline first

[JonnyReLLo]

Playing the main game and then the DLC is the best way to enjoy it.
Lost and Damned before Ballad of Gay Tony.

[AsleepAtTheWheel]

I will go against other people's advice.

You have to ask yourself am I really going to play through all the games (so that's what 40+ hours of gameplay), of this old game I never played.

If you are, indeed start with the base game, because that base game starts very limited so just for that it will be such a big step down after the other games.

If you think you are not going to finish it all, only maybe play 10 hours total (or less), start with the Ballad of Gay Tony. Why?:
- The whole map is immediately open to you, so you can start being a tourist after about 40 minutes of opening tutorials. (the base game will only unlock the main island after about 5 hours of gameplay, maybe more)
- The missions offer way more spectacle (interesting vehicles for instance).
- It's shorter, so once you do start doing story missions you are more likely to finish it.
- It is still very GTA (Lost and the Damned feels to me more like a different kind of game set within the same world. with all the bikes).
( - Plus, I like Luis better as a character than Niko...)

[portal1292]

Originally posted by AsleepAtTheWheel:

I will go against other people's advice.

You have to ask yourself am I really going to play through all the games (so that's what 40+ hours of gameplay), of this old game I never played.

If you are, indeed start with the base game, because that base game starts very limited so just for that it will be such a big step down after the other games.

If you think you are not going to finish it all, only maybe play 10 hours total (or less), start with the Ballad of Gay Tony. Why?:
- The whole map is immediately open to you, so you can start being a tourist after about 40 minutes of opening tutorials. (the base game will only unlock the main island after about 5 hours of gameplay, maybe more)
- The missions offer way more spectacle (interesting vehicles for instance).
- It's shorter, so once you do start doing story missions you are more likely to finish it.
- It is still very GTA (Lost and the Damned feels to me more like a different kind of game set within the same world. with all the bikes).
( - Plus, I like Luis better as a character then Nico...)

''Nico, cousin lets go bowling''

[DiamondBabu]

Main game first, since that's the chronological order in which the developers wanted us to experience the game.

[Belle Delphine Targaryen!]

Since the DLCs were released after the base game, I think it's better to play the base first. You could miss out on a lot of references from playing the DLCs first.

[b400k513]

Go in order if you're planning to play more than one. BoGT fixes a lot of visual issues that the base game and Lost & Damned have, and it sucks to go back to those after playing it.

[B Dawg]

Originally posted by b400k513:

Go in order if you're planning to play more than one. BoGT fixes a lot of visual issues that the base game and Lost & Damned have, and it sucks to go back to those after playing it.

Visual issues? Lol. Base game looks the best. Just copy the timecyc file from one of them to the other two.