best gta game ever made! oh, wait, this is an expansion?
while gta 4 set the standard for story and narrative in a gta game and the gameplay did sound good, at least on paper, it was brought down by some poor execution. tlad improved it by noting what gamers didn't like and improved it as much as possible. with tbogt, the formula is close to the formula the gta series should achieve, it should be fun, while still maintaining a sense of realism. one of the things i didn't like about gta sa is that it was just too ridiculous at times, with jetpacks and 'james bond: from tha hood with homie love' thingy, but with tbogt it got the balance between the 2 just right. it can be very fun and over-the-top, without being stupid.
the story could have been better though. i wouldn't mind paying twice the current price of the dlc, provided i get more missions which can wrap up the lc story better. characters like dimitri should have been in it, bulgarin should also have been more focused on, because even though dimitri makes for a great antagonist in gta 4, his character is extremely lacking of coverage. characters like florian cravic / bernie crane and bryce dawkins could have been in it too. maybe gta 4's story have spoilt me to expect more of the story in gta games, as with tlad, i didn't like the story in it that much either, but overall, the story did an good job at concluding the gta 4 story, but i wish there was more of it.
to conclude things, tbogt is what gta 4 should have been, and what i believe even gta 5 (if it exists), should be. though microsoft's decision to spend $50 million on 2 dlc's is met with skeptism, i can safely say, it's money spent wisely. it's sad that the ps3 and possibly pc gamers wont be able to get these games, but i hope they will get it as well one day, because this is a game deserved to be played by every single gta fan no matter what platform they're on.
ps: looks like a certain fanboy from a certain console are downrating this game. now you guys don't deserve to play this game.