this is miles better than what we got with the lost and damned. for one, i actually care about multiple characters and like them, which i couldn't say about TLAD. it also helps that, in terms of mission variety and structure, this is one of the strongest GTA games. i think the addition of parachuting is great, the triathlons are fun (if a bit samey), and the ability to replay missions is something that i'm shocked isn't in more rockstar games. i have next to nothing bad to say about this DLC.
but there is one thing. this is a narrative about a gay man. and rockstar, being rockstar, has to amp up the homophobia. it wasn't enough that base GTA IV had its share of homophobia, but now we have to have a DLC almost dedicated to it. it's a shame, because i think tony prince is a decently written character and probably one of the best lgbt characters they've done. he has nuance and is an active participant in the narrative. it's a shame that so many other of the gay characters fall into the "closet case or effeminate flamer" stereotype that rockstar leans into. i literally cannot name a single gay character outside of tony that doesn't fit either of those categories and there's like. 5 named gay characters now. that's still bad to me. and like yeah, i get that making multiple characters call tony a faggot over and over again is an easy shorthand to demonstrate the struggles he's faced as a gay man + the immediate dislikability of the slur sayer in question, but it gets to be a bit much. we start out the DLC with luis' friends immediately being homophobic to him (one of them explicitly calls tony a fag in his very first scene), and we end with ray bulgarin shouting "I AM NOT A FUCKING FAGGOT!!!!". like okay. cool. did every character have to be this way? you can make a lgbt character without them immediately getting slurred or victimized, rockstar. it's not impossible.
either way. i had a good time with this game. i can't recommend it to anyone who hasn't built up the ability to compartmentalize homophobia as one of those things that just exists, but otherwise, it's a great DLC and a good cap GTA IV.
oh wait, i forgot one thing. SO TELL ME HOW LONG BEFORE YOU DROP THE BOMB, BEFORE YOU TURN IT UP, TURN IT UP, TURN IT UP, TURN IT UP
but there is one thing. this is a narrative about a gay man. and rockstar, being rockstar, has to amp up the homophobia. it wasn't enough that base GTA IV had its share of homophobia, but now we have to have a DLC almost dedicated to it. it's a shame, because i think tony prince is a decently written character and probably one of the best lgbt characters they've done. he has nuance and is an active participant in the narrative. it's a shame that so many other of the gay characters fall into the "closet case or effeminate flamer" stereotype that rockstar leans into. i literally cannot name a single gay character outside of tony that doesn't fit either of those categories and there's like. 5 named gay characters now. that's still bad to me. and like yeah, i get that making multiple characters call tony a faggot over and over again is an easy shorthand to demonstrate the struggles he's faced as a gay man + the immediate dislikability of the slur sayer in question, but it gets to be a bit much. we start out the DLC with luis' friends immediately being homophobic to him (one of them explicitly calls tony a fag in his very first scene), and we end with ray bulgarin shouting "I AM NOT A FUCKING FAGGOT!!!!". like okay. cool. did every character have to be this way? you can make a lgbt character without them immediately getting slurred or victimized, rockstar. it's not impossible.
either way. i had a good time with this game. i can't recommend it to anyone who hasn't built up the ability to compartmentalize homophobia as one of those things that just exists, but otherwise, it's a great DLC and a good cap GTA IV.
oh wait, i forgot one thing. SO TELL ME HOW LONG BEFORE YOU DROP THE BOMB, BEFORE YOU TURN IT UP, TURN IT UP, TURN IT UP, TURN IT UP