Managing Editor Alex Ortuno

Eight years after the release of “Grand Theft Auto V” and its multiplayer counterpart, “Grand Theft Auto Online,” we get a multi- player DLC as “The Contract” with one of the protagonists of the story, Franklin Clinton. With Franklin returning to the multiplayer scene as a man who’s gone from hustling in dime-bag drug dealing, robberies and illegal car repossession to being a top businessman who helps the wealthy elite of Los Santos with their problems that may have some criminal nature.

These problems are side missions for the player and can be entertaining. Although some missions are dull since they make you tail someone in a vehicle for some time, they are generally engaging as they put you straight into the action.

While players may have these missions, there are also “payphone hit” side missions that are basically hitman jobs. The twist in these jobs is that there are instructions to kill the target in a specific way to earn bonus money that can boost your pay in the tens of thousands of in-game dollars.

The primary feature of the DLC is the main story where Franklin settles as a businessman who handles problems for his clients but is seeking for a big client that could boost his business even more. His big client turns out to be none other than Dr. Dre, alongside Mark Jordan, known as DJ Pooh and Jimmy Iovine. Anderson Paak and Lola Romero also make cameo appearances as themselves.

Dr. Dre’s problem is that his phone, which contained several unreleased tracks, was not lost but stolen by someone who had a beef with him since the ‘90s. The player goes into several missions to recover the stolen copies of the phone from fighting a private army hired by a billionaire who boasts about NFT’s and Blockchain, a stuck up 24 year old. He tries to chase fame and some gangsters that thought it was wise to tell the world they were going to blast unreleased music out loud. But it isn’t the end as the player engages in many more gunfights as the person who stole the phone tries to end it all. It finishes with one big final shootout.

All these missions feel more lively than the previous DLC’s where they tried to make a story, only to either fall flat, short or just feel annoying. The characters in these feel like they aren’t forcing any kind of character, unlike Avon Hertz from the “Doomsday Heist” or Agent 14 from the “Humane Labs Raid,” and just fit in naturally to the storyline.

The action in these missions is entertaining as there’s no shortage of gunfights. Players are either boarding up on a yacht to fight the security guards, being a party pooper and fighting a personal security detail or even starting a gang war with the police coming in. There’s really no shortage of action until the very end.

One of the best parts of this DLC is also the music from Dre. Many unreleased tracks are playing in the middle of a mission sometimes and they never really get tiring as I enjoy them.

While all may glitter, there are a couple of issues that hinder the gameplay. One weapon that had many fans hyped was a Compact EMP Launcher. Many players thought this would be a game changing weapon but it ended up being a copy-and-paste of another weapon. Let’s also not forget it costs over $400,000 in-game so it’s not a cheap toy either.

Another is that sometimes the enemies almost seem like instant targeting machines in comparison to other DLCs where the enemies are more forgiving. That makes the missions a bit difficult if you aren’t armed enough. They’re not impossible though. They just may be difficult for a first-timer.

Let’s also not forget you can actually play once more as Franklin and even as Lamar, his friend who keeps trying to push his marijuana dispensary business but in a way, fails upward. The conversations between Franklin and Lamar are entertaining and made me feel like I’m back in the single-player story of the game.

The DLC has done well in the entertainment department and is probably the best DLC for “Grand Theft Auto Online.”

Grade: A-