GTA IV: The Ballad of Gay Tony

GTA IV: The Ballad of Gay Tony

Another irresistible dark-humoured drama laced with the shocking and spectacular. Xbox 360 gamers get to feel smug a second time with this exclusive add-on, released today.

With new protagonist Luis Lopez, Grand Theft Auto returns to the gung-ho heyday of Vice City in many respects. Despite the freedoms afforded Niko Bellic (GTAIV) and Johnny Klebitz (The Lost and Damned), they were no acrobats. Luis, on the other hand, is quite obviously a very lithe and dangerous mother-forgetter.

Throughout The Ballad of Gay Tony you’ll realise that Luis has never been too far away from some of the greatest scenes in previous missions, starting with that incredible bank heist. Rockstar cleverly employs Luis to provide background to events in both GTA IV and The Lost and Damned and to tie up some loose ends.

Luis is working for Tony ‘Gay Tony’ Price, whose underground dealings in Liberty City nightlife have dumped him in very deep shizzle. Tony’s sexuality is really just by the way in the whole story. As with most personalities in the GTA universe Tony is larger than life but his nickname is as far as the scriptwriters go in drawing attention. Speaking of larger than life, there can be no larger than crime lord Yusuf, voiced by British comedian Omid Djalili, whose caustic rants generally deserve an encore.

In terms of the new action you can expect, Luis goes BASE jumping (sky-diving from buildings) and relaxes on the driving range. He’s a weapons specialist too, and particularly expert in the art of explosives. Tony also has him ‘light a fire’ on the dance floor, geeing up crowds at nightclubs to encourage more takings. There are dancing and drinking mini-games to lighten the mood, and you’ll be pleased to know these can be taken too far.

When he isn’t dressed for covert operations, Tony makes sure Luis has the best of everything to reflect well on him – amazing cars, fancy threads, whatever he needs. You’re just going to love the insanity of the new line in weapons that include an AA-12 shot-gun with explosive rounds – great for taking down helicopters. Luis gets to pilot a silly helicopter of his own (or rather stolen) equipped with a chain-gun and rocket launchers. The image you’ll most associate with The Ballad of Gay Tony is the night time city streets illuminated by smoke and fireballs. And noise.

If you own an Xbox 360 but don’t have Xbox LIVE at home, Rockstar is publishing both The Lost and Damned and The Ballad of Gay Tony as a standalone “Grand Theft Auto: Episodes from Liberty City” double-pack (£34.99 RRP). However if you already own GTA IV and have a broadband connection, The Ballad of Gay Tony add-on costs 1600 Microsoft Points. Whichever way you choose to acquire this third and final chapter in the GTA IV saga, just make sure you get it and soon.

5 out of 5