GTA 4: The Ballad of Gay Tony - Your In-Depth Look at This Xbox 360 Title

 The Ballad of Gay Tony is a downloadable episode for the Xbox 360 version of Grand Theft Auto 4. It is the second installment that Rockstar has distributed on Xbox Live; however if you don't own GTA 4 you can still get this episode as a stand alone game by renting/buying the GTA 4 episodes from Liberty City which includes The Lost and the Damned, the first downloadable episode. It costs the same if you buy the data online so whichever poison you pick you'll end up paying for the same ticket.

The characters in this episode of GTA 4 are much easier to connect with than those of The lost and the damned, or even GTA 4 Liberty City. Maybe I'm alone in this manner, but I feel the satire on the rich, capitalistic side of America strikes home much easier than the biker gang stories. That being said I was more empathetic towards Gay Tony than Niko, or those bikers; but maybe thats just me. Rockstar of course has put loads of production value into the story and animations, so expect a classic GTA experience.

The only con to this side of GTA 4 Liberty City is that there is so much animated sex. This isn't a bad thing, and I'm all for games taking a turn towards maturity, but the depecition of sex and execution of the animations are just so crude. We have a lot of catch up to do on the romantic side of video games. Just look at films, they inspire emotion, whereas video games just insipre comedic relief in this area.

Guns, equipment, and weapons. Whats new exactly? Well theres everything from GTA 4, and some of the guns from the lost and damned (grenade launcher), and theres a new sports car called the Bullet. I think the selling point of this content, is the parachute. It's a feature that was dropped from San Andreas, a feature that all fans voiced disappointment about. Heres my speculation, they saved features from the original game to attract more buyers to the content. That being said the parachuting is very fun, and the new chopper with missiles attached make for a more destructive GTA 4 feel that some may have felt was missing from previous installments. Also to ensure more destruction there is an APC vehicle which isn't quite the tank from previous GTAs but it is a step in the right direction for those of you who felt a lack of explosions.

There is a fun, distracting mini game where you manage the straight club that gay tony owns. You essentially go in, and watch for trouble; this trouble appears in several forms: someone not paying their tab, someone who's a little too drunk, a man hitting on a waitress a little too hard, or when a celebrity needs some fast food ASAP. When you are off duty you can drink at the bar, play a drinking game, or dance in the club which ultimately leads to banging a girl in the bathroom. All of which (except the sex) are mini games.

There are also side missions: drug wars, and parachuting challenges, both of which will give you a few hours of gleeful playing time.

There aren't any new modes, however parachuting, new guns, new cars, adds to the mayhem. However the formula is still the same, and this 2^nd installment further divides the online base of players and you will spend quite a bit of time looking for teammates/enemies, so that is a little con in the greater pro of multiplayer.