Grand Theft Auto: The Ballad of Gay Tony is the second of the two episodic expansion packs available for the PlayStation 3, Microsoft Windows and Xbox 360 versions of Grand Theft Auto IV, developed by Rockstar North. It was first released for Xbox 360 on 29 October 2009, before then being released for PlayStation 3 and Microsoft Windows on 13 April 2010. It is the fourth expansion pack in the Grand Theft Auto series and the 14th release in the series.
The Ballad of Gay Tony follows the exploits of Luis Fernando Lopez, an ex-member of the Dominican drug dealers and the personal bodyguard (referred to by himself as "business associate") of Anthony "Gay Tony" Prince, who featured in a number of missions in both Grand Theft Auto IV and The Lost and Damned. The storyline focuses on Luis' efforts to help Prince, who is the owner of the two largest nightclubs in Liberty City and a high-status socialite, overcome several issues, including drugs, debt, mafia families and attempts on both of their lives. The story also ties up loose ends in regards to the diamond deal of Grand Theft Auto IV.
Rockstar Games said in their press release that this episode "injects Liberty City with an overdose of guns, glitz, and crime" and that "players will struggle with the competing loyalties of family and friends, and with the uncertainty about who is real and who is fake in a world in which everyone has a price." A combined standalone disc-based package titled Grand Theft Auto: Episodes from Liberty City, which does not require the original Grand Theft Auto IV game to be played, was released alongside the second expansion and contains both The Lost and Damned and The Ballad of Gay Tony.
Gameplay
Grand Theft Auto: The Ballad of Gay Tony is an action-adventure game set in an open world environment and played from a third-person perspective. It features similar gameplay and the same setting to that of Grand Theft Auto IV, it contains roughly a similar amount of missions as that of The Lost and Damned. However the game differentiates itself from these two with new additions and features and some notable changes.
One notable feature added in, that was previously introduced to the series in Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars, is a scoring system with missions, which gauges how well the player did in accomplishing certain goals in a mission, ranging from minimising damage to themselves, achieving a fast time, to completing unique actions for that mission. The scoring system also includes the ability to replay previously passed missions to improve a score on it, on condition that the player has completed the game's main story. In addition to this, the player has access to new activities and side jobs, access to new vehicles (including a NOOSE Tank and a small attack helicopter called the "Buzzard"), and new weapons. Luis may, like Johnny in The Lost and Damned, call on his friends, Armando and Henrique, for use of their special abilities right from the start – Armando can sell weapons to Luis when needed, while Henrique can supply him a vehicle from a selection he has access to, which increases the more the player progresses in the story – or take them out on friend activities, but cannot call them for back-up in a mission.
The new side jobs that the player can undertake includes performing Drug Wars, taking on Triathlon Races, working on Club Management, entering an Underground Fight Tournament, and BASE jumping, the latter of which comes from the re-introduction of parachutes. Drug Wars perform in a similar manner to the Gang Wars of The Lost and Damned except the player must acquire a drug stash for Luis' friends and take it to a drop-off point; the side job has a number of variations – either acquire a drug vehicle on the move or stationary, ambush a drug deal, or raid a stash site – and the player will be pursued by rival gangs once they get the stash until they reach a drop-off point. Completing a Drug War earns money, and, like Gang Wars, unlocks a new weapon for every 10 Drug Wars completed. Triathlon Races function like Street Races but consist of three stages, in which the player skydives and parachutes to a collection of boats, take one with which to navigate a series of checkpoints, before making landfall near a collection of cars and taking one to pass a series of checkpoints. In the final stage of these races, the player's have access to Nitro which can be used to boost their car's speed and which recharges when not being used.
Club Management focuses on Luis keeping an eye on one of the clubs, where he acts as a bouncer and moves between different areas of the club (such as the Bar or the VIP lounge), dealing with anyone who is highly drunk, causing trouble, or dealing drugs, while on some occasions, he may be called to check in on the club's manager, Joni. Luis may also be called upon to assist a VIP who needs help with a problem, often after doing enough work in Club Management, which can see him bringing a VIP somewhere or doing a task for them. The Underground Fight Tournament can see the player either being a spectator in which they bet on a match's outcome, or enter themselves and take on a variety of different opponents. If competing themselves, they must complete a round in which they must beat three opponents, one after the other. The player can either fight with their fists or with melee weapons they can acquire by disarming opponents who bring them in, and can gain assistance from the audience to take down an opponent by pushing them back into the arena's cage wall. The player can earn money for every round they beat, but lose it if they are "Wasted" in a round; winning a round also earns back a small portion of health. BASE Jumping, sees Luis either jumping off a building – either on foot or off a motorcycle – or from a helicopter and either landing on a designated spot, on a moving vehicle, or hitting a series of checkpoints before reaching the landing spot.
