It’s been over a year since the release of the critically acclaimed Grand Theft Auto IV, but instead of sitting on their laurels and reaping in the rewards, Rockstar North have continued to pump out new content for their controversial game. Taking the form of episodic content, these new adventures take place during the events from the original game, while introducing new characters and their own stories to the mix.
In The Ballad of Gay Tony, you take on the role of Luis Fernando Lopez, bodyguard and business associate to “Gay” Tony Prince, a nightclub owner whose days at the top have long passed, as he is heavily in debt to several seedy individuals throughout Liberty City. Tony will rely on Luis to “settle” his debts with these people, and the negotiations are often settled in the most violent and awesome ways possible. Luis will also end up helping other individuals, friendly or not, throughout the game. The GTA franchise has been known to introduce some very unique characters in their games, and I’m happy to say that they once again come through here. Without spoiling too much, I was in hysterics every time Yusuf Amir, a billionaire with too much time on his hands, made an appearance. Even though the story isn’t this episode’s high point, most of the dialog is great. Of course, since this episode takes place during the events of GTA IV and The Lost and Damned, there are many cameos from other well-known characters as well, which is a nice way to tie all of this big, virtual world together.
Gameplay-wise, The Ballad of Gay Tony re-introduces the parachute to the series, which was last seen in GTA: San Andreas. This will allow you to take part in BASE jumping and skydiving challenges strewn throughout the city. Also, most of your later missions will require you to jump out of a helicopter or a plane and deploy your chute at the right moment. While the challenges aren’t obligatory towards completing the story itself, they are fun and challenging nonetheless. There are also some drug wars to take part in, where Luis and his childhood buddies Armando and Enrique go and steal drug shipments from competing dealers. Completing these drug wars will unlock new weapons, such as sticky bombs, for Luis to use. There are also other activities to take part in, such as a driving range, dancing and drinking competitions at both of Tony’s nightclubs, and the ability to manage one of his clubs’ security.
Sadly, these activities grow old really fast and, aside from the drug wars, there’s no good reason to keep doing them. Multiplayer introduces BASE Jumping Tips, as well as updated versions of Free Mode, Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch and Races. While BASE Jumping Tips sounds like it could be enjoyable for a while, I had difficulty finding a bunch of people who would actually compete in that mode instead of shooting at me every time I respawned, so I can’t really give an informed opinion about it.
While The Ballad of Gay Tony’s story may come off as bland and somewhat predictable, its characters and dialog are completely the opposite. If you factor in the reintroduction of the parachute and the excellent variety in its missions, this episode reminded me of GTA: San Andreas, and that is far from being a bad thing. Add to that the always welcome checkpoint system and the ability to retry missions once you’ve passed them, and this is one ballad you’re sure to enjoy.
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