Following the astonishing success of the digital-only release of the first, Xbox 360-exclusive expansion to Rockstar’s masterwork, GTA IV, it was only a matter of time before hushed murmurs echoed their way into the public…ear. Due this autumn, this second serving of extra content has been named, very theatrically, The Ballad Of Gay Tony.
Slotted into the same price point as The Lost And Damned at 1600 MSP, there is no sign that Rockstar will have to keep these sales figures in the closet, with the new content having the potential to match the very high bar already set with the first episode.
Sliding into the shoes of yet another new protagonist, Luis Lopez, The Ballad Of Gay Tony will see you working for “legendary nightclub impresario, Gay Tony”. With a fresh scene for madness, mayhem and murder, Rockstar have once more given themselves the opportunity to provide some truly amazing thrills and spills, promising “an overdose of guns, glitz, and grime”. Rockstar founder, Sam Houser seems pleased with the shape that the episodic releases have taken, “Liberty City is the most vibrant game world we’ve created yet. The episodic structure has allowed us to interweave stories, gameplay and atmosphere in a whole new way”.
As an aside, it has also been announced that both sets of DLC will be bundled together and released as a retail package, Grand Theft Auto: Episodes from Liberty City, and this will be priced at a very agreeable 39.99 USD. Piling even more coal into the furnace of the good news train, it is reported that a copy of GTA IV will not be required to play the two episodes.
