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Generally favorable reviews - based on 67 Critics What's this?

User Score

Generally favorable reviews- based on 123 Ratings

  • Summary: [Xbox Live Arcade] Grand Theft Auto IV's second downloadable episode, The Ballad of Gay Tony injects Liberty City with an overdose of guns, glitz, and grime. As Luis Lopez, part-time hoodlum and full-time assistant to legendary nightclub impresario Tony Prince (aka "Gay Tony"), 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. [Rockstar Games] Expand
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 66 out of 67
  2. Negative: 0 out of 67
  1. 100
    Despite the grim set-up, The Ballad Of Gay Tony is an altogether more upbeat affair than The Lost And Damned. The location is far more glamorous as most of the DLC's action forsakes Liberty City's dour ghettos and docile suburbs for the glitzy island of Algonquin (or Manhattan to you).
  2. Multi-vehicle races that involve parachute jumps, speedboats and fast cars are the most enjoyable however, combining GTA's strongest elements into pulse-pounding races that are a genuine highlight.
  3. However, despite the story and characters being a bit dullish and uninteresting, GTA gamers are given a definitive reason to see this three-part story to its conclusion with the core GTA gameplay – replete with the standard vehicle manslaughter opportunity gamers have come to know (and in many cases love) ? remaining as gratifyingly volatile and as ever.
  4. Time and expectations have taken a certain toll on Grand Theft Auto IV, but all that aside, the bottom line for The Ballad of Gay Tony is that it's just not as good as the GTAIV experiences that preceded it. It feels like Rockstar has run out of tricks, and it has got its work cut out for it with whatever comes next for Grand Theft Auto.

See all 67 Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 17 out of 17
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 17
  3. Negative: 0 out of 17
  1. RiFfD
    10
    This is simply one of the best DLC I have played in life, and it is simply no doubt that it is one of the best game I have played in 2009.
  2. JamesD
    10
    For those who have waited for the over the top GTA IV experience that the L&D missed then I am happy to say that the ballad of gay tony is an extreme GTA experience which ties up the loose ends from the original experience and the L&D. Firstly this game drops the overlay for a traditional GTA IV look and it looks as grand as ever. New side missions are a blast whether doing drug errands or doing parachute based challenges. The missions are a lot more over the top as well from blasting choppers from a train to having a massive war is the nightclubs. The vibe is excellently captured, the soundtrack compliments this. At night you could choose to do nightclub errands which are ver repetitive but can be really funny and there is even a segment where you then realise how this got an 18/M rating. So yes it is a lot better than the L&D and stands as a fantastic experience all its own. Expand
  3. BrianB
    10
    The fact that this DLC is barely holding down a Universal Acclaim rating is somewhat of a mystery to me. The game costs $20. You get SO MUCH game out of that investment. The story is awesome, there's a ton of new stuff to do (including basejumping!!), and I haven't been able to put down the controller. That's an unquestionable 10 in my book. Expand
  4. The game looks beautiful, except that after 15 minutes of play the pc starts to whistle due to overheating of the processor .... and it happens only with this game. The point however is the huge demand for resources that this game requires. Expand

See all 17 User Reviews

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