Grand Theft Auto IV: The Ballad of Gay Tony Review

By Tom Bramwell Published 28 October, 2009

Top of the poppers.

Version tested: Xbox 360

Rockstar's second downloadable add-on for Grand Theft Auto IV may be known as The Ballad of Gay Tony, but anyone who goes in expecting a radical social message from the world's most controversial developer will be disappointed. If anything, the homosexuality angle is superfluous to Rockstar's agenda: the GTA games have always demonstrated that acting outside the law is the great equaliser, and The Ballad is yet another story of how crime begets crime no matter your class, creed or sexual preference.

While the first episode, The Lost and Damned, focused on Liberty City's biker gangs, The Ballad of Gay Tony is rooted in the glitzy party districts of Algonquin, where nightclub impresario Tony Prince and his business partner and player character Luis Lopez preside over a pair of night spots. Lopez is a typical GTA hero - surrounded by addicts and criminals whom he looks down upon despite being, on the evidence of your actions and his justifications, the worst of all of them.

His adventures crisscross the stories of Niko Bellic and Johnny Klebitz, and it's entertaining to watch Rockstar coax more depth out of its existing matrix of conflicting plot-lines, but the smartest trick here is to shift the focus away from you and onto the supporting cast. Prince is a whiny coke-and-pills addict, and Lopez is a philandering murderer, which turns out to be as much his fault as yours. Neither is particularly sympathetic, and - perhaps deliberately - neither is particularly funny.

Yusuf Amir, however, you can't help but like. Superbly voiced by British-Iranian actor Omid Djalili, he's the star of The Ballad: a drug-fuelled billionaire playboy who makes up for this by being completely shameless. At one point you find yourself in his apartment listening to him explain away a gold uzi, lines of white powder and a hooker to his conservative father, all the while he's strutting around in a tracksuit top and a pair of padded Y-fronts. His dialogue is also the most outrageous since Brucie Kibbutz. "I'm the executive flying cobra," he explains at the end of an elaborate snake metaphor about his new combat helicopter. "When I stick my tongue in you, you know you've been poisoned."

'Grand Theft Auto IV: The Ballad of Gay Tony' Screenshot 1

The soundtrack certainly ticks my boxes, cruising through Star Junction in a gold-hooded Rolls convertible listening to Young Hearts Run Free being a highlight.

He's not the only great new character - Brucie's older, shorter brother Mori is also good value for his ludicrous missions - but the other stars of The Ballad are a renewed focus on helicopters, the introduction of a parachute and a new shotgun with explosive shells.

The helicopters aren't really that different to the ones in regular GTAIV (give or take a few weapon systems), but they are used more often, and Rockstar gets more out of them because it has also raised the ceiling on the gameworld, which is perfect fodder for the parachute. Deployed with the A button once you're in freefall, and easily manoeuvred, it's a scenic way of navigating Liberty City, and also the basis of a new side-mission type, base jumping. Whether from buildings or helicopters, it's a Pilotwings-style exercise in precision movement, built around economy of control and timing.

There's also a promising-sounding multiplayer mode to go with this, where players work together to complete nine base jumps spread around the city in the fastest overall time, positioning fast cars near drop points and collaborating in other novel ways to reduce the downtime between jumps. (Sadly we were unable to test this out with our review code, but will do so when we take a separate look at the Episodes From Liberty City bundle that also includes The Lost and Damned. Look for that next week.)

As for the shotgun with explosive shells, FPS developers will be kicking themselves. While I'm no gun expert, I suspect the new boomshotty makes no real-world sense, acting more like a Quake 2 railgun with localised fireworks on impact, but it brings the cover-based third-person combat to life again - far more so than the vaunted P90, which is merely another machinegun with lots of bullets. More novelty guns, please.

Although The Ballad begins with familiar objectives (drive here, shoot these guys, drive home), it's not long before the explosive shotty, parachute, helos and lunatic cast start to dominate, and the result is the most memorable set of missions for some time. Tony and Luis scare up an adversary by throwing him out of a helicopter and then saving him. Then Yusuf decides he should steal a subway car using a skycrane helicopter while you bat police choppers away with explosive shells. There are new multi-vehicle races, too, in which you jump out of a chopper at peak altitude, land on a boat and eventually transfer to a sports car to speed to the finish line.

More traditional missions show Rockstar hitting its stride with the GTAIV template. At one point, Mori drags you and Brucie out to Middle Park, has you each steal a fast car and then calls the cops. For sport. The speed, riverside route, police set-pieces, radio banter and final cut-scene are all carefully tuned to keep you amused and avoid frustration.

'Grand Theft Auto IV: The Ballad of Gay Tony' Screenshot 2

Side missions include club management (lots of standing around leering) and Turf Wars (lots of standing around shooting).

With that said, there are a few too many missteps along the way to elevate The Ballad to the same glory as its host game. The first hour or two's cut-scenes are a trifle dull and difficult to follow, with rather more casual racism being thrown around by the cast than the quality of the context justifies, while the missions they bookend are stale compared to what follows, and often fall back on taxiing people around while characters continue their conversations.

GTAIV itself is starting to creak, too - the world is still fantastic to inhabit, but visibly strains the console to a degree that matters more with the passage of time, while Luis' physical relationship with the world around him, particularly in gun battles and busy environments, appears clumsier in its late-2009 context than Niko's did in April 2008. Helicopter combat is also rather fiddly, as Rockstar crams more simultaneous controls onto the pad buttons.

However, these are mere wobbles in the broader sweep of The Ballad, and easily forgotten. Like The Lost and Damned, it's a sizable chunk of game, too, taking around a dozen hours to exhaust completely, and that's before multiplayer is taken into account. Perhaps Tony Prince does nothing to drag the series forward - somewhat fittingly for a man with his head stuck in the eighties - but the episode Rockstar has named in his honour is a colourful and pleasingly unpredictable adventure that gets better throughout and ends on a high.

8 / 10

Read the Eurogamer.net scoring policy
Picture of Tom.

About Tom Bramwell

Tom is Operations director of Eurogamer Network and Editor-at-Large of Eurogamer.net. He joined the company in February 2000.

Read more articles from Tom by visiting the Tom Bramwell archive page.

You may also like...

Comments (78) 2 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • Skooch #1 2 years ago

    Another gotta buy for me, TLAD was great and this sounds good too.

  • Vice.Destroyer #2 2 years ago

    I haven't read the text yet, but even without a review, this will be a download, no question about it. I am, unfortunately, a sheep.

  • Nemesis #3 2 years ago

    Gonna grab this one tomorrow; nice...

  • dither #4 2 years ago

    "Top of the poppers"

    HAHAHAH

  • GamesConnoisseur #5 2 years ago

    ^^

    Both are completely different games for god sake! Since this was brought up, I can response by stating I purchased and played Noby Noby Boy and completely hated the game as control too weird and unfriendly!!

    Meanwhile loved and enjoyed GTA4 and the first episode!

    Something may be wrong with me but that is my own personal opinion and I will look forward to getting the second episode and whatever the score or popularity of Noby Faby Girl won't make any difference to that outcome!

  • VandelayIndustries #6 2 years ago

    "GTAIV itself is starting to creak, too - the world is still fantastic to inhabit, but visibly strains the console to a degree that matters more with the passage of time, while Luis' physical relationship with the world around him, particularly in gun battles and busy environments, appears clumsier in its late-2009 context than Niko's did in April 2008."

    No, it was clumsy back then too especially in relation to Gears and Uncharted. Shame they haven't fixed it.

  • Benno #7 2 years ago

    parachutes? SOLD

  • bad09 #8 2 years ago

    Good stuff, will pick this up. It must be said, GREAT DLC with GTA4 Rockstar, the cretins such as EA and Capcom should take lessons from you.

    THIS is DLC games industry you thieving tossers not a charity couple of MP maps, not costumes, not skins, not horse armour, not this "look you don't need to play the game just buy this DLC and unlock it all" shit. A whole new aspect to a game, that's what DLC should be!

    (although if rampages aren't back in the next GTA I shall be angry, ARGGHH!)

  • oktava #9 2 years ago

    instabuy

  • rhinoxious #10 2 years ago

    "While I'm no gun expert" ...

    The auto-shotty (an AA-12) is a real-world weapon, and will be in MW2, its just that GTA beat them to the punch:

    [link url=http://www.modernwarfare247.com/weapons/shotguns/aa-12
    ]http://ww w.modernwarfare247.com/weapons/...[/link]

    The AA-12 can be loaded with explosive shells, mini grenades effectively with pop out stabilising fins, but I doubt it will be in MW2's multi-player, as it would be very unbalancing - there's hope for a full-blooded appearance in single player though.
    Edited by 1 at 28/10/09 @ 17:55

  • Mr.DNA #11 2 years ago

    I thought that GTA IV was the best game that I'd ever played until I was about 30 hours in, and then it all started to get a bit boring for me. The initial feeling of "fuck me this game is amazing" was soon tempered by clunky combat and repetitive missions, and it really trailed off towards the end. I had the same problems with The Lost and Damned, and ended up giving up on it half-way through. Even though this game seems to have made the missions, on the whole, more interesting, I think I'm just through with this kind of game for the time being. The Lost and Damned was a must-buy the last time round, but there are better games either out or coming out that I could be spending 12 hours of gaming time with.

  • SimonM7 #12 2 years ago

    What VandelayIndustries said. I typed up a reply to the exact same quote, then skimmed through the other responses and noticed that my sentiment was already provided with eerie accuracy. :)

    I've always found the gunplay a chore in GTA and continue to do so because just as with the PS2 trilogy, Rockstar's blind to the glaring issues of the game's core mechanics. I'm still waiting for a GTA that actually plays half as well as its grossly under-appreciated peers.

    Presentation wise it's all there, in fact it's there to the point where I repeatedly find myself giving it another shot to see if perhaps now I've developed a stockholm syndrome like tolerance... but.. yeah. Nope.

  • cjb110 #13 2 years ago

    GTA doesn't have FPS levels of gun play, but it does have fairly easy to use gun play.

    The problem is more the 'level' design, if you sit in the wrong place or don't go where they want you to go then it can get swamped quite quickly and end up a horrible mess.

  • T4RG4 #14 2 years ago

    Simply buying for the BASE Jumping :)

  • Skurmedel #15 2 years ago

    bad09: And goranga! Kill them Elvis clones! Or whatever the hell they were. I wish they would reintroduce the Hare Krishnas.

  • Negotiator #16 2 years ago

    Yes please, can...not....wait, oh yes.

  • photoboy #17 2 years ago

    Sounds promising. While GTAIV had better graphics than Saint's Row 2, I still think SR2 was by far the better game. There was so much more to do in that game (including base jumping). It seems like Rockstar has listened and put the fun and variety back into GTA with Gay Tony.

  • markymark22 #18 2 years ago

    An eighth?? Hmm the eurogamer staff must have received the review code with a large meat pizza with a filled cheesey crust!

  • uglygamer #19 2 years ago

    other reviews are up too

    MORE REVIEWS

    9.1 Computer and Videogames

    [link url=http://www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=22 6188
    ]http://ww w.computerandvideogames.com/art...[/link]

    9.2 IGN USA

    [link url=http://uk.xboxlive.ign.com/articles/103/1039898p2.html
    ]http://uk .xboxlive.ign.com/articles/103/...[/link]

    9.5 IGN australia

    [link url=http://uk.xboxlive.ign.com/articles/103/1039843p1.html
    ]http://uk .xboxlive.ign.com/articles/103/...[/link]

    9.1 or A- 1UP

    [link url=http ://www.1up.com/do/reviewPage?cId=3176671&p=4
    ]http://ww w.1up.com/do/reviewPage?cId=317...[/link]

    9.25 Gameinformer

    http://ga meinformer.com/games/grand_thef...

    Seems like its a positive conclusion to Libercity city series.
    Edited by 1 at 28/10/09 @ 19:15

  • harzo #20 2 years ago

    This is a must buy! I heard a pretty nasty rumour that the 'Vice City' radio station from this game is ONLY available for those that buy the boxed 'Stories from Liberty City' edition. If this is the case then thats a bit of a kick in the teeth? Anyone have a listing of the tunes included in the game? A cheesy 90s Vice City-esque soundtrack would be awesome, with Roxette (the only band I know so far included), Ace of Base and stuff like that!

  • jimbo118 #21 2 years ago

    Yeh ViceFM is exclusive to the boxed version.

  • UncleLou #22 2 years ago

    There's something ironic about GTA IV being the only GTA I properly loved and actually finished, and the DLC being only available on a platform I don't own.

    *sigh*

    Artificial exclusivity nonsense FTL.

  • TheJuriel #23 2 years ago

    It's just gonna be more of the same. Drive here (or, in reality, always take a taxi somewhere), shoot someone, get bored out of your mind. Pass.

  • Errol #24 2 years ago

    Uncle Lou - you didn't love Vice City?

  • BabyJesus #25 2 years ago

    Lost and the Damned was great, I enjoyed Johnnys story more than Nikos(even though I enjoyed Niko's aswell).

    Looking forward to playing this tomorrow, seems like its a tiny nod into their old direction with base jumping etc which is always cool.

  • UncleLou #26 2 years ago

    No - I enjoyed it to a degree, but I thought VC is the worst of the series. I grew up in the 80s and have no desire to hear the music again, I thought the city layout was dull, and I didn't like the story/character. :)

    I always liked the concept of the GTA games more than the execution until IV - I know many disagree, but GTA IV was the first one where the elements the game is composed of were fun enough in itself for me - be it the driving, physics in general, or shooting.

  • OllyJ #27 2 years ago

    grumble moan checkpoints grumble

  • Pro_Gamer #28 2 years ago

    LOL at the POOR losers who cant afford DLC :D

  • local_celebrity #29 2 years ago

    "GTAIV itself is starting to creak, too - the world is still fantastic to inhabit, but visibly strains the console to a degree that matters more with the passage of time "

    Any ideas on what he means by this?

  • VandelayIndustries #30 2 years ago

    Pro Gamer: "LOL at the POOR losers who cant afford DLC :D"

    Thank you for taking the time out from your, no doubt, hectic pro gaming schedule to illuminate us with your thoughts.

    Or is this because it's half term.

    :D

  • local_celebrity #31 2 years ago

    P.S. Omid Djalili is Iranian??!

    Well, that's news to me. You'd have thought he would mention it at some point during his act.

  • Genome #32 2 years ago

    He's commented on being of Persian descent in a number of his shows. He's a very funny man.

    As for Gay Tony, I'll probably get it, but it's not a must-buy at the moment. A lot of good releases recently and so little time...

  • cianchristopher #33 2 years ago

    "GTAIV itself is starting to creak, too - the world is still fantastic to inhabit, but visibly strains the console to a degree that matters more with the passage of time "

    Any ideas on what he means by this?

    I'm guessing it's to do with the fact that developers have more of a handle on the current generation now compared to April 2008! So newer releases are more polished and smooth (in terms of graphics & framerate), and the sometimes jerky and unresponsive GTA4 engine hasn't been improved upon from a technical POV since April 2008.

    Disappointing in a way, doubly so since the PC version of GTA4 is so poorly optimised that you can't even get that to run in a silky smooth fashion.

    If you play Mass Effect on Xbox 360, then try it on PC - it's so smooth and responsive in the shooting sections that it feels like a whole new game. GTA4 on the other hand, while an improvement over the console versions alright, still isn't quite "there"!

  • local_celebrity #34 2 years ago

    EDIT: Oh, I see what you mean now. He's saying that the visible strains of the game engine on the console, while acceptable two years ago, are not so acceptable now.

    (Is that really true though? Granted, a lot of games run smoother than GTAIV but do they have the same scale?)
    Edited by 2 at 29/10/09 @ 10:22

  • Hobo #35 2 years ago

    Yeah, a big gamer with pretty strong but informed views on gaming, which often leads to me looking down on most gaming reviewers since they talk complete nonsense. I know what makes a good game, and what makes a bad game... I've been wasting my free time playing the bloody things long enough to tell the difference (unlike most gamers out there).

    You'll not often find me lavishing unfounded praise upon the likes of Grand Theft Auto or Gears of War, but rather on actual high quality games such as Okami and Super Mario Galaxy, which really are examples of excellent and polished gaming design.

  • MasterNameless #36 2 years ago

    ^ Wow. What a condescending cock.

  • Hobo #37 2 years ago

    I can live with that. I'll just wait for the morning when someone actually "gets it".

    Or just google the first line of what i said, and check the results.
    Edited by 1 at 29/10/09 @ 02:37

  • MasterNameless #38 2 years ago

    Haha! Fair enough, comment retracted. I thought I'd read that before, and assumed maybe you just used the same line! I remember it now I've googled it...

    I've been on the site years too. Shame on me.

    Edit: I rarely respond that way even, just couldn't help myself when confronted with such a proclamation of self-importance! I can see how you can live with the comment though, as it still apllies, just not to you. :)
    Edited by 1 at 29/10/09 @ 03:39

  • bad09 #39 2 years ago

    Awesome Hobo! :)

    Hey what's with EG this morning? It's all backwards!!!! Most confusing......

    Edit - Firefox update is screwy if anyone is freaked!
    Edited by 2 at 29/10/09 @ 07:51

  • Lukree #40 2 years ago

    I'm gonna skip this. I didn't even finish Lost and Damned as I just couldn't stand the controls anymore. It's impossible to take cover or aim precisely with pad even when some other games don't have any problems with it.

  • Skorms-Boss #41 2 years ago

    "and also the basis of a new side-mission type, base jumping"
    Hello!?! Wouldn’t that be called a side mission in Saints Row 2!
    Yeah that’s right, the rip off is now being ripped off! Bring on the Row!

    (I know you all despise me, but I didn't enjoy GTA IV)

  • andywilkie35 #42 2 years ago

    I'll get this - loved GTAIV and TLAD and while this doesn't sound as good, it still sounds great.

    edit: gLOL @ Hobo, top work - looking forward to him turning up and spouting his usual shit!
    Edited by 2 at 29/10/09 @ 09:08

  • NoKamiFujiwara #43 2 years ago

    [link url=http://www.play-asia.com/ paOS-13-71-dw-49-en-15-Episodes+from+liberty+city-70-3j1o.ht ml
    ]http://ww w.play-asia.com/paOS-13-71-dw-4...[/link]

    A no-brainer if that's gonna be playable on a PAL console as I assume it will!

  • siro #44 2 years ago

    I'm with Uncle Lou... GTA IV is by far my favorite modern GTA... Admittedly, I only really played Vice City before, which I stopped playing after that one remote heli mission. GTA IV though grabbed me and didn't let me go. Truly amazing experience thanks to the outstanding production value which will probably only be met by its successor.

    Oh my, I sound like a Fanboy now. :)

  • DrJarak #45 2 years ago

    Hobo....lol..got ya...good chuckle to start the day

  • bad09 #46 2 years ago

    I wouldn't say 4 was my fav, it was far from perfect and I didn't like it half as much as the old ones that got played several times over. I found it a great game sure, it just didn't spark like GTA before it.

    The GTA's are always flawed but 4 had a few more flaws than the others for me. I think the biggest flaws for me was side missions (or lack of) and, the biggest one for me, removal off an in car view. I always play the GTAs in the car and the new outisde view took away from that immersion quite a bit for me, I felt detached and more in an actual game than the previous games, especially when having conversations in the car with characters, in fact after a while I ended up taking more cabs to destinations!

    I'm hoping the next game will do to 4 what VC did to 3! :)
    Edited by 1 at 29/10/09 @ 09:37

  • siro #47 2 years ago

    NoKamiFujiwara: Not so different from Zavvi, ShopTo, etc., is it?

  • sargulesh #48 2 years ago

    Yeah, a big gamer with pretty strong but informed views on gaming, which often leads to me looking down on most gaming reviewers since they talk complete nonsense. I know what makes a good game, and what makes a bad game... I've been wasting my free time playing the bloody things long enough to tell the difference (unlike most gamers out there).

    You'll not often find me lavishing unfounded praise upon the likes of Grand Theft Auto or Gears of War, but rather on actual high quality games such as Okami and Super Mario Galaxy, which really are examples of excellent and polished gaming design.

  • sickpuppysoftware #49 2 years ago

    I really must finish GTA4 at some point. Good job I have a PS3 and couldn't play this even if I wanted to. Hmmmm

  • Retroid #50 2 years ago

    The Lost & Damned really took me by surprise, it was a very meaty experience in itself and I loved it to bits. More GTA4 as a download? Yes please!

    The only fly in the ointment for me is umming and ahhhing over whether I should buy this on Live or try to get a good price for the stand-alone retail disk (which includes TL&D)..... hmm.

  • rogueJT #51 2 years ago

    Downloading right this minute.

    Had 1900 points, 300 left now.

    Don't suppose there's anything half decent for 300 points?

  • kinky_mong #52 2 years ago

    Was really looking forward to downloading this at the weekend, however Microsoft saw fit to send me a Hard Drive transfer kit that has a disc that is unreadable, so I have no space on my 20GB Hard Drive. And this was after 6 weeks of waiting for it and multiple phone calls. FML
    Edited by 1 at 29/10/09 @ 10:53

  • Hobo #53 2 years ago

    Try some (don't laugh!) indie games! Hop onto the web marketplace and view by rating, there's a few there for 80 points.

  • Paulie_P #54 2 years ago

    I'm sorry but is it not possible to review something without giving away any spoilers (however small) ?

    There was no need to go into detail about some of the missions.
    Edited by 1 at 29/10/09 @ 11:04

  • oktava #55 2 years ago

    Fiddly shooting? Hold down L, nudge the analog stick upwards, tap R -> Headshot.

  • Paulie_P #56 2 years ago

    @Retoid

    I'm wondering the same thing, I would never have bought the first DLC if I knew it was going to be released on disc.

  • Kzin #57 2 years ago

    I played GTAIV almost to the end, and a good bit of LATD, but since these games problably has the worst controls, worst camera and worst checkpoint system ever I wont bother. Rockstar wont get another cent from me until they get THE BASICS right.

  • PearOfAnguish #58 2 years ago

    "plus many of its aspects paled in comparison to GTA's."

    Like what? Crackdown wasn't trying to be another GTA. It's a very different game.

  • UltimateGTR #59 2 years ago

    I'm looking forward to the PC version of both episodes of GTA IV, I must buy it! Please, Rockstar, I sure episodes perform better on PC, and there is a ideal profit as well!

  • duttyri #60 2 years ago

    Hi does anyone know if this dlc is region locked, i have more than enough points on my us account to purchase this and non on my uk account. Obviously i have GTA IV PAL disc, and i know its region locked but have know idea if dlc is region locked, i have bought fallout dlc from us account with no problems but fallout is region free. Any ideas fellas?

  • mcmonkeyplc #61 2 years ago

    It's wrong that I find the picture on the front page arousing isn't it?

  • Hobo #62 2 years ago

    I love how my original comment went for -4 to +6 as more people picked up on it haha

    On-topic, i'll be getting this on Saturday.

  • oktava #63 2 years ago

    It's funny that people either hate or love the driving physics. I think they have found the sweet spot in between realism and fun.

    Just downloaded this and enjoyed the new TV content for a while. Rockstars DLC is the way to go cause there actually is value for money. Its not just an attempt to milk the customers.
    Edited by 1 at 29/10/09 @ 15:49

  • Paulie_P #64 2 years ago

    @oktava

    Totally agree, some companies could learn a lot from Rockstar. I'm looking at you Capcom.

  • Mr.DNA #65 2 years ago

    Who is this Crofto guy, whose profile blurb Hobo referenced in his first post? I like to be kept abreast of the latest memes!

    hammerhead666 said:

    "8 does seem lower than the others are rating it. It's just got a massive 9.5 on gamespot as well.
    I wonder if eurogamer are now thinking 'oooops, we should have scored this a bit higher."

    Review scores are subjective. Any reviewer worth his salt isn't going to care what other people would rate the game, and if they did care then I wouldn't want them to be reviewing for Eurogamer.

  • Rodchenko #66 2 years ago

    IMO crackdown is the best open world game this gen for pure addictiveness and if you compare it to say infamous you can clearly see why its the better more ambitious and fun game.

    I love it, how you basically bend over backwards in trying to start yet another tired platform discussion in basically EVERY 'contribution' you make to this site. You know: everybody (at least those who haven't got you on ignore yet) knows, that you don't like the PS3 and nobody is forcing you to change your opinion. So why not give it a rest?

    As for the TBOGT: I loved TLATD, which was indeed a very 'meaty' package as Retroid said, plus a value for money that many other companies should follow suit in terms of DLC, but I've got too much of a back-log of other games to finish first (among them the actual GTA IV).

    And 100% agreement with Lou's take on Vice City. It really must be that growing up in the 80s thing...

  • Fightclubber #67 2 years ago

    Jesus the combat in this game is still ugly slow and shit. If the combat played like saints row and 400 other shooters out there it would be perfect.
    But instead it uses that shit auto lock on system and never lets u free move the camera as it always centers itself


    SHITE!

  • septimus #68 2 years ago

    Definitely one to get. Must complete Lost and the Damed though at some point :-|

  • GamesConnoisseur #69 2 years ago

    So getting -20 for my yesterday comment, in which perhaps unwisely I got het up re the tired old 'not as good as...' in this case even worse as the game referred to was not in the same genre or even next door! Debate re Saints Row and GTA are a darned sight lot more relevant.

    Not going to cry me a river, but what I wondered was the annoyance of others, were largely because of my own honest personal dislike of Noby Noby Boy? And being struck off my by quite a few of irate PS3 owners reading comments and the article to which is exclusive to X360? Or perhaps more likely, for bemirsching female kind by implying in my offhand comment 'girl' a san inferior?

    To the second point I give my profuse apologies to females and everyone else, as always was keen to see gaming being more open than it is.

    But as for Noby Noby Boy, I can't see why I should lash myself for not appreicating the said game, or being guilty for getting irate at pollution of the comments with a post that is so far off topic and tired trolling of 'not as good as...' even if in humour.

    TLATD has a far better checkpointing than GTA4 anyway and so it would indicate Rockstar learning a bit of a lesson?! Again don't have to get it if you dislike the game but I know I would likely enjoy it. As would quite a few gamers and not because it's GTA but there is an element of fun.
    Edited by 1 at 29/10/09 @ 21:46

  • VandelayIndustries #70 2 years ago

    GamesConnoisseur: "TLATD has a far better checkpointing than GTA4 anyway and so it would indicate Rockstar learning a bit of a lesson?! Again don't have to get it if you dislike the game but I know I would likely enjoy it. As would quite a few gamers and not because it's GTA but there is an element of fun."

    They have made some improvements as you say, but not nearly enough. For a fairly large portion of the game you are playing it as a third person shooter, but due to a heavy handed auto centering camera system and the leaden (but otherwise beautiful to look at) animation of the player characters a simple pleasure becomes a total ballache.

    A game with this much shooting needs a swifter control set up.

    This much was evident in GTA:IV and I'm surprised its taken this long for a reviewer to point it out. Hopefully this will be remedied when Max Payne 3, Red Dead Redemption and the next GTA arrive.
    Edited by 1 at 30/10/09 @ 02:53

  • Harmonica #71 2 years ago

    I'm not sure Rockstar really understand what to do with their game series anymore. They went with a headlining gay character, even though as the review points out, he's just another criminal arsehole and what he does with his behind is neither here nor there. I don't think we were expecting a well developed social commentry, after GTAIV, although I wouldn't go as far as to say that the games have never been interested in that because they were usually quietly inciteful, or at the least, dripping with caustic humour.

    Here again, GTA IV awkwardly straddles the line between that familiar in your face delivery, and having to deal with being a blockbuster franchise. For me, the appearances of Ricky Gervais and now Omid Djalili just speak of how they are pandering to a demographic that wants a criminal underground storyline wrapped up the glitz and spectacle that allows them to forget what they're really doing. Bizarrely, as it's gone on, it's become less and less about being bad, and more about justifying badness, which is just incredibly bland. It's sort of like the following The Sopranos got, the show that it was cool to say you liked for it's gangsterism elements, but was actually more concerned with being a family drama, or an exploration of the psyche.

    Unfortunately Rockstar can't fall back on doing family drama (they tried with the original GTA IV outing with mixed results), or psychological studies. They could have done something incisively gay - not perhaps GAY in flashing neon lights, but lower-case g gay. Being gay is no longer controversial enough, but a gay game might just have spun a few headlines. With The Ballad of Gay Tony they've half-arsed it, trotting out the usual stereotypical homosexual character types (gay-gay, straight-gay, tough-gay, etc etc), and bawdy nightlife surrounding them, as well as pulling 'they're gay and that's okay, but we're not really interested in that'. It doesn't quite fall victim to being offensive or patronising; there's still a certain skill and subtlety to the way the characters prance around the storyline, and Rockstar the storyteller is careful to wedge its tongue firmly in its cheek at appropriate moments (though only in its cheek).

    The sense that they've missed a trick somewhere is hard to dislodge. The game doesn't do anything new, and certainly gets a bit dull in moments, mostly when it covers old ground. It does get progressively more fun towards the end. As has been said, the engine as a story vehicle doesn't cover itself in glory. All a bit of a shame, considering their soapboxing about making a real game about real people in a real city.
    Edited by 7 at 30/10/09 @ 03:12

  • Iain815 #72 2 years ago

    EDITED 7 TIMES

  • des #73 2 years ago

    Its funny how some reviewers are backpedaling from GTAIV now,episodes are infinitely better and fun than GTAIV and yet they score less ...reviewers lol
    And TBGT looks better than GTAIV.

  • T4RG4 #74 2 years ago

    Bought this last night. Not for the single-player mode mind (I gave up on GTAIV after about two hours) but for the extras it provides in Multiplayer. Not the normal game modes mind, because they became somewhat samey, but just for the open world hilarity you can have with a mate.

    So, I spent 30mins on the single- player aspect found within this DLC and it starts off with my driving people around the map. Yawn. I can see why many people would love it, but I feel I've been here many times before. I loved the earlier GTA's but for me, this has become somewhat tired and repetitive. It's an excellent piece of software, with some great elements of character creativity and script writing but it leaves me cold very quickly in gameplay terms. I'd probably watch a regular short series though, they do love their scripts!

    Does anyone know how you get to BASE Jump/use the Parachute in Free Roam/Multiplayer? That's all I bought this DLC for :-)
    Edited by 1 at 30/10/09 @ 11:56

  • Harmonica #75 2 years ago

    @ Iain818: ironically or not I'm actually a copy editor.

  • Ant1975 #76 2 years ago

    They only mention Vice City FM being an exclusive a week before release. Which means us that bought the TLATD dlc ages ago will have to pay for that content twice as it only comes on the disc.

    Thats naughty that. Lots of angry people wanting that 80's content.

  • TRUTH #77 2 years ago

    I didn't find any real issues with framerates on GT IV !!!!...only a bit here and there!...Any way do you need the original GTA IV to play TBOGT ?...I sold my copy GTA IV (after finishing it).

  • kongzi #78 2 years ago

    This is the lowest score i've seen it get. I don't entirely agree. Sure they call each other spic, jew bastard, fag and whatever but no more than in the movies and probably a lot less then these people would do in real life. New York is all about racial identity, and GTA has played of off that all the time. Not an issue, at least not for me or anybody that knows New York and New Yorkers. Tony not being funny. Don't know yet, have to see how he develops. If he's supposed to be funny cause he's gay, I'd find that kind of weak coming from rockstar.
    But why is everybody missing the graphical upgrade?? You guys mention the raised ceiling on the gameworld. It didn't seem that much higher to me. But from that height I did notice the graphics for the first time. They are much, much better than before. It's not even that obvious, but it seems draw distance has been improved. A lot of the post processing effects have been improved or even taken off . The oily effect in the distance is gone, and there's a lot less flickering going on, a lot less blur in general. Edges seem sharper and colors more vivid. Framerate was also rock solid during my session yesterday.