Review by: Jason McMaster

Luis Lopez is an ex-con drug dealer who became the bodyguard and business partner of Tony Prince, the owner of three top night clubs in Liberty City. Tony is in way over his head, owing money to the mafia as well as many other hoods, and that’s where our story begins.

Gay Tony, other than being a well designed game, is proof that Rockstar can write an intelligent, intimate story. The story itself involves many characters but at the core you have two people: Luis Lopez and Tony Prince, AKA Gay Tony – who share a deep friendship and love. Where this may be confusing is that Luis isn’t homosexual but Tony, well… Gay Tony is aptly named. This story deals more with the relationships we form with our friends, be they mentor or peer, that often go beyond casual acquaintance into something stronger. Gay Tony is a non-sexual love story.

Of course, being Tony’s business partner and body guard, you end up doing favors for all of these hoods so they don’t re-arrange your (or your boss’s) face. The missions are what you expect from a GTA game – driving, shooting… gangster stuff, nothing new and, oddly, not as action packed as The Lost and Damned. The shoot-outs in the first DLC feel bigger and crazier, which can add that element of insanity any gun fight needs. That’s not to say this one is low on action, it’s a GTA after all, but it just feels a bit tamer. I find myself wondering if it feels that way because the overall narrative is a bit more personal, but it’s hard to say. Either way, there’s plenty of killing to go around.

One of the cool advancements for The Ballad of Gay Tony is the inclusion of statistics at the end of each mission. There are certain scores you are trying to achieve each mission, such as number of headshots, vehicle damage, player damage, etc…. Each mission has a separate set of goals and, after the game has been completed, you can retry any of the missions for a better score. The added replay value and achievement points are nice, as well as the ability to pick out missions you liked for a quick fix. Of course there are missions you’ll never want to see again.

The absolute worst thing about Grand Theft Auto IV and its extra content are the somewhat questionable controls. Player movement is fine and cars, once you get used to them, can be easy enough to handle, but the flying controls make you want to gouge out your eyes. Without ruining too much of the story, there’s a point where you steal an attack chopper and then are asked to gun down the people you stole it from, who are escaping on boats. Now, you are in an ATTACK helicopter, we’re talking the whole nine yards— missiles, machine gun...the works. Taking out a few boats should be a piece of cake, right? Well, there are absolutely no crosshairs or an aiming reticle in this combat-ready helicopter.... I mean, I’m not asking for laser guidance or anything here, but a simple crosshair would be nice. That mission had me almost as frustrated as the RC missions in San Andreas. That’s not a good thing.

However, that’s a small gripe in an otherwise good experience. Luis is a likable and sympathetic character who, while striving to live a better, honorable life, is forced to go back into a life of crime to help his friend and mentor. The main character doesn’t stray that far from your typical GTA protagonist, though he’s a bit friendlier than Niko or Johnny. The real difference comes from the game’s namesake. Tony Prince is an intelligent and likable character that isn’t a stereotype and, while he makes a lot of mistakes and is over-the-top in typical GTA fashion, he’s one of the more human characters we’ve seen come from the writers at Rockstar.