Rockstar Premieres Grand Theft Auto: Episodes from Liberty City

By Geoff Duncan October 29, 2009

Take-Two Interactive is wrapping up its Grand Theft Auto IV franchise with two new games for the Xbox 360…although neither require GTA IV to play. Grand Theft Auto: Episodes From Liberty City contains two complete games: The Lost and The Damned and The Ballad of Gay Tony on a single disc—although The Ballad of Gay Tony is also available as a standalone download frmo Xbox Live Marketplace. The two episodes round out the story of Grand Theft Auto IV, while introducing new characters, new vehicles, new weapons, and—of course—new entries in the GTA soundtrack universe.

The Lost and The Damned (screenshot) — Image used with permission by copyright holder

“We’re thrilled to share the final chapter of this epic Liberty City tale,” said Rockstar founder Sam Houser, in a statement. “The team at Rockstar North has exceeded every expectation with The Ballad of Gay Tony, creating an explosive conclusion to the Grand Theft Auto IV saga.”

Ballad of Gay Tony (screenshot) — Image used with permission by copyright holder

To play The Ballad of Gay Tony, players take on the role of Luis Lopez, confidant, bodyguard, and majordomo to Liberty City’s nightlife king Tony Prince. Lopez gets to struggle with running Tony’s clubs while money and vice test his loyalties. The game also introduces base-jumping to the GTA franchise, and supports multiplayer features.

The Lost and the Damned focuses on the character of Johnny Klebtiz of The Lost motorcycle club, and features a darker story line, a lot more hard rock, and gang warfare.

The Lost and The Damned (screenshot) — Image used with permission by copyright holder

Both games are rated M for “Mature” by the ESRB; The Ballad of Gay Tony runs 1,600 Microsoft points in the Xbox Live Marketplace, and the two-game disc is now available from retailers for $39.99.

Ballad of Gay Tony (screenshot) — Image used with permission by copyright holder

Editors' Recommendations

Topics

Action Games

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Geoff Duncan writes, programs, edits, plays music, and delights in making software misbehave. He's probably the only member…

Gaming

The most underrated Final Fantasy game is coming to PS Plus this month

Garland towers over Jack, Ash, Jed, Sophia, and Neon in

Sony unveiled December 2023's new titles for PlayStation Plus Premium and the Extra Game Catalog, and it contains some heavy hitters. While the addition of the PlayStation 4 and PS5 versions of Grand Theft Auto V will probably be the biggest draw for most players, I want to shout out the addition of what might be the most underrated modern Final Fantasy game: Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin.

Released in March 2022, Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin is technically a prequel to the original Final Fantasy that reveals the origin story of that game's villain, Garland. In reality, Stranger of Paradise becomes a metacontextual analysis of the cyclical nature of the Final Fantasy series, serving as both a celebration and a biting critique of one of gaming's oldest RPG franchises. It also features one of the most bonkers video game endings I've ever experienced, so going through the adventure is worth it for that alone. Thankfully, it's enjoyable to play along the way as a more approachable class-based Soulslike from Team Ninja, the developer behind NioH and next year's Rise of the Ronin.

Gaming

Grand Theft Auto VI didn’t need The Game Awards

Woman at a rooftop pool party.

This past week was one of the most crowded for video game news because of two events: The Game Awards 2023 and the Grand Theft Auto VI trailer. Initially, I was surprised the two weren’t one and the same. GTA 6’s reveal is the most significant game announcement of the year, after all, and Geoff Keighley always seems to be searching for big Elden Ring- or GTA 6-level moments for his show, even if he doesn’t always get those. After taking a step back and looking at how each performed independently of the other, I think both were better off staying separate.
Taking center stage
When it first teased the Grand Theft Auto VI trailer in November, it said the trailer would be released “in early December.” Like many others, I assumed that this meant it would show up at The Game Awards because that tends to be the case when game developers tease an announcement for that window. For example, Focus Entertainment also said a release date for Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 would be confirmed “in early December,” and that ended up happening during The Game Awards.

Ultimately, Rockstar had the GTA 6 trailer slated to release on the morning of December 5, but ended up releasing it on the night of December 4 due to a leak. The game would not go on to make any marketing-related appearance at The Game Awards 2023 on December 7. Although GTA 6 skirted The Game Awards, was leaked, and got posted earlier than intended, it was still a groundbreaking reveal.

Gaming

5 key details we noticed in the first Grand Theft Auto 6 trailer

Lucia is interview in prison in Grand Theft Auto VI.

Rockstar finally dropped the first trailer for the highly anticipated Grand Theft Auto 6 on Monday night after it leaked early. In less than 24 hours, it has already amassed over 77 million views. Outside of what's featured in the trailer, Rockstar isn't revealing much more about GTA 6. Rockstar Games founder Sam Houser simply stated in a press release that Rockstar wants to "push the limits of what’s possible in highly immersive, story-driven open-world experiences."

Grand Theft Auto VI Trailer 1