Rockstar's final piece of the puzzle, or rather, the final exclusive downloadable episode for Grand Theft Auto IV has hit the Marketplace along-side the previously released episode: The Lost and Damned - both of which are 1600 points each. Microsoft will surely be pleased with this deal, as not only are both episodes available exclusively from Xbox LIVE Marketplace, but also at retail and on disc which makes Grand Theft Auto: Episodes from Liberty City an Xbox 360 exclusive, not only online, but also in stores.

Needless to say these additional 'episodes' as they are known add-in hours of value around the all too familiar Liberty City, rivalling even the hour-to-hour play-through of most titles and are without a doubt standalone titles in their own right.

We take a look now at Rockstar's final downloadable episode for the Xbox 360 in The Ballad of Gay Tony, and see what's on offer and how it measures up against the ageing GTA IV formula.

Gameplay:

The Ballad of Gay Tony thrusts the player into the action as Luis Lopez, the streetwise kid from the block whose done some time on the inside, and looks to Tony Prince (a.k.a. Gay Tony) who is a well known nightclub owner in Liberty City. Gay Tony's taken an uncanny shine to Luis, and looks to set him on a much brighter track. Naturally nothing is as ever simple as it seems, with Tony drastically in-debt and Luis trying to keep the eccentric Gay Tony alive and kicking by doing odd jobs for the local Mafia (including some familiar faces), which naturally ranges from drug heists, targets to assassinate, as well as plenty of choppers, trains and other vehicles that will all be going 'boom' before those end credits roll.

The Ballad of Gay Tony – we'll refer to it as TBOGT, sometimes, from here on in – brings Liberty City under the spotlight once more and while all the fundamentals are naturally still in place from GTA IV, TBOGT does inject Liberty City with some special sauce – no, it's not the sound of Brucie's annoying big brother, Mori, or the insanely hilarious Yusuf (the ladies will disagree), but more a fusion of the existing GTA IV formula combined with the excellent cast of new characters and the returning faces that tie the GTA IV story off and put a pretty ribbon on it for good measure.

As the last downloadable piece of the GTA IV puzzle, TBOGT also brings with it plenty of extras from of course the story of Gay Tony and his rise, well, from the floor (usually unconscious) to his knees as the duo look to keep the money hungry foes at bay who are more than eager to put Tony out of his misery and worry about the owed money later. There's some noticeable additions to not only the gameplay, but the game itself. Base-jumping from tall buildings and even from your own (usually stolen) piloted chopper are the order of the day here, and certainly this injects a little bit of that San Andreas sauce that some may have felt was missing. While Parachuting around Liberty City is certainly entertaining and offers up a different perspective, there's certainly plenty more to keep players busy... nightclubs, drinking, ladies, and a worn out analogue dancing stick are sure to provide some cheap thrills, as is the new APC and Buzzard chopper that Luis first gets his hands on during Yusuf's missions, both of which are excellent for destroying all obstacles within Liberty City.

Whilst certainly the less attractive feature on paper, the ability to replay completed missions from your phone is truly a great tool that you'll wonder how you ever did without. With this you have the ability to replay any mission, and each mission has a percentage and other stats associated with it that you can try and best, these stats get uploaded to the Leaderboards on the Rockstar Games Social Club so users can compare their escapades with friends. Speaking of friends, there's some new takes on the existing GTA IV modes in multiplayer. Free Roam gives multiplayer participants the usual free-style gameplay and whole city to explore, as well as the ability to glide around in Parachute's alongside friend or foe, as well as another twist on the Races game mode, which incorporates a need for speed to proceedings with Nitrous. All in all, the multiplayer is less appealing than that found in The Lost and Damned, but certainly offers up more of the same with a few twists from GTA IV, which is certainly not bad by any standards.

Sticky Bombs and Parachutes highlight just some of the new items and weapons available in TBOGT, another few notable mentions include the Explosive Shotgun, Assault SMG and Advanced Sniper Rifle, which combined with some devastating and not so devastating new vehicles offers up some much needed freshness in a year and a half old game. I don't think we'll ever get on with the cover system all too well, but this is one of the annoyances of GTA IV's gameplay and does little to hinder the quality and excellence of new content in The Ballad of Gay Tony.

Graphics:

As with The Lost and Damned before it, The Ballad of Gay Tony builds upon the GTA IV formula. TBOGT plays and looks exactly like GTA IV, although it has its own theme with the glitz and glamour of the bright lights when it comes to Tony's nightclubs. Although if you've not re-visited Liberty City for quite some time, it will no doubt become apparent here that since GTA IV's April 2008 release, that the quality in gaming has no doubt raised. The quality of the acting and animations in the cutscenes is as always to that unprecedented Rockstar standard. However, it is now more than back in 2008 that some niggles with texture pop-in certainly stand out more today than they did back then, but this does little to detract from the comings and goings of the subliminal Gay Tony episode.

Sound:

The first thing that obviously stands out is just the sheer brilliance of the voice acting that comes across in both the gameplay space and the push of the story in the well executed and, in Yusuf's case, amusing cutscenes. There's also many updated chatter and tunes on a good selection of radio stations, and for those who purchase the disc based version in GTA: Episodes from Liberty City - as opposed to the downloadable content – can find some further fitting music in Vice City FM, which as GTA fans can probably imagine, fits in with the bright lights and underlying grime of Gay Tony's episode.

Longevity:

There's certainly plenty to keep Luis on his toes after Tony's big drama has been seen to, what with drug dealers to kill, stashes to hijack, racing triathlons by air, sea and road to compete in, there's certainly plenty to see and do in Liberty City after the 8+ hour story of Gay Tony.

There's not so much going on in the multiplayer side of The Ballad, although the ability to obliterate foes with APC's and the devastating new helicopter is sure to bring about some thrills. Overall it's certainly less engaging than the multiplayer seen in The Lost and Damned, the latter of which offered up some rather entertaining motorcycle co-operative escapades that worked out all too well in the open-world of Liberty City. The Ballad offers up it's own take on certain aspects of GTA IV's original multiplayer component though. There's always Princess Robot Bubblegum on T.V. to pass some time if the glitz and glamour of the nightclubs gets a touch, a touch too much.

Overall:

The Ballad of Gay Tony certainly ties things off nicely with the story and the interweaving of the missions between both GTA IV and The Lost and Damned, which instantly stands out to anyone whose played the previously mentioned. While the Lost and Damned brought forward the emphasis of biker gangs along with its gritty look and feel, Gay Tony comes across quite frankly as Gay, rather unsurprisingly.

What with the glitz and glam of Tony Prince's lifestyle, nightclubs, and the feeling of GTA going back to some of its roots along with the meeting of some familiar friends along the way, The Ballad of Gay Tony and The Lost and Damned are absolutely worth the price of admission. Whether you're an online gamer or offline, Grand Theft Auto players have no excuse to miss out on this farewell salute to GTA IV which goes above and beyond the quality and value that is expected of today's downloadable content.

Our Review of Grand Theft Auto IV's first downoadable episode, The Lost and Damned, can be found here.