IGN has posted a new trailer for the upcoming Episodes From Liberty City pack, which features footage from both The Lost and Damned and The Ballad of Gay Tony - the latter introducing us to Armando Torres and Henrique Bardas.

"Armando and Henrique are two of Luis Lopez's oldest friends. They grew up together, went to school together, and got in a lot of trouble together. Henrique isn't too bright, but he's big, tough, dependable and knows how to use a gun. Armando's a little guy who talks a big game, and considers himself the brains of the operation - not difficult given his partner in crime. Armando, in particular, resents Luis for getting out of the neighborhood and above his station, but Henrique and Armando remain fiercely loyal to Luis and always have his back.

Luis can call on his friends whenever he needs weapons and vehicles, or back-up on certain missions. Armand and Henrique are always around to engage in other activities, whether it's visiting the clubs, hitting some bars or heading to the driving range for some golf."

Rockstar have posted up an exclusive audio clip from Lazlow's new radio show in The Ballad of Gay Tony. You can listen to the clip below.

Link: Rockstar News Wire

Following on from the new trailer released earlier today, Rockstar have now launched the official site for The Ballad of Gay Tony. The site includes a number of brand new screenshots, and also contains a list of new weapons.

See the rest in our gallery

Rockstar have released another video clip from The Ballad of Gay Tony. This one introduces us to Yusuf Amir. The song featured in the clip is Arab Money by Busta Rhymes.

Rockstar have updated the brilliant mural at Canal and Greene Street, New York City, with some great Episodes from Liberty City artwork.

Back in February for the fansite event I was able to snap this picture when it featured artwork for The Lost and Damned. Previously in 2007 it displayed the original IV logo.

Link: Rockstar News Wire

Rockstar have confirmed in this little tidbit of news that fan favourite radio DJ Lazlow has recorded more content for his radio station in GTA IV, Integrity 2.0, which you'll be able to listen to in The Ballad of Gay Tony.

Rockstar have also been answering some your questions, you can read those, and the answers, over here.

Source: Rockstar News Wire

Rockstar has released a new video with more scenes from The Ballad of Gay Tony, by way of a Weazel News report. Below is the feature on "Guns in Liberty City".

An HD version can be watched on Rockstar's website.

Rockstar will be releasing a new video today, "A Weazel News Special Report: Guns in Liberty City". Look for it in the afternoon (EST) or early evening (GMT). It'll be up on the Rockstar News Wire as well as various trailer websites, and of course we'll be posting it here too.

Rockstar have let us know that various big gaming sites will today be releasing online previews of The Ballad of Gay Tony. Some sites have already published theirs and we'll update this post with links and details etc.

• IGN
  
• EuroGamer
  
• Kotaku
  
• TeamXbox
  
• SPOnG
  
• 1UP
  
• GameSpot
  
• G4TV
  
• Play.tm
  
• Digital Spy
  

See the 12 new screenshots in our gallery.

UPDATE: 7 more new screenshots have been added to our gallery. In addition, some websites got exclusive shots - these can be seen at: IGN #1 and #2, GameSpot, 1UP and TeamXbox.

Rockstar has released a new video clip from The Ballad of Gay Tony, focusing on "Gay" Tony Prince. The video is roughly one minute long and features Tony's nightclubs, Hercules and Maisonette 9. Watch below or head over to Rockstar's website for the HD version.

The latest issue of Xbox World 360 Magazine went on sale today in the UK. It contains an eight-page preview of The Ballad of Gay Tony. Below is an overview of some of the new details revealed:

• The HUD (Heads-Up-Display) is a "Parma Violet-style pink/purple".
  
• The Ballad of Gay Tony features around 20 missions (about the same as The Lost and Damned), so it'll probably take around 5 hours to complete the game.
  
• Missions get scored out of 100% depending on your style and efficiency. You can re-play missions at any time in order to improve your scores.
  
• Three nightclubs are accessible - Bahama Mamas, Hercules and Maisonette 9. Luis is tasked with managing Hercules and Maisonette 9 - the two clubs which belong to Gay Tony. Hercules was not available during this preview.
  
• The golf course in Algonquin behind Memory Lanes now has a purpose! A golfing minigame has been added.
  
• New websites have been added to the in-game internet.
  

Additionally, four missions were detailed. So if you want to remain spoiler free about the game until you get it, stop reading this news post now. Spoilers ahead.

• "Dropping In..." - Tony orders Luis to team up with Bulgarin's henchman, Timur. Bulgarin wishes to acquire The Rampage, Liberty City's ice hockey team, and Luis must storm the penthouse office and get the owner to sign his business over to Bulgarin. Luis parachutes onto the roof and heads down a maintenance stairwell before being confronted by security. At this point, alarms are blaring and the sprinkler systems go off. Luis eliminates his target by shooting him through a window, and then escapes through the window with the parachute still on his back. He lands on a moving truck, which conveniently has a mattress on its trailer. If Luis had missed the truck, he would have had to face another army of security men.
  
• "For the Man Who Has Everything" - This mission is done for Yusuf Amir, a billionaire property developer. Yusuf is played by Omid Djalili, as many people speculated after hearing his voice during the trailer. Yusuf wants to ship a railway carriage back to the Middle East as a gift. The first objective is to jump onto a train from the nearest overpass, which is done by tapping X at the right moment (the jump itself is automated). Luis must make his way to the front of the train, as cops shoot down at him from above in helicopters. Once Luis has disconnected the front carriage, Yusuf appears in a Skyhook chopper and lifts the carriage off the tracks.
  
• "Going Deep" - This mission involves silencing detectives who have evidence on Bulgarin and Timur which could see them go to jail. The plan is to rig their vehicle with a satchel bomb in an underground car park, but the cops are already onto them. Once the attackers are dead, the detectives chase Luis and Timur.
  
• "Sexy Time" - Yusuf wants to acquire an attack chopper called the Buzzard. It belongs to a group of arms dealers, and is situated on a yacht. Luis has to sneak on board without security seeing him and then steal the chopper. As Luis makes his way back to Yusuf's pad, Yusuf calls and orders him to go back and destroy the yacht. Some of the gangsters escape on speedboats, so the final task is to eliminate them.

Big thanks to Adam at GTA4.net for these details.

USA Today gave us a little Ballad of Gay Tony exclusive last Tuesday, today they bring us an interview with Rockstar's vice president for creative development, Dan Houser.

Speaking about The Ballad of Gay Tony, Houser said:

The storylines roughly parallel each other, with much of the events happening concurrently and some characters from the game and earlier episode The Lost and the Damned showing up in Gay Tony. The new episode starts about half of the way through Grand Theft Auto IV and part of the way through Lost and the Damned and finishes near the end of GTA IV.

"The game starts with an interesting revelation that I'll leave out for now, cause it's quite a good little sort of start in terms of the story cross-over stuff,"

...

Want to read on? You should definitely check out the full article, a very interesting read to say the least.

A number of gaming sites have tonight posted their own hand-on previews of the PSP version of Chinatown Wars. In addition to the previews there are also some brand new screenshots of the game. At the end of this post is a list of sites you can read previews of the game on. So go ahead and pick your favourite for all the juicy details.

A quote from IGN:

... there's a whole bunch of bells and whistles for the PSP audience. The graphics have been overhauled so that there's bloom lighting, slicker cars, and proper use of the system's wide screen; there are six more radio stations that pack an extra 100 minutes of tunes; and there are new rampages, riding shotgun missions and more.

• IGN
  
• Eurogamer
  
• SPOnG
  
• Kotaku
  
• Play.tm
  
• UGO
  
• G4TV
  
• PocketGamer
  
• ElectricPig
  

A quick heads up to say Rockstar has released an automatic title update for the Xbox 360 version of Grand Theft Auto IV. The update fixes the invisible player issue and prevents the use of cheat code exploits in multiplayer games.

You'll be prompted to download the patch next time you start the game up.

GTACrew.net have got their hands on the latest issue of OXM Spain. It contains a multi-page preview of The Ballad of Gay Tony, with 13 new screenshots, and the following new details.

• New vehicles: SWAT tank and a Rolls Royce Phantom.
  
• New weapons: AA-12 combat shotgun, satchel charges.
  
• New minigames: base jumping, club dancing, and club bodyguard (you deal with troublemakers in the club).
  
• The exterior of Bahama Mamas has been modified. The stairs leading to the entrance are no longer there, and a fence now surrounds the entrance where the queue forms. There's also windows on the exterior, behind the main sign.
  

Link: GTAForums thread

Rockstar have just released the trailer for Episodes from Liberty City / The Ballad of Gay Tony. It's called "You'll Always Be the King of this Town".

Let us know what you thought of the trailer

Song: "Pjanoo" by Eric Prydz

Downloads: Trailer page | 720p .mov

A few plot details have been revealed in a USA Today article, along with one brand new screenshot. The article has a few quotes from Rockstar Games co-founder Dan Houser, and details about a couple of missions - including the parachuting mission.

Packed with action set pieces à la films such as Mission: Impossible and Bad Boys, Gay Tony has Luis at one point parachuting from a helicopter onto a glass-windowed skyscraper. Inside he blasts his way to his prey a few floors below and shoots his target, who then topples out of the bullet-ridden window. Luis dives out after him, wearing a parachute that glides him to safety.

In another scene, Luis drops on to the top of a moving subway train from a bridge and unhooks one of the cars for a maniacal high-rolling collector of one-of-a-kind artifacts. A Skyhook chopper airlifts the freed subway car away.

Check out the full article for more details.

Remember the trailer is launching in about 45 minutes!