History VideoGame / GrandTheftAutoIVTheBalladOfGayTony

''The Ballad of Gay Tony'', released on October 29 of 2009, is the second of two expansion packs for ''GrandTheftAutoIV'' (the first being ''[[GrandTheftAutoIVTheLostAndDamned The Lost and Damned]]'').

* {{Artificial Stupidity}}: Subverted. While Armando and Henrique can be idiots and wander in front of you while you're shooting during a Drug War, they know how to take cover and use weapons most of the time. The game is also not so cruel as to punish you if they both get themselves [[DeathIsCheap killed]] during a Drug War mission.

* GenreShift: While ''GTA IV'' was a departure from the over-the-top action of the previous games, ''The Ballad of Gay Tony'' brings some over-the-top back into the game by having you steal entire train cars, leap out of planes and helicopters and parachute onto moving flatbed trucks.

* GunshipRescue: [[spoiler: Yusuf in the final mission.]]

* HypercompetentSidekick: Luis also serves as this to Gay Tony.

* InternalHomage: TheEighties Pop station (one of its songs is Hall & Oates' "Maneater", which is also featured in one of the cutscenes) is called [[VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoViceCity Vice City FM]], complete with the font on the game's instruction manual being used on the station's nameplate.

* TheNapoleon: Mori.

* RefugeInAudacity: Very much in the vein of the older games rather than Niko and Johnny's more gritty missions.

** Rocco also applies within {{The Mafia}}'s sphere of influence. He talks a big game and threatens Luis and Tony a lot, but when Luis finally responds with force, [[spoiler: he ends up skipping town and]] no mafiosi are to be found imposing his will. Seems he wasn't as high up the chain of command as he would have them believe.

** In a hilarious easter egg, you can find the piloting certificate on Luis's apartment wall.
* VillainsOutShopping: In the main ''GrandTheftAutoIV'', Ray Bulgarin is a mysterious Russian mobster from Niko's past who deals in at least human trafficking and causes lots of trouble from behind the scenes. In this game, Bulgarin is an asshole who collects rock and roll memorabilia, is berated by his sister, and really wants to own a hockey team.

* The Celebinator is essentially a skinny Irish Perez Hilton, completely with the Photoshopped tabloid photos and sleazy rumors that demean reputations.

* ForegoneConclusion: In ''[[VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoIVTheLostAndDamned The Lost And Damned]]'', [[PlayerCharacter Johnny]] bungles a diamond deal involving Gay Tony, and steals the gems off of the corpse of an associate of Tony's: a [[DarkSkinnedBlond tanned, blond]], [[MachoCamp muscular gay man]] who attempted to escape via limousine. [[spoiler: This pretty much describes Evan Moss.]] When you play the mission from Luis' perspective, and [[spoiler: Evan]] decides to tag along, you know what he's gonna be in for.

* ForegoneConclusion: In ''[[VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoIVTheLostAndDamned The Lost And Damned]]'', [[PlayerCharacter Johnny]] bungles a diamond deal involving Gay Tony, and steals them off of the corpse of an associate of Tony's: a [[DarkSkinnedBlond tanned, blond]], [[MachoCamp muscular gay man]] who attempted to escape via limousine. [[spoiler: This pretty much describes Evan Moss.]] When you play the mission from Luis' perspective, and [[spoiler: Evan]] decides to tag along, you know what he's gonna be in for.

* CampGay: Evan, Gay Tony's boyfriend.

* FightClubbing: Luis can bet on or fight in underground fighting tournament pretty early in the game.

-->''"I'm the only man in the history of this town with the hottest gay and straight clubs at the same time, and I'm about to lose everything!"''

* InformedAttribute: Gay Tony proudly introduces Luis as his "business partner" so much, even Luis himself has bought into it. However, the extent of Luis' supposed business acumen is limited to making decisions anyone who isn't as [[LargeHam melodramatic]], gullible, or [[FunctionalAddict high]] as Tony would. On regular days, he's either a glorified [[OneManArmy hitman]] when attending to clients, or a glorified {{Bouncer}} when managing Maisonette 9.

* [=~Screw The Rules, I Have Money!~=]: Most of billionaire construction magnate Yusuf Amir's missions invovle elaborate and spectacular thefts of items, such as a military helicopter, a [[TankGoodness NOOSE APC]] or a Liberty City subway car. Luis repeatedly points out how much easier it would be to just ''buy'' these things using his [[{{Fiction 500}} deep pockets]], to no avail (later on, one of Yusuf's associates mentions that, despite his wealth, Yusuf is obsessed with what he ''can't'' buy). However, this does come in handy [[spoiler: during the final mission, where Amir shows up in his [[BlingBlingBang gold-plated attack helicopter]] to [[IGotYouCovered destroy the cars full of Russians]] standing between you and the airport.]]

** To be fair, if you pay attention to the dialogue in the cutscenes, you realize Bulgarin is [[CompleteMonster holding his sister hostage in her own house.]] She berates him with very good reason.

** Yusuf:"Father, you taught me not to judge a book by its cover!"
**Yusuf's father:"When the book is called guns, drugs, hookers and no pants, I don't need to read it"

* GeniusBonus: When Mori beats Brucie in the chess game it is a recreation of famous Karpov-Kasparov 1985 World Championship Match.

* HeroicSociopath: Luis.

It also marks a return to the completely [[RefugeInAudacity over-the-top]] missions of [[GrandTheftAutoIII the]] [[GrandTheftAutoViceCity previous]] [[GrandTheftAutoSanAndreas games]], with the action growing steadily more insane with each mission. It also marked the final chapter of the GTAIV story (although like ''The Lost and Damned'', it largely takes place at the same time as the main game); the last mission finally ties up what one of ''IV'''s biggest loose ends.