Review: Grand Theft Auto IV: The Ballad of Gay Tony

GTA4 The Ballad of Gay Tony Screen 1

When Microsoft paid close to 50 million bucks to secure the rights to the episodic content for GTA IV, many thought it was a cheap way to corner the market for one of the greatest games of this or any generation. Many of those naysayers were PS3 owners as they were left out of the DLC party. I grew up on GTA on the PS2 and its controller for this series, however, having the option to get these episodes on the 360 made my decision an easy one. The Lost and the Damned DLC was terrific, but how does Gay Tony fare? Let’s just say that this rainbow is as bright as ever.

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And the Winners of the Rockstar Shirts Are…

Rockstar T-Shirt Contest Picture

Thanks to everyone who entered our Rockstar shirts giveaway! Some of the entries were pretty good, but we could only pick one for each shirt. Without further ado, here are the winners:

For the Beaterator shirt, the winner is Jason. The winner of the GTA Chinatown Wars shirt is David. Congrats to you both!

The winners will all be emailed today so we can get your addresses to ship your prizes. We want to thank Rockstar again for sending us the shirts to give to you!

Stay tuned for more cool stuff coming your way from your pals at Loot Ninja!

Last Chance: Win Rockstar Shirts from Loot Ninja!

Rockstar T-Shirt Contest Picture

This is your LAST CHANCE to win! Rockstar was kind enough to send us a couple t-shirts and we decided that instead of keeping them, we’re giving those shirts to you. Both are adult size Medium shirts, one for Beaterator and the other for Grand Theft Auto Chinatown Wars. Who doesn’t want free stuff?

Here’s how this contest will work. Leave a comment in the ORIGINAL article (comments left here will not count as entries) telling us which shirt you want and make us laugh. We’ll then pick one lucky winner for each shirt. Most of you know our sense of humor around here, so playing up the judges is encouraged.

The contest ends TONIGHT, October 30th at 11:59pm ET. Today is your last chance to enter. We’ll announce the winners over the weekend. Whenever more cool swag comes our way, you can bet will be running contests to send it out all of you!

Reminder: Win Rockstar Shirts from Loot Ninja!

Rockstar T-Shirt Contest Picture

Rockstar was kind enough to send us a couple t-shirts and we decided that instead of keeping them, we’re giving those shirts to you. Both are adult size Medium shirts, one for Beaterator and the other for Grand Theft Auto Chinatown Wars. Who doesn’t want free stuff?

Here’s how this contest will work. Leave a comment in the ORIGINAL article (comments left here will not count as entries) telling us which shirt you want and make us laugh. We’ll then pick one lucky winner for each shirt. Most of you know our sense of humor around here, so playing up the judges is encouraged.

We’re going to run the giveaway through the end of the week, so you have until Friday night October 30th at 11:59pm ET to enter. You can enter once per day, so keep coming back for more chances to win. We’ll announce the winners over the weekend. Whenever more cool swag comes our way, you can bet will be running contests to send it out all of you!

Win Rockstar Shirts from Loot Ninja!

Rockstar T-Shirt Contest Picture

Rockstar was kind enough to send us a couple t-shirts and we decided that instead of keeping them, we’re giving those shirts to you. Both are adult size Medium shirts, one for Beaterator and the other for Grand Theft Auto Chinatown Wars. Who doesn’t want free stuff?

Here’s how this contest will work. Leave a comment in this post telling us which shirt you want and make us laugh. We’ll then pick one lucky winner for each shirt. Most of you know our sense of humor around here, so playing up the judges is encouraged.

We’re going to run the giveaway through the end of the week, so you have until Friday night October 30th at 11:59pm ET to enter. You can enter once per day, so keep coming back for more chances to win. We’ll announce the winners over the weekend. Whenever more cool swag comes our way, you can bet will be running contests to send it out all of you!

Hit the jump for more »

Review: Beaterator

beaterator-psp-cover

When trying to think of a way to review this game, I was suddenly struck by a brilliant idea – ask Matt for advice. Now, some people may tell you that was a poor decision, but I did it anyways. And lo and behold, Matt was right. I couldn’t review Beaterator as a game, per-se. Because, well, it just isn’t a game at all. But I’ll get to that in a second. First off, I want you to know that I have several years of experience as a musician, and with mixing live sound. I have used (analog) mixing boards from 8 – 32+8 channels, and have run PA systems in Auditoriums with seating for 100, all the way up to seating for 800 people. So there, I’m (sort of) qualified to review this “game” as what it really is – a very solid, easy to use, 8 channel beat mixer/pocket studio, all rolled into a nice convenient package. That package, of course, being your handy dandy PlayStation Portable.

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New Episodes from Liberty City Trailer

Rockstar unveiled yet another new trailer for GTA IV: Episodes from Liberty City today. While I think The Ballad of Gay Tony is going to be a great DLC pack, I fear that it might get lost in the shuffle of the busy Holiday season. Then again, it is Grand Theft Auto, so I could be completely wrong.

Armando and Henrique Want Your Soul

Ok, maybe they don’t really want your soul, but they want you to play with them in Liberty City. Rockstar dropped off another trailer for The Ballad of Gay Tony featuring two new characters, Armando and Henrique. As always, Rockstar can make an interesting character, and these are no exception. Some nice biker gang work-ins from The Lost and Damned too.

Breaking News: There are Guns in Liberty City

Who knew that there were guns in Liberty City? I’ve spent countless hours roaming the streets and have yet to see a gun or hear a fire fight. Maybe I’m hanging out in the more upscale areas.

Beaterator Debut Trailer Makes Your Head Bob

I’m pretty good at listening to music. I can play the guitar pretty well and I’m a mean drummer in Rock Band. But when it comes to making beats, I don’t think I’m too highly qualified. Rockstar’s Beaterator for the PSP looks to bring that music mogul out of you while you create loops and tracks with virtual drum machines. While I think this is cool as hell, I don’t see myself ever creating anything that doesn’t sound like the yells from a monkey fucking a coconut.