Rockstar Games has sneaked in the announcement of the next Grand Theft Auto game over at their website. Appropriately titled (for the moment) Grand Theft Auto V, there’s simply just a logo with a tag saying ‘TRAILER 11.02.11“. No further details were given up, not even where the game will take place. Safe bet has it that the game will follow the same formula as past GTA games — open-world action game, most likely with a former criminal trying to sort his life out, over the top shenanigans of a terrorist nature.

Feel free to leave comments below on how you think the new game will/should be. We love to hear from you!

With as interesting a cast and story as Grand Theft Auto: The Ballad of Gay Tony possesses it was important that the gameplay itself be just as interesting to compel a player to complete missions to progress through the story. Luckily Rockstar was smart enough to go with the “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it” approach and simply added a few features and refined a few less. An underground cage fighting game was added that is a nice way to make some extra cash in between missions and is actually really fun. The typical escort and transport missions return but with a nice new addition: a rating system. Now at the completion of a mission a score will be given based off of your performance. With categories such as completion time and damage taken adding up to a final score, it adds a bit of replay value for those wanting to achieve the highest scores possible. At times things like this makes the sandbox title feel a bit more linear, but I’d be lying if I didn’t say that having a benchmark to go off of is a bit compelling.

Perhaps my favorite addition is the new TV programming available for viewing; they are laugh out loud funny. If you don’t believe me, watch the Anime episodes. There’s more than enough here to justify the $20 price tag and Grand Theft Auto: The Ballad of Gay Tony easily matches the previous Grand Theft Auto: The Lost and Damned episode in the content department.

The looks of this new episode really aren’t any different from GTA4, though you can see a difference in the art direction when it comes to Liberty City nightlife controlled by Gay Tony versus the grime of The Lost and Damned and the poverty of GTA4. Liberty City still seems to live and breathe like a real city with so much going on around you and the appearance that even if you weren’t playing the game, things would still be moving right along.

As usual the sound is a huge draw to Grand Theft Auto: The Ballad of Gay Tony. The voice acting is top notch with every moment sounding as intense or comical as was intended. The sound effects are tight and the random things you hear people talking about just walking around the street range from disturbing to hilarious. Throw in a diverse and never dull soundtrack (I now see why they say the music in Gay clubs are better) and you get one of the most interesting audible experiences on Xbox 360.

Grand Theft Auto: The Ballad of Gay Tony does a good job of bring the GTA4 series to a close. It’s both charismatic and depraved at the same time. Displaying the same charm and grit that the previous two titles did each in their own way. If you haven’t played Grand Theft Auto: The Lost and Damned you can buy the Grand Theft Auto: Episodes from Liberty City disk with both episodes for $40. Easily one of the better deals since Half-Life 2 Orange Box.

Sandbox type games aren’t for everyone but the Grand Theft Auto titles have always been the flagship of the genre, no change there. If you are a fan of the genre or just about any show that comes on the FX Network, go and play with Gay Tony. “It’s not wrong, it’s just different.”

1. That you own and love the world of Grand Theft Auto 4. And…
2. That you don’t mind paying just 20.00 for what is essentially an 8 hour single player game, and new multiplayer options on what was already a fantastic online experience.

Basically, Grand Theft Auto: The Lost and The Damned feels like we’re stealing from Rockstar. The amount of game you get for 20.00 bucks makes one wonder why we’re paying 60 dollars for newer, inferior games.

Put bluntly, this game is HOT. If you’re into Rockstar’s games for their stories, Johnny Klebitz and the drama around his tumultuous biking gang is exactly what the doctor ordered.

You’re Johnny, and your leader, Billy Grey has been out of the loop vacationing at club Fed. Under your reign, The Lost has moved on from juvenile looting and wants to be a little more financially mature. When Billy wants to do is party, destroy, and rampage through Liberty City, however, of COURSE chaos ensues.

The game is as funny as you’d expect from Rockstar’s sharp scripts. There’s always hidden social commentary, and what has always separated GTA from the clones is the phenomenal caliber of the voice acting.

None of the talent is familiar, but all of them are exceptional at pulling you into a cinematic experience. In the realm of acting, presentation, and tight game play, Rockstar Games is without peer. The Lost and The Damned is clearly evidence of such.

You’ll play the game just like every other GTA. Look at a cut scene, steal a vehicle, then go to a location and kill everything in sight. Repeat process.

What sounds bland on paper has worked at an award-winning level for at least three games. With the always-compelling drama behind the driving, the setup certainly isn’t broken here.

You’ll find a few new vehicles, when you’re not on a chopper, but fundamentally, the game is the same. New television shows and mini games offer new distractions, and the multiplayer gives it’s take on “hold the base” with the new “Own The City” mode.

Pulling from Rockstar classic, The Warriors, your crew plays a big role in surviving the experience. They’re your brothers, and as such, they’ll assist you in battles whenever you’re overwhelmed. While there’s no real squad control, keeping them alive is important. Overwhelming force in numbers goes a long way when you’re fighting against underworld gunmen, and your crew is all you’ve got.

Sure, no single element, from the driving to the gun play, is better than any existing title dedicated to just one experience. However, as with GTA 4, The Lost and the Damned is a magnificent sum of its parts.

You’re not playing the game for the action, although it’s very good. You’re playing for the next chapter in the story of this engrossing world. It’s all rendered spectacularly on Rockstar’s workhorse engine.

Play it if you can deal with raunchy content. If you’re more inspired by the direction cinematic games could go in, GTA still leads the pack. This download won’t disappoint.