I opted out of The Lost and Damned, the first round of Grand Theft Auto IV downloadable content exclusive to the Xbox 360. I won't be doing that for Ballad of Gay Tony, the second round of DLC. So far, it looks classy, refined, and over the top, shrewdly built around its nightclub theme and populated with interesting and mostly likable characters. I instantly want to know what's going to happen to these people. This is what DLC should be.

Early on in The Ballad of Gay Tony, you get the sort of gun you don't normally get until the end of a game. Then you're thrown into a helicopter with rockets and machines guns and not so much as a polite reminder about how you're supposed to pilot the damn thing, much less shoot a bunch of fast moving little boats while you fly. Spectacular destruction -- and mostly likely failure -- ensues. Gay Tony isn't going to hold your hand as you re-learn Grand Theft Auto IV. This bit is from the press materials included with the game:

Like The Lost and Damned, the entire city is open from the beginning, and Luis, being a man of action, doesn't need any tutorials or missions to learn how to use his news [sic] instruments of mayhem.