Rockstar just announced The Ballad of Gay Tony, a new downloadable episode for Grand Theft Auto 4. The official press release is copied below if you're interested in such things, but I gotta say...this logo is FAB-u-LOUS!

I'm quite impressed that Rockstar doesn't shy away from potentially controversial subject matters. When the country was in tizzy over the violence in GTA, out comes Manhunt, a much, much more brutal game. I even complimented Rockstar for this in my EGM review of Manhunt at the time, although some readers and my fellow reviewers didn't agree, calling it more a desperate plea for attention and sales.

But trust me. The heat that politicians, Jack Thompsons, and middle America can put on, Rockstar doesn't want...especially when legal costs are involved. So with The Ballad of Gay Tony (and its FAB-u-LOUS! logo), I'm still glad the publisher is willing to go where other games and Miss California dare not.

It's just too bad some things are out of Rockstar's control. They got screwed bad when the original Manhunt 2 was slapped with a retail-killing Adults-Only ESRB rating.

Here's more info on Gay Tony's adventures via the press release:

New York, NY - May 26, 2009 - Rockstar Games, a publishing label of Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. (NASDAQ: TTWO), is proud to announce the fall release of both the second episode of Grand Theft Auto: The Ballad of Gay Tony - exclusively for download on Xbox LIVE® online entertainment network, and Grand Theft Auto: Episodes from Liberty City, which will include both episode one The Lost and Damned, and episode two The Ballad of Gay Tony together on a single disc exclusively for Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft.

"Liberty City is the most vibrant game world we've created yet. The episodic structure has allowed us to interweave stories, gameplay and atmosphere in a whole new way," said Sam Houser, Founder of Rockstar Games. "The team at Rockstar North have yet again surpassed themselves, and made something that is both epic and very innovative. This episode's focus on high-end night life contrasts with the biker gangs portrayed in The Lost and Damned, whilst giving us a lot of new gameplay possibilities."

Grand Theft Auto IV's second downloadable episode, The Ballad of Gay Tony injects Liberty City with an overdose of guns, glitz, and grime. As Luis Lopez, part-time hoodlum and full-time assistant to legendary nightclub impresario Tony Prince (aka "Gay Tony"), players will struggle with the competing loyalties of family and friends, and with the uncertainty about who is real and who is fake in a world in which everyone has a price.

Grand Theft Auto: Episodes from Liberty City delivers two games on one disc - the all-new episode The Ballad of Gay Tony and the first episode, The Lost and Damned - together on disc for the first time - for Xbox 360 for $39.99 and will not require a copy of the original Grand Theft Auto IV to play.

The Ballad of Gay Tony will release on Xbox LIVE this fall for $19.99 or 1600 MS points and requires players to have Grand Theft Auto IV for Xbox 360 and Xbox LIVE membership to download.

For more information, log onto www.rockstargames.com.