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GTA 4 was a revolutionary title, setting in motion the HD Universe that fans have grown so familiar with. Rockstar Games offered a lifelike open-world map with this title's Liberty City. Moreover, the developers explored two new and different perspectives through this title's two expansions — The Lost and Damned (TLAD) and The Ballad of Gay Tony (TBoGT).
The former is a gritty biker drama reminiscent of Sons of Anarchy. On the other hand, TBoGT centers on an ex-con who tries to assist his boss, a nightclub magnate, in avoiding drug and crime-related problems.
These two GTA 4 expansions were drastically different from each other despite having the same map and mostly similar gameplay mechanics. Here's a brief review of the differences between these two DLCs.
Note: This article is subjective and reflects the writer's opinion.
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The Lost and Damned vs The Ballad of Gay Tony: 5 ways that the GTA 4 expansions are different
1) Tone
A major contrast between the two GTA 4 expansions is their setting and tone. The events in both games take place around the same time, and several of their missions even coincide with one another. However, their main storylines are quite different. The Lost and Damned seems more bleak and hopeless than Grand Theft Auto 4, while The Ballad of Gay Tony has a less serious tone.
In TLAD, Johnny and The Lost become embroiled in a civil war, losing several key members. This cripples their gang and eventually forces the protagonist to relocate. In GTA 5, Johnny was in Los Santos, suggesting he'd moved to that place. However, this decision didn't go well. That is because Johnny is shown to be a drug addict in Grand Theft Auto 5 who gets unceremoniously murdered by Trevor.
Compared to TLAD, The Ballad of Gay Tony has a more casual tone. The protagonist, Luis, doesn't really lose anything at the end of this title's story. He's an ex-convict who is now the bodyguard of Tony Prince and also manages his nightclub business. Although the latter does get involved with drugs and dangerous criminals, Luis is able to help him steer clear of all his troubles.
2) Weapons
Both The Lost and Damned and The Ballad of Gay Tony feature a larger arsenal of weapons than the base game. Certain weapons are unique to each expansion, which changes the titles' gameplay experience a bit. Moreover, they fit the overall theme of the games quite well.
The Lost and Damned, for instance, has the Pool Cue, Automatic 9mm, Sawed-Off Shotgun, Assault Shotgun, Grenade Launcher, and Pipe Bomb. Meanwhile, The Ballad of Gay Tony offers the Pistol .44, Gold SMG, Assault SMG, Automatic Shotgun, Combat MG, Advanced Sniper, and Sticky Bomb. It also has the Grenade Launcher from TLAD.
The weapons in The Lost and Damned are less advanced but are effective at dealing high damage, whereas the ones in TBoGT are modern and can be used in a variety of scenarios. Many of these items have returned to GTA 5 and/or its Online counterpart as remodeled variants.
3) Vehicles
Just like with weapons, The Lost and Damned and The Ballad of Gay Tony differ from each other when it comes to vehicles as well. TLAD is a biker-themed expansion. As such, it features several new motorcycles — mostly choppers — that are not available in the base game or in TBoGT. Some of these were later brought over to GTA Online's motorcycle roster with the Bikers update.
TBoGT may not have so many motorbikes, but it has some unique vehicles — like the Buzzard Attack Chopper, Skylift, Police Bike, Yusuf Amir's golden Super Drop Diamond, and more. It also has several different luxury vehicles and an APC as well.
4) Activities
The Lost and Damned is heavily focused on The Lost Motorcycle Club. Their Clubhouse is a unique building that acts as a safe house and also offers unique activities like Hi-Lo cards and Arm Wrestling. The game also has a toughness mechanic that is basically a progression system for members of the gang.
In addition, players can complete a series of side missions for Congressman Thomas Stubbs called Stubbs' Dirty Laundry as well as side activity called Gang Wars. In the latter, The Lost MC members take on their many enemies.
On the other hand, The Ballad of Gay Tony allows players to manage Tony's nightclub, Maisonette 9, much like gamers run their own businesses in GTA Online.
The Gang Wars activity from TLAD is replaced by Drug Wars, where players must steal a bag of narcotics from a meeting. Moreover, TBoGT also includes a feature called Booty Calls, which is basically a censored alternative to the Hot Coffee mod from GTA San Andreas. Other features it has involve an underground fight club, in which Luis can participate for money, as well as a Golf activity.
5) Replayability
Although The Lost and Damned has a much better story in comparison to The Ballad of Gay Tony, it loses out in terms of replayability. TBoGT simply has too many quality-of-life upgrades that make it more fun. For instance, players can use parachutes when jumping out of an aircraft, and vehicular combat is made much easier with the Buzzard Attack Chopper.
Combat, in general, is also much improved in TBoGT, thanks to military-grade weapons like the Assault SMG, Advanced Sniper, or Combat MG. Meanwhile, TLAD's Assault Shotgun has another variant that fires explosive rounds, allowing players to cause mayhem.
Lastly, unique vehicles like the APC and Skylift also allow for more fun in freeroam in TBoGT.
