Microsoft today detailed plans to add Left 4 Dead, Grand Theft Auto IV, and Street Fighter IV, to the growing catalogue of Platinum Hits.

That literally means the game will soon appear at retail, in a new box, at a lower price point. Everybody wins!

What’s more, Saints Row 2 and Star Wars: The Force Unleashed are also receiving the Platinum treatment, making the list of titles all truly worthwhile endeavors.

The prices for the new Platinum Hits will start “as low as $19.99″ according to the press release, though some internet searching provided a more reasonable answer of $29.99.

Additionally, Microsoft revealed that some retailers will be offering a buy 2 get 1 free deal good through Oct. 31 on the Platinum Hits line, but no specifics were provided other than to “visit your local retailer.”

When we hear official prices on the new Platinum Hits we’ll be quick to let you know!

And worth mentioning: Left 4 Dead is getting a sequel in about a month and Street Fighter IV, and Star Wars: The Force Unleashed are both receiving new and content rich bundle deals in the coming months, so we advise you to spend that hard-earned cash wisely!

Rockstar Games tease their latest GTA IV expasion “The Ballad of Gay Tony” and the package-deal “Episodes From Liberty City” with this brand new trailer introducing gamers to Armando and Henrique from Gay Tony and a smidgen of Brian from “The Lost And Damned” to keep you excited.

Look for “The Ballad of Gay Tony” on Xbox Live and “Episodes From Liberty City” a collection of “Gay Tony” and “Lost and Damned” October 29.

Rockstar Games, makers of Grand Theft Auto, today unleashed a title update for Xbox 360 gamers which fixes the “invisible player issue” and prevents the use of cheat codes in multiplayer.

Nothing too earth-shattering here, just Rockstar doing what they do, and keeping fans mostly satisfied.

In other GTA:IV news, I wonder if Chirantan Patnaik has passed out from screen glare yet?

26 year-old Chirantan Patnaik from Mumbai, India is attempting a Grand Theft Auto: IV world record tonight. Beginning at 12:30AM EST, the man will commence playing GTA: IV on PS3 and will continue playing for 30 straight hours.

Crazy, we know, but the current “Longest Time Spent Playing GTA:IV” Guinness World Record, set by Jim Hatton, stands at 28 hours. So, someone has to beat it, right?

Think of it this way, when Patnaik starts playing at 12:30AM this evening/early morning, he’ll still be playing when you wake up on Saturday morning!

The longest time I’ve ever spent in a digital world was 9 hours straight in World of Warcraft…yeah, a shameful part of my life. What about you?

Head on over to his blog to follow the record attempt live.

Via Rockstar

Rockstar Games, makers of all things Grand Theft Auto are at it again, this time with the second and final DLC expansion for the accolade earner and million seller GTA: IV.

“The Ballad of Gay Tony” is due out 29 days into October and promises to highlight the glitz and glamour of Liberty City by putting you in the digital shoes of one Luis Lopez as you climb the precarious and blood-stained social ladder of Liberty City.

Rockstar released the debut trailer for “Gay Tony” today and named it “You’ll Always Be The King Of This Town.” So if you want a sneak peek at the hell you’ll soon be raising, sit back, relax, crank the volume on your speakers and enjoy it!

“The Ballad of Gay Tony” releases exclusively for Xbox 360 October 29 priced at 1600MS Points/$19.99 both at retail and through the Xbox Live Marketplace.

The British Board of Film Classification, or BBFC, recently announced that the they’ve found a recipe for the production of crystal meth somewhere in Liberty City. But wait, there’s more.

This recipe, said to have been found somewhere after seven or eight hours of gameplay by video game “experts” is actually inaccurate.

That’s right, Rockstar, the development team behind the epic title, informed the BBFC that said recipe was indeed “inaccurate,” and anyone following the in-game directions would have wasted hours and hours setting up that lab. Bummer.

The fact that we’re just learning of this now is astounding and is proof that Liberty City is a place of many dark corners capable of holding many, many secrets.

Has anyone found the recipe? I’ve played hours and hours and hours of GTA IV and have never run across anything that would, to me, resemble a meth recipe.

Rockstar today announced the second downloadable episode for the award winning GTA IV titled “The Ballad of Gay Tony” and a disc based bundle containing The Lost and Damned and this newest installment arriving exclusively on Xbox 360 this fall.

As part of what looks to be a continued effort from publishers to avoid the predictable onslaught of news at next week’s E3 convention, news is dropping, and it’s dropping hard this pre-E3 week.‚  A smart move, at least in my perception.

As for this latest episode for GTA IV, what we know so far is that you’ll be playing as Luis Lopez, a part time hoodlum and full time assistant to famous nightclub owner Tony Prince, aka Gay Tony.‚  An overdose of guns, glitz, and‚  grime is promised by Rockstar for the follow up to the well received first installment.

From the mouth of Rockstar: “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.”

The aforementioned DLC bundle will include The Lost and Damned as well as Gay Tony for the understandable price of $39.99 and will not require a copy of the original GTA IV to make use of.

As is par for the course, Gay Tony will set you back $19.99/1600 MS Points and is to debut sometime this fall, with more plentiful details expected in the coming months…maybe at E3?

PS3 owners catch the shaft yet again, but we’ll keep you posted should anything change.

GTA IV’s first downloadable expansion, “Lost and Damned,” was exclusively released today via the Xbox LIVE Marketplace.

What? You forgot?‚  I haven’t been able to escape Johnny Klebitz and his biker gang cruising down the streets of Liberty City on my television. ‚  Furthermore, the internet exploded as news of a full frontal male nude scene would be included in the release.

Available for 1600 MS points, or $19.99, the Lost and Damned features an all new story following the notorious biker gang, a full range of new weapons, including a grenade launcher and sawed off shotgun, new vehicles, physics, and in-game TV, internet and radio, and a brand new set of action-packed multiplayer modes.

“Lost and Damned” will take up 1.78GB of your hard drive space and if you’re like me, living in the past with a good ole 20 gig with a couple games installed, you might have to do some housecleaning.

Microsoft has caught the “Damned” fever as well and is bringing you the Lost and Damned LIVE week.‚  Exclusive contests, prizes to be had, and most importantly FREE access to “Lost and Damned” new multiplayer modes for the next five days.

In conjunction with LIVE week, Microsoft is also offering up some serious biker gang clothing for your avatar. Finally, a possible reason to modify your creation? Maybe.

Is “Lost and Damned” worth a third of the full GTAIV retail price?‚  Check back soon for our hands on review.