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.