GTA:IV The Lost and Damned Review

XBox 360 Exclusive DLC Content – Is It Worth It?

by darkmurder

©2009 Noel Schneider

With GTA:IV we came, we saw, we conquered, and to be honest got bored of it pretty quickly, so how will the latest downloadable content hold up? (Check out OXCGN’s Walkthrough)

The Lost and Damned (TLAD) is Rockstar & Microsoft’s exclusive add-on that allows you to play a whole new chapter in the GTA:IV Liberty City universe. You take on the role of Johnny Klebitz, biker and stand in leader for the bike gang “The Lost and Damned” due to the regular leader, Billy Grey, being thrown into jail. (Ed- So it’s much like real-life Melbourne then…).

Things seem peaceful as Johnny ‘K’ has managed to maintain peace with bitter gang rivals “The Angels of Death”; that is until the former head and founder of the club Billy Grey returns from his stint in prison. Immediately he resumes his former post and sets about returning things to the way they were, and essentially all of Johnny’s hard work is thrown out the window.

Billy sets about destroying the truce that has been set up with “The Angels of Death”, and in the process bites off more than he can chew, gaining numerous more enemies than friends. The game is very character focused and features zany, excruciatingly annoying, and at times risqué characters.There are numerous twists in the plot that will constantly keep you enthralled and begging for more, but unfortunately just like any good game, it has to come to an end eventually.

Whilst TLAD doesn’t feature any overly altered gameplay features, it still implements decent changes that gives more bang for your buck. As the game now revolves around your bike gang, the first noticeable implementation of added gameplay is in the riding style given to your club. Now your character is able to ride in formation with the rest of the gang, and when not in charge of the pack, you can fall back and gain health boosts or additional armour.

Due to the focal point of the DLC revolving around motorbikes, the need to emphasise the bike riding physics were imperative. Luckily Rockstar realised this, changing the “choppers’” handling to a far easier style, partly due to Billy’s knowledge of bikes and the local streets.

Unfortunately TLAD seems to suffer from a few freezing issues which can hamper gameplay.  It does seem to be only on the odd occasion and something not everyone is experiencing, and thankfully the awesome new storyline and gameplay tweaks will push these minor discrepancies into the background.

There are quite a few new motorcycles to choose from along with a few new weapons such as the grenade launcher and sawn-off shotgun, which helps in diversifying the game from the original title somwhat.  Also included are new mini-games such as arm wrestling, air hockey, hi-lo, along with more story focused modes such as bike races which are extremely similar to the classic game Road Rash, and also gang wars (taking a page out of Saints Row 2).

There is new multiplayer features with new biker versus biker races, club business, lone wolf biker, chopper vs chopper, witness protection and own the city. These new multiplayer modes are great fun, with some, such as lone wolf biker, involving one character trying to get away from a multitude of other players.

The audio has received a welcome boost with 50 new tracks being implemented into the channels (which luckily carryover back into the original Niko Bellic storyline). New talkback has also been added if getting chuckles is your thing and also some new television shows.

The voice acting is top quality,  as  you would expect from a GTA game (or add-on for that matter), and when the stories intertwine with previous GTA:IV Bellic missions it makes for a great feeling of inter-connectivity.

Graphically not much has changed, except the inclusion of a film grain is a welcome addition to the game and adds that extra cinematic feel. The different character is excellent in terms of having great animations that result in having the main protagonist no longer feel so clunky or troublesome to move when on foot.

On the whole, GTA:IV’s first add-on, The Lost and Damned, is a riveting story that will ensure you regain your love of the masterpiece Rockstar have crafted. Despite a few freezing issues, this DLC adds nothing but good changes to the game, adding diversity to a game that bored many after they were finished the main story.

“8.5/10

©2009 Noel Schneider

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