Grand Theft Auto IV: The Lost and Damned - Review
Added March 4th, 2009 by Doug Buffone
Grand Theft Auto IV was showered with game of the year awards last year. Virtually every outlet in the video game industry praised the trials and tribulations of the East European immigrant, Niko Bellic. The gameplay was phenomenal, the graphics impressive, and the expansive world and voice acting unprecedented. GTA IV is the next game in the top selling franchise which was a large element of the amazing success of the Playstation 2. The sales impact of the Grand Theft Auto franchise prompted Microsoft to pay for exclusive rights to the first downloadable content package for GTA IV. This episode, entitled The Lost and Damned, contains both improvements and additions to the award winning GTA IV formula. The low price makes it even more enticing.
The Lost and Damned tells the story of Johnny Klebitz and his biker gang, The Lost. The narrative begins with Johnny serving as the leader while the president, Billy Grey, is in court-mandated rehab for narcotics possession. Unshaken by his trouble with the law, Billy has grandiose plans for the gang. Much to the Johnny’s chagrin, Billy begins a war with The Angels of Death, the consequences of which will create conflict within the Lost and dire effects on the gang members. Although Johnny’s story is compelling, it does not come close to the emotional transformation Niko Bellic underwent. That being said, the story is better than the average video game story and made all the better by superb voice acting which adds significant weight to much of the dialogue.
Johnny Klebitz means buisness
Through a campaign that lasts approximately 8-10 hours, you take control of Johnny and attempt to alleviate the increasingly grim situation in Liberty City. The journey of The Lost and Damned is largely entertaining as it is filled with plenty of twist and turns which will garner close attention. You will even run into familiar faces from GTA IV, including Niko Bellic. In other words, the majority of the missions are new and don’t just place the player in previous GTA IV missions from the perspective of another character.
As The Lost and Damned is episodic content and not an expansion pack, you won’t see any new locations. However, you will encounter new cars, motorcycles, weapons, side missions, and multiplayer modes which all help create a refreshing gameplay experience. The side missions in particular are a very nice addition to the core formula of GTA IV. One of the few complaints previously held against the game were the cutbacks in the amount of missions and activities available to the player outside of the main quest line. An improved version of the fan favorite gang wars from GTA: San Andreas make a return in The Lost and Damned as well as motorcycle races reminiscent of the 1991 classic Road Rash (baseball bat violence included).
Along with the new gameplay elements in The Lost and Damned, there are many smaller additions that make the new content an improvement over the GTA IV experience. Riding motorcycles is much easier in The Lost and Damned. Where in GTA IV turning was sometimes difficult and the bikes would often times flip arrantly after hitting a curb, these inconsistencies are largely eradicated in The Lost and Damned.
There are two new mini games, arm wrestling and a card game, as well as hilarious new shows on the TV and websites on the faux internet. More impressive are the 50 new songs which make driving around the city much more enjoyable (if you are a Rock Band player many of these will be familiar). The music selection helps establish the biker culture, largely because it includes songs that bikers would probably listen to (AC/DC, Bon Jovi, Iron Maiden, Mötley Crüe etc.).
The double barrel sawn-off shotgun is one of the new weapons in The Lost and Damned
The biggest improvement made over the GTA IV standalone experience is made not in the single player, but rather in the multiplayer. The new multiplayer modes of Bike Races, Own the City, Lone Wolf Biker, Club Business, and Chopper v. Chopper are much more fun than those originally found in GTA IV. All of the variants are fresh and inventive, allowing players to use the new weapons and vehicles effectively while also showing off much of the detailed Liberty City through interesting means. Own the City was particularly enjoyable as it was a gang war throughout the entire city (one of the bigger improvements in the single player) made all the better because of the ability to play with your friends. The improved multiplayer modes will also be more easily accessible to players with the new “instant action” allowing you to jump directly into a game without having to wait in any sort of lobby system.
One questionable change in The Lost and the Damned is the visual presentation. Although the game includes graphics equally as technically impressive as those in GTA IV, there is a new color pallet that makes the game appear much darker. Some will argue that this new look is keeping with the dark tone of the storyline, yet I found the visuals to be distracting, often times taking away from the visual splendor that was so apparent in GTA IV’s Liberty City.
Despite the questionable change to the graphical presentation, The Lost and Damned is a very well developed piece of content for one of the best games of last year. The story combined with the improvements to the gameplay experience creates an easily recommendable purchase, especially because of the relatively low price. If you aren’t a fan of GTA IV, this content will most likely not change your mind. However, if you cannot get enough of Liberty City, you will definitely be pleased with these additions and improvements.
