Grand Theft Auto IV: The Lost and Damned
- February 23, 2009 13:16 PM PST
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Good things come to those who wait. First Rockstar pushed the original release date of GTA IV back six months, then the game's first DLC, "The Lost and Damned," wasn't made available until almost a year after GTA IV's release. I guess when you've created one of the most popular gaming franchises ever, you can do whatever you damn well please because gamers know they're going to get a great product. "The Lost and the Damned" is no exception, and while it may start slow, its got enough action and new content to make it well worth the wait.
A downloadable expansion of unbelievable quality, I have to agree with Terry, here: Lost and the Damned is an amazing piece of DLC, and a must-have for fans of Grand Theft Auto.
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Easy Riding
In "The Lost and the Damned" gamers play as Johnny Klebitz, the second in command of a motorcycle gang called The Lost. Johnny is a leveled headed sort, as criminals go, but is constantly at odds with reckless gang leader Billy Grey. Billy, who was recently let out of prison, is just aching to take out his pent up frustration on the other biker gangs in Liberty City -- consequences, and you, be damned. Initially Johnny is resigned to soldier status (steal this, kill that), leaving gamers with the feeling that they've seen all of this before. But once you take over the gang, the characters in "Lost and Damned" become more developed, and the rest of Johnny's world opens up to more opportunities for you to wreak havoc.
Much of the gameplay is standard GTA shooting and driving fare, but there's more to the "Lost and Damned" than that. There are new motorcycle street races to win (knocking your opponents off their bikes by nailing them with a bat never gets old), relationships to cultivate, side stories to complete, mini-games to play (air hockey, arm wrestling), gang wars to win, and dirty laundry to be washed. New music, weapons and vehicles also help give Liberty City a fresh feel. And when you get tired of playing with yourself, gamers can always go online to try out the five new multiplayer game types. Finding ways to occupy your time with Johnny is an easy thing to do.
Damned if you Don't
"Lost and Damned" isn't without its flaws. The storyline isn't particularly interesting, and while it alludes to some links in the original GTA IV plot, it never really connects the dots. Unlike the charismatic Niko, Johnny never truly comes into his own. Most gamers won't feel much of a bond with him and because of that his successes (and ours) don't carry much weight. And where is that trademark Rockstar humor? Aside from two cut scenes where I saw more junk than in "Forgetting Sarah Marshall", there were few laughs to speak of.
Even with some minor hang-ups this is a must buy. It offers so much content it could easily be called GTA 4.5. With a gameplay time hovering around 10 hours (or even 20-30 if you choose to experience everything) "Lost and Damned" is a must own for any GTA fan, and sets the bar ridiculously high for other developers when it comes to what downloadable content should be.
PROS: Tons of new content, plenty of new gameplay for your buck, five new multiplayer game types
CONS: Story starts slow, lacks traditional GTA humor, not enough Niko
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- Feb 23 2009 at 11:17:16:AM PST
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I just downloaded the new gta4 DLC. im pretty exicited about it. Gotta go, gonna play some gta4, hells angel >
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doctomedic wrote:
Do i need to have gta4 to play this game, anybody knows
Yes, you need to have GTA 4 for GTA 4 DLC
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What's wrong with Microsoft??? we don't need exceptions!!.. we need more exclusive games like Sony Do...
Why Don't xbox 360 have a new GTA5 exclusive better than exceptions...
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Damn Canadian currency! Costs me $30 to get enough points for this game. D:
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no matter if it $20, $30 or $59.99 for that matter, u get ur money worth playin this game
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Why the hell does only Microsoft have this game?! Cmon what bout us PS3 users? and downloadable? i cant get good broadband cause of where i live! So make a hard copy of it I'd gladly pay another 60 bucks if it was sold at a store. Damn it all to Hell!
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