Grand Theft Auto IV: The Lost and Damned Review

Grand Theft Auto IV: The Lost and Damned Review

“The Lost and Damned” GTA IV’s first expansion pack is finally here after being delayed in August of 2008. Needless to say, it is one of the most anticipated pieces of downloadable content ever released partly because of how big it is (the only other DLC featured on Xbox Live that could be around this size if not bigger would be “Shivering Isles”). Microsoft paid Rockstar a load of money to make this DLC exclusive to the Xbox 360, and this deal, while not entirely responsible, was definitely a factor when it came to what console to get GTA IV on. Since the 360 version outsold the PS3 version partly because of this selective content, many fans were hoping that it was worth the wait, and the 1600 Microsoft points to download ($20).
Let’s begin with “The Lost and Damned’s” storyline, which I’m happy to say is very well done. The expansion’s storyline is set parallel to the events of the original game, and a few times both stories intersect, and even certain things that weren’t fully explained in Niko’s story are explained here. The main character in this epic side story is Johnny Klebitz. If you played through the original game’s story, you might remember this biker dude since he helped Niko a couple of times in the story. Johnny and his gang , The Lost are stuck in a turf war with another biker gang known as The Angels of Death. Even more chaos breaks loose when The Lost’s leader Billy Grey is released from prison, and escalates the war, and his actions threaten to bring down The Lost. The story, like its predecessor, is very well done for an 7-8 hour expansion pack, although it isn’t quite as deep as GTA IV’s story, and the new character’s aren’t quite as memorable, or as likeable as the characters from Niko’s story.
Some of the gameplay mechanics have changed a little with the DLC as well. Johnny’s primary transportation is his bike, and the game forces you to ride the bike during most missions which feels weird, since this sort of destroys the spirit of GTA (although you can still steal cars when you aren’t on missions). A few new weapons have also been introduced with the expansion such as the grenade launcher, an automatic pistol, and a type of automatic shotgun. The new weapons are definitely a welcome addition to the game and they are really fun. Another thing added to the game are new tracks to the soundtrack. The only radio stations that have been updated are Liberty Rock, The Beat, Radio Broker, and LCHC. Some of the additional artists include: Rod Stewart, AC/DC, John Legend, Andre 3000, and Cannibal Corpse. The new tracks are great, but I did think they could have added a little more to the soundtrack. The gang wars from San Andreas have also made a return appearance for TLAD, but they aren’t as addictive as they were in San Andreas, then again, simply having gang wars is better than having none at all like the original GTA IV. Last but not least, TLAD adds new multiplayer modes, including motorcycle races where you can knock off other racers using a baseball bat , and “Chopper vs. Chopper” which has one player riding a bike, while the other is in a helicopter that tries to kill the biker. Multiplayer has pretty decent additions and they are worth playing.
If “The Lost and Damned” were a full game, and was on the market for a full $60 price tag, it would only be worth a rental at best, but it isn’t it is an add-on to a game that is already incredibly large, and immersive. It builds on something that is already nearly flawless, and brings it closer to achieving absolute perfection, and with Rockstar in talks of making a second expansion, it looks like GTA IV will be spinning in our consoles (well, our 360’s any way!) for quite longer than GTA III, Vice City, or San Andreas ever दीद.

The Verdict:5/5