An ensemble cast of biker gang criminals make their mark in a good story that is well worth investing your money in.
Contains: Strong Language, Bloody Violence, Nudity, Sex and Drug References
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Lost and Damned is the first of two episodic expansion packs developed for Grand Theft Auto IV, developed by Rockstar North.
-------------------------------------------
STORY - 4/5
-------------------------------------------
The story begins with Johnny Klebitz and all the members of the infamous biker gang known as The Lost driving through the streets of Alderney showing authority in their numbers while each of the gang is introduced with their name and role in the gang being presented on screen during the opening credits. Johnny is Vice president of the gang, but has been acting as president on behalf of the actual leader, Billy Grey, being arrested for narcotics possession, and since his departure has established The Lost throughout Liberty City by making truces and deals for the financial troubles they've suffered mainly due to Billy's irresponsible and poor leadership. On being released, tensions quickly rise between Johnny and Billy, as he strives to revert to a life of crime while Johnny just wants the gang to be running smoothly after making a notable truce with The Lost's rivals - The Angels of Death. Billy, once returning to his presidency position within The Lost quickly leads the members of the gang to assault The Angels of Death's clubhouse, which serves as the main basis for the game.
At several points throughout the course of the game, the plot intertwines with events from Grand Theft Auto IV and is seen and played out from Johnny's perspective, and you cleverly see the link between Niko's story and yours, and the missions all lead up to an interesting plot twist that provides more understanding to Grand Theft Auto IV's story and ends strongly with explosions and gunfights galore.
-------------------------------------------
CHARACTERS - 4/5
-------------------------------------------
Johnny Klebitz is the new protagonist to play as, being previously introduced in a couple of missions during Grand Theft Auto IV. In The Lost he wants the gang to be running smoothly, as he now deems war with other gangs as immature and bad for business, and is generally a likeable character who grows on you as you play through the story. Billy Grey on the other hand, who quickly raises tensions between the two of them, prefers acts of random violence and mayhem, irresponsibly leading them into unnecessary confrontations with their rivals and it isn't long before Billy and Johnny's neutral brotherhood relationship clashes and subsequently falls apart with an awkward aftermath. The rest of the cast in The Lost and Damned are all composed of a set of different criminals needing jobs completed, and each has a strong, influential personality that you can quickly come to understand and decide whether you like that person or not.
-------------------------------------------
GAMEPLAY - 4/5
-------------------------------------------
As a member of The Lost, you'll spend much of your time riding motorcycles within your gang to carry out and complete missions within Liberty City in an identical sandbox design to Grand Theft Auto IV. Outside of the frantic, action-packed missions are various activities and jobs to partake in, some familiar to those who've played Grand Theft Auto IV, and some new and exclusive to this expansion. Motorcycle races have an added twist where every rider is able to use a baseball bat to swing at the competition and knock them clean off their ride, and while it's entertaining to do so to another rider, it can become a race-ending frustration if it happens to you. Another activity to get included in is Gang wars, where you and a group of The Lost members go around the city to take out rivals. Both of these activities require a bike to start, and that's where a problem can develop. If you don't have a bike and cannot find one in the open world (typical) then you have an option on your phone to ask a member of The Lost to deliver a motorbike of your choice, but if you fail a race not long after he's driven across the city to deliver it at your feet, he will continually say no to you if you ask him too soon after already attaining one. So a frustrating race can be made even more irritating when you can't acquire the correct type of vehicle required to race with, leaving you in a predicament that forces you to return to your safehouse where there'll certainly be a ride outside. Not too bad if the event is close, but if you need to get across the whole map it will become aggravating. Fortunately, if you are lucky or skilled enough during the races or gang wars you can avoid these irritating instances or simply find other things to get on with until the invisible timer has expired so you can ask for a new one.
Extremely good gunplay and physics are a big part of what makes the criminal activities within a gritty, city underworld so authentic, and running down pedestrians could never be exemplified more here with such a violent impact on your senses as they bounce off the bonnet and roll to a halt, leaving bloody marks on your vehicle where the force is made clear that you hit them hard. Bodies drop to the floor appropriately depending on the force of the weapon and the hit detection of each bullet fired, and the blood spray that occurs from the point of impact is done in a manner that isn't too much to seem fake. A variety of new weapons are available to use throughout The Lost and Damned including an automatic pistol, a sawn-off shotgun and a grenade launcher, and each is fun to shoot and useful when used appropriately at the right stance and range.
One of the best new features in The Lost and Damned is the availability of mid-mission checkpoints, a feature which is relatively absent from previous Grand Theft Auto games, and it's implementation here is much appreciated to avoid tedious travelling time when you fail a mission. Main missions get straight into the action-packed scenes rather than doing tutorial missions to get you into the swing of things slowly, but this won't prove a problem if you came straight from playing Grand Theft Auto IV to this. You'll need to take cover fairly often as it it's fairly easy to die if you don't do so, and before missions you'll frequently have to call up a member of The Lost to provide weapons and armor to ensure that you have full protection against the barrage of bullets you'll inevitably face. Apart from some frustrations The Lost and Damned proves very similar to GTA IV with the exception of a new protagonist, new weapons and new vehicles that get wrapped up in the criminal based gameplay in much the same way you've already seen, and is thoroughly enjoyable when things go as planned.
-------------------------------------------
GRAPHICS - 4/5
-------------------------------------------
While Liberty City still has a memorable and unforgettable look about it with the high amount of detail put in to create a believable open world city, the graphics start showing their age primarily in cutscenes, and many instances of slow texture loading or visual blemishes in gameplay. Real-time car damage effects are extremely realistic here to represent the exact impact you make when driving recklessly through traffic, and body physics are authentically replicated in-game to provide even more realism to your actions.
-------------------------------------------
SOUND - 4/5
-------------------------------------------
Apart from the original Grand Theft Auto IV soundtrack, several new tracks have been added to the radio stations in this expansion. Liberty Rock Radio and Liberty City Hardcore see the biggest addition of new tracks to go with the expansion's biker/rock theme, possibly because they are the two most popular radio stations in the game. Some of the new tracks include songs from the Australian hard rock heavyweights, AC/DC, along with Deep Purple, The Doors and Bon Jovi and mix in well with the original songs you liked in the main game.
Voice acting is exceptionally good, making all the lines convincing to fit the faces of the cast of tough and believable characters within a criminal underworld setting, and explosive sound effects that accompany each shoot-out are just as excellent.
-------------------------------------------
CONTROLS - 4/5
-------------------------------------------
The control configurations are exactly the same as in Grand Theft Auto IV, so the controls should all feel adequate if you recently played the main game before this expansion. Vehicle handling, though difficult and noticeably stiff when turning, is well done for realism forcing you to slow down when approaching junctions so you can't just speed through the corner with ease. There is improved motorbike handling as there is a big emphasis on driving bikes throughout the game, seeing as you are a member of the notorious biker gang The Lost. And it is made clear that Johnny is less proficient at handling vehicles than handling any motorcycle. Some new vehicle types debut here, most being motorcycles for much more variety to pick and choose for certain races, where each has its strong points and weak points to notice.
-------------------------------------------
ATMOSPHERE - 4/5
-------------------------------------------
Liberty City once again feels alive with commotion, pedestrian life and realistic behaviour during daytime, and yet again feels hostile with gritty crimes, prostitution and police activity during the dark hours of night making for a believable setting in which the developer's are trying to establish as having two layers for light and dark hours of the day, where the atmosphere changes convincingly once the sun settles and the thugs come out.
-------------------------------------------
ENEMY AI - 3/5
-------------------------------------------
General enemy AI is reasonably good, they take cover where possible and prove a threat if you aren't in cover yourself. They don't react to tossed grenades though, making them easy targets for a fiery explosion if you have the weapon to deliver the fireball available in your large arsenal of powerful weaponry. You gain police attention for committing crimes such as homicide and stealing and the police will try and arrest you or kill you depending on how much of a threat they think you pose for your crime wave of criminal activities. To escape them you have to exit the flashing area on the map and remain out of sight until they give up the chase, and changing your vehicle or seeking shelter down alleyways makes them less likely to recognise you. The higher the wanted level, the more aggressively the cops will pursue you, ever-increasing in difficulty to shake off and lose them until you commit an unlawful action that attracts them again, which is inevitable throughout the course of the game.
Friendly gang member AI is less coordinated and effective, and while they follow you closely and sometimes take cover during a fire fight, it's usually up to you to help your fellow biker friends out by dispatching all the enemies before they systematically die because they didn't take cover or didn't move away from an impending explosion. Their driving skills are just as questionable as their gun handling efficiency, and they consistently crash into traffic before respawning behind you if they stray too far away, having to regain their group formation behind you.
-------------------------------------------
LENGTH - 5/5
-------------------------------------------
12 hours or more of gameplay is expected in this worth playing expansion pack, with lots of activities and jobs to do outside of the main story missions, and an open world free to explore and cause corruption as you please with the only penalties being chased thrillingly through the busy streets of Liberty City by the relentless police force stationed all over.
-------------------------------------------
REPLAY VALUE - 3/5
-------------------------------------------
After completing the story, there are still gang wars, bike races and odd jobs to undertake and earn money, and the balancing of the money within this expansion is good enough so that you don't have enough to purchase everything you want from the start of the game, but providing a reasonable amount as you progress to upgrade your arsenal of weapons appropriately for the more challenging missions later on. The Lost and Damned incorporates the same excellent gunplay and physics from Grand Theft Auto IV, with some new weapons, vehicles and soundtrack, but unfortunately doesn't improve upon all aspects which held Grand Theft Auto IV back from perfection. But a worthwhile story that builds up to a great climax makes The Lost and Damned an expansion well worth checking out for what it's worth and what the content involves.
===========================
OVERALL SUMMARY - 8.5/10
===========================
Good Points: Retains cold-blooded humour in dialogue to suit the tone of the story, New weapons and vehicles, Checkpoints during missions, Good story that ends strong, Great ensemble cast of believable characters, Plot cleverly runs parallel and crosses paths with Niko's story in GTA IV, Contains the same authentic city atmosphere as in the main game, Plenty of activities and jobs to partake in outside of the story.
Bad Points: Some issues in gameplay and visuals are still unsolved that hampered GTA IV, Graphics are showing their age during cutscenes, Requiring a motorcycle for a lot of activities can cause some unneeded frustrations.