It’s a bit weird how this generation has introduced the inclusion of downloadable content, as on the one hand it theoretically allows games to be expanded in fantastic ways, but on the other hand companies like Namco Bandai and Electronic Arts have made DLC rear its ugly head. Grand Theft Auto: The Lost and Damned not only proves a good justification for the existence of DLC, but also expands on the idea of what DLC can really do and sets a lead that all other developers and publishers should follow in the future of video games.
The Lost and Damned run’s concurrently with the story of
Niko Belic in the vanilla version of Grand Theft Auto 4. You play as Johnny
Klebitz who is vice president of the Motorcycle gang The Lost whom played a
fairly minor role in the grand scheme of Niko Belic’s story. The game
introduces itself by the president of The Lost Billy Grey being released from
prison. After which The Lost along with Johnny take Billy back to the club
house and Billy starts to take command of the gang again. However Johnny always
takes a much more political perspective to the gang trying to make the gang
function as a profitable adventure as well as limiting and assessing risks with
stuff like drugs, police, and other gangs, while Billy on the other hand is a
carefree biker which follows a “do whatever you want attitude” to the gang.
Eventually these two different viewpoints of the gang clash and tensions
between Billy and Johnny start to build, and eventually the story progress with
this tension to a much larger level. Like with Niko’s story in Grand Theft Auto
4 there are a lot of themes to be taken out of the story such as the use of
drugs, the concept of why people join gangs, and where crime leads you. There
is no real happy ending to the Lost and Damned similar to vanilla Grand Theft
Auto 4, and it kind of makes you wonder if Rockstar has something to say about as a whole.
Characterization has probably been the biggest focus of
Rockstar in this version of as we seen with Niko
and his friends and enemies, and it’s no different in The Lost and Damned that
Johnny and the rest of the gang comes off as realistic and believable
personalities. Though Johnny Klebitz serves as a sharp contrast to Billy’s
anarchist manner, he’s certainly no pacifist or pencil pusher. He’ll shoot,
swear, insult, torture, and steal if he needs to or if he wants to, but he also
has a bit of a humane side to him as well as a bit of a concerned side, in one
scene Billy is looking for his bike and he and Johnny interrogate this bike
dealer for where it is, after Johnny tortures him for the information Billy
hits the dealers face with a hammer and kills him. While going out Johnny says
“You didn’t need to do that, he told us where the bike is.” And it’s that sort
of contrast that makes Johnny an inherently more interesting character when he
is among a gang that for the most part does whatever they want to do. Among Johnny and Billy there are a handful of
other new characters such as Ashley who is a heroin addicted former girlfriend
of Johnny, Jim who is Johnny’s closest friend, and a pair of African American
bikers who ride Japanese sports bikes in contrast to The Lost’s choppers. There
are some returning characters that are more fleshed out like Ray Bochinno, and
Elizabeta. It’s probably not as much as the personalities that make these
people interesting as their interaction between one another. The discussions
Johnny has to other people whether in cutscene or while riding on bike is
really well written and powerful in a way that most other games don’t do.
Everyone finishing Lost and Damned will probably take away a quote from one of
the lines the characters speak and it will probably make you think about it for
a long time, and that’s when you realize the quality of writing Rockstar has.
In terms of the “cannon” of The Lost and Damned, the story
is running concurrently with Niko Belic’s story and what’s interesting is, is
that the story of The Lost does not seem shoehorned to fit into the story of
Niko Belic. Some minor plot holes in the original GTA4 such as how you killed a
member of The Lost, only to work with them the next day as Niko are filled perfectly with the story line of The Lost. The Lost and The Damned also shows
you how some of the events in the original GTA4 happened, such as the diamonds,
the heroin, down to some very specific touches such as why Ray Boccino was
pissed off at you with a gun to your head one day when you entered into his
restaurant as Niko Belic. It’s so well executed in filling those gaps, that it
gives you a much bigger picture of the world of
than before, and might even incentives you to play the original GTA 4 all over
again.
The gameplay and mission design of The Lost and Damned is still
very similar to the core Grand Theft Auto design, but with some noteworthy
changes from Grand Theft Auto 4’s formula. Basically all your friends are
unlocked from the get go and all with friends benefits such as discount guns,
you can even call up someone to give you free bikes wherever you are.
Relationships are far more low maintenance compared to that of original Grand
Theft Auto 4. Basically throughout the whole Lost and Damned, you probably will
not be called up to go eating or bowling, at least not as frequently as that of
the original. You can still call them up to hang out with the included option
of a somewhat mediocre air hockey game, but you will probably be calling them
up more for the dialog than anything else, even then this is purely optional in
the entire scope of the add-on. You still follow the main basic mission design
of “go here, kill that dude, maybe chase him a bit”, but it also offers a bit
more Variety than that. For instance you aren’t by yourself most of the time
this time around, later in the game you get the ability to call up members of
your gang and have them help you out in some missions, and it’s actually a
little more scripted and complex than adding “bots”. Sometimes they will set
themselves in an area where you have to lure who you have to kill in an ambush
of where your gang members are, which is pretty cool. In addition, you are also
given a couple of new weapons to play with that feel distinctly new, such as
the grenade launcher, automatic shotgun, and automatic pistol. The missions are
also a bit less frustrating because there is a new checkpoint system which if
you die; you have the option to start relatively closely to where you died.
These changes and additions make gameplay aspects a little less frustrating and
more streamlined than the original Grand Theft Auto 4, which in many ways make
it more fun to play.
Of course being in a biker gang, you will ride mean metal choppers. If you hated the bikes in the original GTA 4, you should give this game a shot because of some of the physics changes of the bikes. Specifically with the choppers, they handle more smoothly than the previous bikes in the GTA4, in addition and most importantly, it’s harder to crash your bike and wipe out though it’s entirely possible if you run headlong into a wall. In fact, these bikes handle so well, you might have trouble entering back into a normal car after playing The Lost and The Damned. There are also some neat gameplay diversions involving with the bikes including the “gang formation” mini game while you’re riding with The Lost which will increase your health and amour if you are in the right place at the right time with your gang. On occasion, your gang might challenge you to a race to the mission point, which does a lot more to drive the gameplay than running from point A to point B in classical Grand Theft fashion.
So what can I say about the audio? I can start by saying it’s nothing short of phenomenal. The voice acting is really good and natural, as Johnny has this sort of growl in his tone as well as moments of American sarcasm. Billy Grey just fits perfectly as during some of the tense moments between Johnny and Billy, he would just have this perfect yelling volume and tone that matches his violent psychotic behavior. The voice actor doing Ashley does a great job playing the powerful role of the drugged out girl.
Considering the subject matter, you will most likely lean
towards the Liberty Rock Hardcore which gives a very grungy and dirty vibe to
the game that perfectly suits the American biker gang motif. If the Hardcore
station is too heavy for you, the new and improved Liberty Rock Radio which contrary
to popular opinion is the official
radio station of this game. Almost every single chopper you take, it will
automatically switch to the Liberty Rock Radio station, and for good reason.
The Liberty Rock Radio station or LRR in the original Grand Theft Auto was more
light rock with songs such as “Cry” or “Street Kids”, and LRR in Lost and
Damned is a fair bit more heavier, yet not as heavy as the Hardcore station.
The song selection is just ingenious as they don’t only fit with their musical
tone, but some even seem to be hand picked for their lyrics. AC/DC’s Touch Too
Much, Jefferson Starship’s Jane have a great tone to accent the game with
roaring electric guitars, and some have bone chilling lyrics that fit the game
like Run to The Hills from Iron Maiden, and Highway Star from Deep Purple. But
there is one song that stands above the rest in the entire soundtrack of GTA4,
and that is Bon Jovi’s Wanted Dead or Alive. The lyrics, the tone, the pacing
they all just fit perfectly within the context of the biker gang concept, it’s
almost as if the game was built around this song, or the song was built around
the game, it’s just beautiful. In any case, when you combine this with the
original GTA4’s soundtrack, you have something that rivals any Grand Theft Auto
series soundtrack.
In terms of visual enhancements, nothing more has been done to the games graphics than a grainy filter effect. While GTA 4 still looks visually impressive even with its little quirks, it’s when the little things come together that the overall presentation becomes phenomenal. When your just riding your bike in the rain, with the film grain on, the members of your gang on your sides, and Bon Jovi’s Wanted, Dead or Alive comes on, it gives such an engrossing experience that very few games match, and it just makes something as simple as driving a more engaging and memorable experience.
Now the question on everyone’s mind is, is it worth it? As being one of the most expensive pieces of downloadable content on the marketplace today, I can thoroughly say in short… Yes it is. The game is about 12-15 hours and it can be even longer than that if you stop to sniff the roses and do more of the side mission stuff and terrestrial events like gang war where you kill rival bikers, and a tribute to the 1991 game Road Rash where you race on bikes while having a bat to whack other bikers off their bike in a violent fashion. Not only that, you get top notch production values like voice acting, soundtrack, and so much more. If you liked GTA 4 or even if you didn’t, Lost and Damned is a great way to reinvigorate or rediscover the world of Liberty City.
(Note: there is a multiplayer mode, but because it is seemingly devoid of life, the reviewer recommends that you purchase the DLC only on the basis of singleplayer only.)