Grand Theft Auto IV: The Lost and Damned

Forget GTA4 as Lost and Damned is the game that GTA4 should have been. Better Missions, better characters and even better music tracks too. I had more fun and excitement playing as the member of the biker gang than I had playing Niko in the proper game of GTA4. The story is good and the action is actually quite realistic, more realistic than GTA4. The music is to die for as it has grand bands providing the tunes like Deep Purple and Motley Crue for starters. It really helps you get into "the Zone" and then the concentration on the game becomes more clear and then the fun really begins. Also it incorporates some of the original characters of GTA4 into the new storyline which is a great touch, I think they did that just so the original characters are forgotten. If you wanna ride, I guarantee it will bring out the biker in you.

This time around, you get put in the driver's seat as the Vice President (and eventual President) of Liberty City's hardest-riding Chopper gang, The Lost, as Johnny "The Jew" Klebitz, a commander trying to keep his M.C. chapter together as it splinters into factions. This entry feels more toned-down than the main game, and probably the weakest of the GTA IV trilogy, but it's still a solid ride; the controls (especially the driving) are solid, the motorcycles handle smoothly, the action is fun, you've probably heard this whole rundown before. Point is, these characters thunder down the streets of Liberty, full-throttle, this be-damned-to-you attitude where you're part of Liberty City's alpha pack, and it's a fun ride-along to go on when you have a few hours to kill. Not their best, but still another fine example of why Rockstar are among gaming's best.

Grand Theft Auto 4 introduced DLCs to the franchise. The Lost and Damned is the first of two expansions which together form the Episodes of Liberty City. While Lost and Damned's story cannot compete with the main game's, it's still worth playing.

It introduces some new features like calling gang members and riding with them in formation. It also features some new weapons which are fun to use.

However, there are some major issues: First and formost the frustrating bike riding which is caused by the main game's vehicle control. It's just unrealistic how easily these bikes turn out of a curve and it is very frustrating to put it nice.

Second issue I had, playing the game on PC were infinite loading screens at two points of the story. I had to restart the game and play the whole mission all over again. This is sad for a 15 years old DLC.

All in all an experience worth being played. It adds some interesting parts to the main story and has some great missions.

Being one of those unfortunate Playstation owners who had to wait for the much anticipated slice of Grand Theft Auto's DLC I can certainly say it was worth the delay; delivering a fantastic story that links into to the original instalment as well as a new protagonist, new weapons and pretty much everything a faithful DLC is made up of.

Johnny Klebitz is a member of the ugliest biker gang in Liberty City - The Lost (There is yet to be a playable character of the series that doesn't look like a shaven monkey - Sorry Rockstar). He has to, as expected; deal with all sort of shenanigans set to come his way within the course of roughly six to eight hours of story gameplay.

Now if you haven't already played the marvellous Grand Theft Auto 4(though you probably have, if you didn't purchase Episodes From Liberty City), then it is strongly recommended to play through Niko Bellic's story since plot details, characters and the ashamed knowledge that you know Liberty City better than your own city will all be very important to helping you appreciate the finer details of this DLC. If you do the unthinkable habit of skipping cut scenes then this obviously wont matter too much, but will help never the less.

The gameplay is the exactly the same as before so players who haven't used their dusty console in a long time shouldn't have too much trouble remembering the basics. The Lost and Damned adds plenty of fun elements to the sterling gameplay though - such as whacking people in the face with a baseball bat while racing and a Grenade Launcher that makes the old RPG look like an antique. Helpfully there are also some more useful elements such as checkpoints in long missions meaning no huge back tracking that was seen in the end of Grand Theft Auto 4.

The story ties up some unanswered loose ends of GTA 4, and creates new ones which The Ballad of Gay Tony will inevitably finish off. Also the plot despite using similar ideas seen in the previous game displays them in a different context and scenarios throughout, which does justice to the gritty tale of GTA 4 and makes the shoot-outs and killings feel more significant and varied because of this strong sense of story.

Rockstar have made a DLC worthy of any gamer's attention and made it in keeping with the tone, realism and depth fans received when they first stepped into Liberty City.

7/10, B tier. Decent dlc that definitely has a weaker story than the main game. It is good for what it is but does feel kind of weak. Jhonny is a decent protagonist but definitely doesn't have much character development.

Thank God they added mission checkpoints. I would however say that some of these missions are worse than GTA 4s. The prison bus one and the one where you take out the mob guys, just so fustrating. The final mission however was incredible. Such a great final mission.

The music is still as great as ever and the new songs are just amazing. Fit the biker theme perfectly and always make the game greater.

I love the new weapons, especially the over powered automatic shotgun but they don't have them in the gun shops to buy ammo so you can't realiably use them.

Loved all the nods to the main game and other dlc but did paint johnny in a less than favourable light.

In all a decent dlc that fixes allot of problems from the main game but ultimately has the same type of awful missions and a less interesting story.