Customer Reviews

Grand Theft Auto IV: The Lost and Damned

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

This isn't so much a review of The Lost & the Damned (which is great BTW), as it is a warning about spending the $22.95 they're asking for this card as of today. The game is only 1600 regular microsoft points ($19.99 just about everywhere), you don't need a special code or anything so save the few bucks and just get regular MS points, or use a credit card on the xboxlive site to download the extra episodes.

It probably says somewhere in the description that this is a download code, not a disk, but somehow I missed it. If, for instance, you are in Afghanistan where the internet is as reliable as the train service, a 1.8 gigabyte download is measured in calendar days.

An easier alternative is to just purchase this directly from the xbox marketplace when you log on with your xbox.

This is downloadable content done right. The story of Johnny K. and the rest of his biker compatriots is done so well that the claim that videogames may overtake movies in the arena of cinematic storytelling is given just that much more credibility. Compared to the cinematics of GTAIV, the cut scenes are a step up in quality on just about all counts. Facial expressions, voice acting... even the small nuances in an actor's performance make the story an engaging one, pulling you in right from the beginning moments.

The big difference between GTAIV and this expansion is that now you take on the role of Johnny Klebitz, a mad dog biker making his way up the ranks of The Lost MC (motorcycle club). The Lost MC are a colorful bunch and to detail these characters would ruin any kind of surprise that the game holds. Let's just say that you'll love who you're supposed to love and you'll despise the ones who deserve it. The story is action packed and dramatic, with great dialogue and great scenes between characters new and old. Even the missions here feel fresh, with some truly astounding mission sequences that really ratchet up the tension with loads of action packed violence. The best part is, the story fills in some unanswered blanks from Niko's time on the streets. You've met Johnny before, you probably just don't remember it.

Gameplay is just about the same with more of a focus on being a part of this family unit on wheels. You'll be spending most of your time on a motorcycle, as you'd expect. Some mechanics like the cell phone remain the same but suffice to say, when you call one of your "brothers", they'll be coming to help you either as weapon suppliers or straight backup. Even when you finish the story there will still be things for you to do: wiping out rival gangs, stealing vehicles for profit and in a tribute to the classic Road Rash games from years back, races where you wail on people with baseball bats. What more can you ask for?

A whole load of new tracks are seamlessly added to the in-game radio stations with 70's flavored rock understandably making up the bulk. The online modes are pretty sweet, with some new gameplay variations. Online play is definitely a blast, especially Witness Protection, a mode that pits players as either the cops or the motorcycle gang. The catch here is that the cops are charged with getting a bus with states witnesses on it from location to location before the motorcycle gang takes out the witnesses or the bus altogether. Mayhem is probably the best word to describe it.

If you liked GTAIV, this is a worthy purchase. The story is really well done and adds a sweet cap to the events that transpired in GTAIV. You get your money's worth and then some. This is a 5-star title all the way.

And this is only the first of two!

This is just for the xbox live code only, you will need and internet connection to download the content. This content pack focus more on driving around using a bike and I have still not finished it. Worth every penny.

The Lost & Damned, a $20 Xbox 360 exclusive, is the meatiest expansion pack to date. Not only do you get a significant single-player campaign, but L&D includes 54 new music tracks, 20 new vehicles, a half-dozen new weapons, new side missions, new TV shows and new multiplayer modes.

<SPOILER>
This time around, you play as Johnny "The Jew" Klebitz, Vice President of the biker gang named The Lost. Johnny's been the de facto leader while the President of The Lost, Billy, has been in rehab. The story begins with Billy's release and resumption of duties as head of the gang. This naturally leads to a conflict as Billy looks to dive nose-first into the drug trade while Johnny wants The Lost to be smarter about how it handles its business.

Niko is a lot more than just a guy with a funny accent. Niko's journey is one of a lonely immigrant looking for companionship in a strange city. Though he does bad things, he never comes off as a bad guy. The same can't be said for Johnny. Though L&D's story begins with suggestions that Johnny is someone trying to turn his life around, the events that unfold show him to be as horrible a person as any other crook in Liberty City. GTA has always starred men doing bad things, but all of the other lead characters were likeable in some way.

Several crucial gameplay tweaks were made for L&D. The most notable is a major tweaking of the motorcycles. Anyone who played GTA IV can tell you that the bikes can be a pain to handle and that it's easy to get unseated from your ride. Because L&D stars a biker, things needed to change. Every bike handles better in L&D and a healthy number have been added so that there's plenty of variety available. More importantly, it's incredibly difficult to be thrown from your bike now. You pretty much need to run head-on into a wall to get tossed. You can bounce off medians, smack against other cars and pretty much run roughshod over Liberty City with little concern for being unseated. What many found an annoyance, is now a great asset.

<SPOILER>
As if the bikes weren't enough fun, there are some new weapons to enjoy, all of which are among the best Liberty City has to offer. There's an auto-pistol that makes playing 10 hours with just a handgun a viable option, the assault shotgun, which is just plain filthy, a sawn-off shotty for those who like to kill in close quarters, pipe bombs in case grenades are too military for your style, and a grenade launcher which allows for skill shots through windows and over cover. These weapons are powerful and plentiful in L&D. Outside of the campaign, there's plenty to do. Getting 100% in L&D will take a good amount of time. There are 25 gang wars to be won across Liberty City, a dozen new bike races, new bike theft missions, several odd jobs to tackle for various miscreants, 50 seagulls to find and kill, a new comedy show to enjoy and some new mini-games to try.

It's important to note that The Lost and Damned is not a new game. There's just so much content here that it feels like something brand new. This is a downloadable episode and as such, it is judged against other episodic content on Xbox 360. The gameplay changes are great and the multiplayer is excellent.

The Lost and Damned (TLD) follows the story around a somewhat large motorcycle gang known as The Lost. Ever since BIlly Grey - the president - went to jail, his VP JOhnny Klebitz (you) has been rebuiling everything that he screwed up and even gaining some business partners so that The Lost can still exist. The club is doing quite well but when Billy gets out of jail, he immediately goes back to his old ways and continues to do crime that destroys everything Johnny worked hard for. Eventually a "civil war" breaks out within the club which eventually leads to many losses and downfalls.

The story was IMO, pretty good. The new weapons, while there not being that many, were also amazing (namely the auto-pistol and auto-shotgun) but its sad to know that you will never bring any of them into the original game. The motorcycle physics have been redone to the point where you will never want to use a car, ever which makes it more believable because in GTA4, motorcycles were a deathtrap whereas in this game, theyre as good as, if not better, than cars. So you may be wondering at this point: "If its such a good game, why only 4 stars?" Simple, to me it seemed to be somewhat short and the missions was just the same thing as GTA4: drive to point a, kill people, runaway from cops, go the point b, end. In the end, this game was still worth it.

I loved GTA IV, but this game takes all of the "living city" elements and deep character development to the next level. It was fun seeing Liberty City from a completely different character's perspective and the frequent cameos of characters from Niko's story were fun to see too. The gameplay remains solid and the new missions are varied and challenging. A must buy for any GTA IV fan.

The only thing I didn't like was that I had to have Xbox live to get it. Lucky for me a friend of mine had a faster internet service then me, so I took it over to his house and got it downloaded. I played a couple missions that night, and it was very entertaining. Anyone that has GTA 4 and loved it, then I say buy this edition. You'll enjoy it!

-JBT

this is an amazing download. basically its the best expansion pack ive ever seen (except Oblivion's Shivering Isles). it makes GTA IV feel like a whole new game. the graphics have been updated, theres a new story line, new characters, new playable character, new vehicles, new weapons, new locations.. eh hem, i think i covered it all, but knowing this pack, probably not. its more than worth the $20. THATS $20! that it costs. not the outlandish prices people expect on here.

buy on XBOX LIVE dont cheat yourself with amazon prices.

$20 for a 1600 points card will get you this download on the XBOX LIVE MARKETPLACE. dont let them rip you off.

this is a chance for people to live out thier inner fantasy of being a biker.think about it.kids when they are little want to be astronauts or cowboys.latrer on,its wrestlers and rockstars.there are games for 3 out of those four.even the biggest geeks wanna be bikers though.and heres you're big chance!cuz its as close as you're gonna get!
this is a gta side game about bikers!
one obnoxious thing about this game is they say the word "brother" a lot.its like a 10 hour long hulk hogan interview."hey brother!""whats up my brother""nothing my brother"wanna take down some dead beats brother".you get the idea.
a politician gets naked in this game.and no its not a chick.and yes they show it all.and there are no girl parts.whose freakin idea was that?the video game industry is outselling the movie industry every year.movies really went south when "nudity" no longer meant head lights but guy's rears.now the video game people are making the same fatal mistake.girls dont even get worked up about nudity like guys do.it was just a nasty and stupid move.a biker game with no nasty?thats unreal!
these bikers sure do cuss a lot too.i think this video game had the most bad words and phrases per capita of any game i ever played.so if you're one of those sensitive types,maybe you should buy "viva pinata".
once again,i think the overall concept is uninspired.nearly all games start off with "a government agent is blackmailing or forcing you to do thier will".come on!who hasnt seen that scenario played out a million times?would the idea "there are a gang of bikers selling drugs,watching girls on stripper poles and kicking ass because thats what hell raising bikers do" be so far fetched?i dont think so!
i also spotted a mistake in the story[SPOILER ALERT].the drug deal gone bad/shootout happened long after the kid napping of roman bellic but was backwards in this game.
HOWEVER!THese are details.the game is awesome just not perfect.it has all the epic shootouts you'd expect from a gta game.it is also a sandbox game so there is tons of high adventure all over liberty city.