Tuesday, 3 March 2009

GTA IV: The Lost and Damned DLC Review


Say goodbye to Niko Bellic, that loveable rogue from Serbia that we know and love, and say hello to the new guy: Johnny Klebitz. This new DLC follow’s Johnny Klebitz, a hard-as-nails biker in the gang “The Lost”. Johnny is the vice-president of The Lost, and as the president of the biker returns from rehab, Billy Grey, Johnny’s ex-girlfriend is the least of his worries. Billy decides to go on an all out war with the rival gang, “The Angels of Death” – whom are currently having a ‘ceasefire’. Ill not delve into the story any longer, as not to ruin it for anyone whom has not yet purchased it.

The DLC, priced at 1600 Microsoft Points, and a hefty 1.7gb download is not short of content. Along with the 23 individual new mission’s included in the game (which, if you paid attention to the story of GTA, link in very well with it). There are 25 new gang wars, in which you and your fellow gang members take out rival gang members – much like the gang wars of GTA: San Andreas. These gang wars help you to boost your fellow gang member’s overall toughness, and how good a chance they stand in a fight. On top of that, there’s also new Road Rash style race’s, in which you can knock each other off your bike with a baseball bat! Also, the little extra’s from GTA IV carry over – like being able to take out your buddies to get drunk, or watch a comedy show. This DLC also includes something that I believe should have been in GTA IV in the first place, mid-level check points!

In addition to the new single player features listed above, there are also new multiplayer modes. These multiplayer modes are a great addition to an already great multiplayer game. New multiplayer modes include “Own the City” (In which you and a rival team capture territories, which when captured, friendly NPC’s appear in to protect the area from the rival team appear – a gun van can be found to upgrade the NPC’s weaponry), “Chopper vs Chopper” (a 1 vs 1 where one player drives a bike, and must try to survive the longest by going through checkpoints, and the other player fly’s a NOOSE helicopter, and must try and kill the biker as quickly as possible), and “Lone Wolf Biker”. (A version of ‘tag’ in which if you kill the Lone Wolf Biker, you become the LWB, and must try to survive the longest, whilst other players try to kill you and become the LWB.) My personal favourite is Lone Wolf Biker, as nothing beats being chased by a person in a car and nipping down into the subway to get away from them!

Closing Comments
If you own GTA IV, and enjoyed it, this DLC is a must have add-on that you should definitely buy. It contains at least 8 hours of gameplay, for the quickest gamer, and if like me, someone who likes to take it steady, at least 20 hours of gameplay! The story adds an interesting new layer to Liberty City (and by taking mostly place in Alderney, the last island, my least explored – and I’m sure other people’s least explored island as well, it feels like a completely different experience), and great new multiplayer mode’s that should not be missed out on. Highly recommended!

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