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Don’t take this per- sonally, Niko Bellic. But Johnny Klebitz, anti-hero of Grand Th eft Auto IV: Th e Lost and Damned, makes you look like a bit of a putz.
The Lost and Damned is the fi rst download- able add-on for last year’s blockbuster crime opus Grand Th eft Auto IV, and it sets the bar not only for how much stuff can be packed into one of these online expansions, but how ridic- ulously slick it can be.
Available only for the Xbox 360 version of GTA IV for a cost of 1,600 Micro- soft points (about $23), Th e Lost and Damned revolves around the Lost, a motor- cycle gang in GTA IV’s Liberty City that’s being pulled apart by forces both external and internal.
GTA IV protagonist Niko Bellic isn’t the star of the show here, although he does pop up in a few cam- eos. Instead, you play as the Lost’s vice president, Johnny Klebitz, who fi nds himself butting heads with gang leader Billy Grey, freshly sprung from rehab and eager to get back to rul- ing his nether- world fi efdom of bikes, guns and drugs.
(It’s got to be said that the dialogue and voice acting in Th e Lost and Damned is some of the best we’ve ever heard in a video game. A lot of it wouldn’t sound out of place in an episode of Th e Wire or Th e Sopranos, it’s that good.)
The Lost and Damned doesn’t introduce any new geography to the sprawling virtual metropolis of Lib- erty City, but it does off er a chance to see GTA IV’s cracked mirror image of NYC through the eyes of a diff erent character, with his own unique set of moti- vations, desires, friends and ruthless enemies.
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The dozens of new mis- sions range from waging war with rival bike gangs to saving Johnny’s ex-girl- friend from the meth addicts she’s fallen in with, and they all feel slightly more fi ne-tuned — or at least a little less repetitive – than what GTA IV itself offers.
The handling of the game’s motorcycles has been mercifully overhauled — an important detail, given how much time you spend astride a two- wheeled steed, often as part of a convoy of Lost brothers heading into battle with the rival Angels of Death gang.
With The Lost and Damned, the guys at Rock- star Games have struck a balance between dra- matic storytelling, absurdly over-the-top action and wicked social satire. It’s a blend that’s become this franchise’s trade- mark, and it’s never been more evident than here.
The Lost and Damned clocks in at about 10 to 12 hours, if you tackle the story with relative focus. But because this is Grand Theft Auto, you’ll likely fi nd your- self sucked back into the near-limitless distractions of Liberty City’s urban sand- box, with new additions like air hockey, arm wres- tling and a half-dozen new online multiplayer modes.
And again, there’s some- thing about Johnny Klebitz and his brotherhood of bik- ers that just makes this game feel, I don’t know, cooler somehow. More relatable, more cohesive and a little more fun. Or maybe it’s just that we don’t have to listen to Niko’s accent any more.
BottomLine
Although it doesn’t reinvent the GTA IV wheel, The Lost and Damned is a meaty, action-packed and well-told new chapter in the saga of Liberty City, with some welcome new tweaks and a fascinating group of characters.
which anti-hero Johnny Klebitz chats with a distressingly uninhibited politician at a day spa. What, the guy couldn’t fi nd a towel?
Some pervy GTA IV fans cried foul when the original game’s strippers never got more naked than panties and pasties, and demanded full nudity in the next instalment. Just goes to show, you gotta be careful what you wish for.