I’ll not beat around the bush to set this article up; I’ve written two pieces about Grand Theft Auto IV, and this one is on The Lost and Damned. Let’s simply state, I love the GTA series and have been a fan since I was a little child using a sex toy to beat a prostitute to death, in order to get some money to gamble in the casinos. Yes, I am the nightmare of any parental advisory group. A (somewhat) stable human that grew up ramping off dead grandparents as he was shot by some cops.

However, I also did spend a few years of my youth around some bikers. Then this was followed by playing a bit of The Lost and Damned. This was the first of two expansions on the game already set in the fictionalized New York known as Liberty City. Focusing on the character of Johnny Klebitz and the bikers whom he’s at odds with from the beginning. Already, while now a stereotype thanks to The Sons of Anarchy, it is a fresher and more joyful experience than we had with Niko.

While we now know Johnny’s fate, it is strange to go back and find him so human [SPOILER ALERT!] before his brains became mince meat in San Andreas’ state. However, in the beginning, we are shown Johnny and other members of the Lost MC riding to pick up their president, Billy Grey. Through many expletives and references to Billy’s drug abuse, it is set up that Johnny (second in command) isn’t too happy to hand the reigns of the club back over to him. As anyone who’s seen Sons of Anarchy knows; some support the old way of things, and some would like a new way of thinking. Johnny is organized and safe, while Billy is the old chaotic evil.

As it is only eight hours long, I won’t spoil much further than the chapter in which presidency returns to Johnny; some strife falls upon him and the club. However, it is during this time we see where Johnny has been playing a part in Niko’s struggle. This includes offering Roman a cab ride from Dimitri Rascalov, drug deals gone sour with Niko, and the downfall of Elizabeta. This is where I once again suggest that Elizabeta is one of the most important characters of the two expansions and main game.

Has the gameplay changed even a little since your time with Niko? Yes. Now that you are part of and/or leading the bikers there is a part of the game where you “ride with your brothers.” Yes, you’ll hear “brother(s)” more times than watching an 80s wrestler try not to be racist by supplementing the N-word for “Brother.” Nonetheless, it is this mechanic that lives by the sword and dies by it. While it is a nice idea to show gang mentality; the AI rubberbanding and completely sideswiping you is dreadful.

Other than this, the cars and bikes still work as well as an Alzheimer’s patient at Guess Who. “Am I a phallic sex toy? No, am I a cardboard box? No, am I a motorbike? Oh heavens, I am a thing with an internal combustion engine!” They are still the slidey Heffalumps with more power than they know what to do with. So yes, they are still roughly the same; however, you are forced onto more usable bikes this time around.

There are new and improved guns over the main game. Being bikers, they use shotguns, which makes sense because when I think of bikers I think of guns. Well, no. Usually, I think of drug running and sitting about smoking more weed than all of Woodstock put together. Though that’s my own experience of bikers coming into play.

Nevertheless, I once again used the cheats because this time the money you earn is hardly enough to submit to the IRS as your legitimate monthly earnings. The only difference between the main weapons of the main game and The Lost and Damned is the useful shotgun, with the end game having very powerful explosives. They are more fun, but they are also hampered with what the last game had. It’s still horrific seeing someone get up hobbling to the exit once you’ve shot them.

The Lost and Damned is a thematic shift from misery guts being sad about something all the time. You can’t buy clothes; but they weren’t worth anything in the base game either, so that’s about the same. Most of the game is set on the bleak third island that you unlock, which means color is not something you’ll find in this expansion. Much like Batman, The Lost and Damned only work in black and very very dark grey, sometimes brown.

In conclusion, I would recommend The Lost and Damned; if not for being more fun than the base game, because it has the least amount of Niko. However, it still has the problem of being a little depressing and neurotic at times. While I enjoy Johnny more as a character, there’s still a lack of fun when you ramp off of Ethel’s new hip replacement. I guess it is only to the second expansion: the one that’s gay in both senses of the word.

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GTA IV: The Lost and Damned (PC) - Review

$19.99 USD

7

Score

7.0/10

Pros

• More fun than the base game.
• Fun additional weapons.
• Same great world.

Cons

• The AI of friendly NPCs is a little wonky.