GTA IV: The Lost And Damned review
Arguably 2008’s game of the year, Grand Theft Auto 4 was a watershed title that served up the most breathtakingly realised open-world that gamers had ever seen. A year on and Rockstar return to the sprawling and vibrant Liberty City to craft a stunning new tale as good as any in GTA’s rich history.
Returning to Liberty City is an absolute pleasure, it still amazes in scope and in detail. The immersion is quite simply incredible. As Rockstar’s seamless and cinematic intro concludes we are introduced to new lead character, Johnny Klebitz. Johnny is the Vice President of The Lost Motorcycle Club, who by their own admission are “Lawbreakers, troublemakers, beer-drinkers and hell-raisers.” Johnny’s life is about to take a serious turn for the worse with the release from prison of Billy, the gang’s psychotic President. Johnny’s story, like Niko Bellic’s, begins at a low point and only heads downhill. The comparisons don’t end there, as Johnny’s story is also one of descent and self-destruction, though it is beautifully told by Rockstar. The sparkling dialogue, excellent voice acting and skilful cinematics blur the boundaries between games and movies. Year on year Rockstar are raising the bar for everyone…
 | The Bradygames Official Strategy Guide for GTA4: The Lost and Damned is a comprehensive guide that does exactly what it says on the tin. It includes an overview of new features, full campaign walkthroughs, tips for procedural missions, random character missions, race guides, gang war tips and superbly detailed maps for each of Liberty City’s three islands. Unfortunately there is no Xbox Live achievement guide, but for £8.99 this is still a decent buy. |
Although The Lost and Damned is a new episode with a fresh plot, there are points when Niko’s and Johnny’s story arcs overlap. Whilst it doesn’t happen often, it is great fun to spot these moments and recall them from Niko’s perspective during GTA4.
Most of the action takes place in Alderney, the island of Liberty City that was latterly available in GTA4. It’s the area you know least and as such, it still feels unfamiliar as you are exploring the new elements introduced to the franchise in this 15-20 hour episode. Contrary to the predictable internet criticism, The Lost and Damned is more than just a re-skinned GTA4. There are new vehicles, new multiplayer modes and new weapons, such as the riotously fun grenade launcher. The most initially tangible change is the prominence of motorcycles and the accompanying group-riding mechanic. Riding within formation grants you a health boost and triggers on-mission dialogue. It’s a simple but compelling feature that works well and this is partly due to the bikes feeling weighty and real, yet controllable. Rockstar’s Geronimo Barrera recently confirmed they tweaked the handling and physics for all motorbikes, and it shows. (A huge relief for those who endured countless motorcycle ‘kerb-flips’ in GTA4.) Whilst riding in formation towards a mission trigger-point your Lost MC ‘brothers’ will occasionally challenge you to a race and they’ll congratulate/admonish you on your performance upon arrival. It’s not earth-shattering, but it’s a good example of the sense of refinement and revision felt throughout The Lost and Damned; subtle, iterative and successful.
As with GTA4, top billing goes not to a game character but to the world itself. It’s not just the sights and sounds of the city and its inhabitants that create the illusion of reality and immersion, so much as the sheer detail that Rockstar have lavished on their latest creation. Brake heavily and you’ll leave skid marks, see lightening and a few seconds later the control pad shakes in your hands as you hear the sound of thunder. Gaze skyward at night and you’ll see the distant lights of planes and satellites in the sky. Couple this level of detail with a superb soundtrack full of character and atmosphere and you have a level of immersion that remains unsurpassed in video gaming.
Negatives? Well, there are still a few. GTA’s idiosyncrasies either bother you or they don’t and happily for Rockstar most people fall into the latter category. Even though the negatives pale into insignificance next to the cornucopia of delights on offer, they are still present and as frustrating as ever.
It speaks volumes that the most welcome addition in The Lost and Damned is a fundamental change to the nuts and bolts of GTA mission structure: Mid-mission checkpoints. These are both long overdue and very welcome as The Lost and Damned has some awfully clumsy and annoying moments. As in almost every GTA game since the transition from 2D to 3D, these moments of frustration tend to occur during combat. Under fire, Johnny can seem ponderous and sloth like and certain animations seem to take an eternity to complete. Put simply, there are moments when a more dexterous control scheme is needed and it appears this hasn’t been taken into account with certain missions. (“Hit the Pipe” and “Heavy Toll” are the worst offenders, but there are plenty of challengers to their throne.) Rockstar leave little to chance in almost every other area of game design, so why do they struggle so much in this area? Either A) Provide the player with a control system which allows nimble and active movement. Or, B) Design missions in such a way as to be sympathetic to the control scheme that you’ve provided. Unfortunately, this balance was struck more successfully in GTA4 than in The Lost and Damned.
It would be wrong to dwell on these annoying aspects as they represent such a small part of The Lost and Damned. These negatives are so pronounced because the overwhelming majority of The Lost and Damned is effortlessly superb. Even so, let’s hope Rockstar resolve these issues before the second DLC episode hits Xbox Live later in the year.
If you weren’t a fan of GTA4 you won’t enjoy The Lost and Damned. But if you did like GTA4, you’re in for a treat. This is a brawling, bruisingly-violent tale of rock and roll skulduggery that entertains from the first minute to the last. Despite some hugely frustrating moments during a handful of missions, The Lost and Damned is a superb title and an absolute must for fans of GTA4.
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