'GTA: The Lost And Damned' (Xbox 360)

Also available on: N/A
Genre: Action
Developer: Rockstar North
Publisher: Rockstar Games
Release date: February 17, 2009

The last time gamers ventured into Liberty City, Rockstar's masterly realisation of New York from Grand Theft Auto IV, they enjoyed one of the greatest gaming experiences of all time. The Lost And Damned, the title's first downloadable content (DLC), departs the rags to slightly better rags story of immigrant Niko Bellic in favour of bikes, gangs, guns and guts. In doing so, it adds another superb layer to an already magnificent package.

Following Microsoft's sweet talk and stuffed sack of cash, Rockstar opted to make the DLC exclusive to the Xbox 360 console (alongside another instalment to come). Priced at 1600 Microsoft Points (about £14), the pack takes up around 1.7 gigabytes of hard drive space before playing the main game as normal to trigger the new story. The star of the show this time is Johnny Klebitz, vice-president of the Alderney chapter of The Lost biker gang, who is the usual GTA mix of screw-loose killer and jaded moral crusader.

The game opens with Klebitz and his brethren cruising down the highway to pick up chapter president Billy Grey, who has just finished a stint in the slammer. While Grey was incarcerated, Klebitz brokered a truce with other factions in Liberty City, but his president feels differently. After a pit-stop to dose up on bottle, blow and babes, Grey kicks off the madness all over again. This launches a pulsating, brutal and engaging story which even includes a rather startling full nudity scene (anyone prudish should watch out for Thomas Stubbs in the massage parlour).

While there may not be any new areas to explore, the breadth, scale and sheer energy of Liberty City still takes the breath away. Rockstar North has also placed a dirtier, grittier, grimier filter onto the already murky metropolis, which really reflects the harder tone of the story. Your first safe-house is a broken down bar with pole dancers, gnarly bikers and heavy metal music playing 24/7, which is perfectly in fitting with Klebitz's hedonistic and violent world (although the brothers are sophisticated enough to be hooked up to broadband).

There are the usual GTA cultural references, humour and satire which have helped to make the franchise such a success over the years. With new songs and entertainment, including arm wrestling and hi-lo card games, the city is given a fresh injection of life to avoid the feeling of 'been there, done that'. The game also keeps topical with references to the current economic downturn. Although, as volatile Latino drug kingpin Elizabeta Torres aptly puts it: "People are always going to want what we've got to sell."

As usual, any car is available to steal, but you'll often gravitate towards motorbikes as this fits more naturally with the experience. Klebitz handles the bikes with more esteem than Bellic and there are also new choppers and superbikes to get your teeth into. Riding in formation with The Lost feels great and you are also rewarded with health bonuses for holding position on a club icon which appears on the road.

While not wishing to give too much away, the story dovetails pretty neatly with events in the main game. You'll experience Bellic's missions from an alternative point of view, which adds an illuminating angle to both his story and the underbelly of Liberty City in general. However, if you've not made much progress in the main game, then it is probably best to hang on before jumping into the DLC in order to avoid potential spoilers.

You'll also notice that the learning curve is significantly steeper as it is assumed that you are already a GTA veteran and so can cope with being thrown right into the action. This is helpful due to the immense body count in The Lost And Damned. Right from the start, it is clear that the brutality and criminality has been ramped up a notch with Klebitz's trail of bodies making Bellic look like a gun-shy monk. "The almighty forgives, but The Lost don't", Grey points out to his vice-president ahead of a particularly bloody gang battle.

Even after the first few missions, you will have already dropped countless corpses throughout the Five Boroughs. This robs some of the realism from proceedings and can also make some missions feel a bit like convoluted massacres. One of the main targets for your rage will be rival biker gang the Angels of Death, who are pitched at the more supremacist end of the spectrum (not least on their own in-game website). In opposition, The Lost has African-American members and Klebitz is also revealed to be of Jewish decent, which is clearly a keen effort by Rockstar to distance players from the potential Aryan elements sometimes associated with biker gangs.

However, it is not just fellow criminals and unlucky bystanders who drop like flies in the DLC, as half the Liberty City Police Department will also bite the bullet. Rampant murder sprees prove enjoyable, though, due to some excellent new weapons, such as a grenade launcher and sawn-off shotgun. Bikes and firearms can be acquired from fellow gang members, who can also be summoned for backup on heavy missions by calling them on the in-game mobile phone. This adds to the real sense of brotherhood in that you feel part of The Lost fraternity, ready to fight and die (digitally speaking, that is) for the cause.

In terms of value for money, 20 or so main missions can be beaten in about ten hours, depending on player skill level. This is not bad for the price, although it is in addition to the £40-50 already paid for the main game. A welcome new addition is the checkpoint system, which allows you to retry missions instantly rather than trundle through occasionally lengthy preambles. This cuts down any niggling frustrations and frees up time for those memorable GTA moments, such as torching an enemy safe house and then cruising away to the sounds of Jailbreak by Thin Lizzy.

Aside from the main campaign, side-missions include races incorporating Road Rash style bike-to-bike violence, as well as 25 gang war scenarios where you and your bros dole out some vengeance on another faction. Online multiplayer is made easier by an instant play system via the in-game phone, which cuts down queuing time. New games include Chopper Vs Chopper, Lone Wolf Biker, Club Business and Own the City, which all prove good fun and solid additions to the existing GTA IV online roster.

Overall, The Lost And Damned honours the original game and also adds a new layer as well. There is a slight disappointment with no new areas of the city available to explore, alongside the rather ridiculous body count. It is also unfortunate that PS3 owners who played and enjoyed GTA IV will not be able to experience running and gunning with The Lost (unless they also own an Xbox 360, that is). However, these are relatively minor criticisms as The Lost and Damned provides a rich, worthy and fulfilling reason to mount up and return to Liberty City.


> What do you think of the DLC? Share your views