Expanding on Rockstar’s monster hit, Grand Theft Auto IV, the downloadable content for the Xbox 360 is due out on February 17th. While the game comes at a hefty price tag of 1600MS points, from what we’ve seen of The Lost and Damned, this might be justified. While it may be coming out slightly later than promised, the wait looks to be worth it. Whether you have finished GTAIV or not won’t matter, as you can start a new game titled The Lost and Damned.
They don't look Lost...
The Lost and Damned seems to be more than just a downloadable episode, as the amount of content and story that are being promised are more than has been seen before from something that you can download from either XBL or the PSN. It’s more akin to expansion packs that are commonly seen amongst popular PC strategy games. The Lost and Damned has players taking the role of Johnny from the biker gang, The Lost. Johnny has been keeping things tidy while the gang leader, Billy, has been in rehab. However, Billy’s out and spitting all over the good relationships that Johnny built in his absence.
GTAIV seemed to be constantly reminding you of how to play the game. However, The Lost and Damned gets rid of the whole character building aspect normally found in GTA games and you’ve got most things that you want at your disposal from the get go. This includes safehouses, access to weapons and vehicles and the fact that there won’t be such a pressing need for money. Furthermore, your phone will already be full of contacts. This tries to back up the motif for the game, where it’s more about intensity and action, rather than the survival and subsistence of Niko’s journey.
This will never get old.
This is backed up in the missions, as the few that we got to have a look at were seriously hectic. One mission had us raiding a rival biker’s hideout on the basis of revenge. Armed with a grenade launcher, we proceeded in destroying just about everything that moved or had four wheels. This content also sees the return of on-rails missions. Being armed with an automatic shotgun while speeding across the motorways, chased by police cars and choppers was an amazing thrill. Thankfully, the sequences are dynamic, so repeating won’t be the same. Furthermore, there are checkpoints within missions now, so you won’t have to replay the ‘whole’ mission if you fail.
One of the interesting aspects of the content was how Johnny’s story was connected to Niko’s. Players may remember an early mission where Johnny met up with Niko and Playboy X to check out a drug deal. When it went sour, Niko and Playboy X escaped through the roof. In The Lost and Damned, you’ll play as Johnny and escape through the front door. If you were wondering, yes, that’s head on with the cops. It will be interesting to see how much of Johnny’s story will be incorporated into what we played back in April of last year.
Don't I know you from some place?
Apart from the directional changes and additions, the game plays and looks essentially the same to GTAIV, though this is hardly a surprise. One of the minor tweaks has bikes being able to take bends at much higher speeds, as well as the addition of a team mechanic, where your gang will get better if they survive through the missions. Visually, The Lost and Damned is the same as GTAIV, though you may see things ‘differently’ as you go through locations that you didn’t go through before. The radio stations have been updated to be a bit more contemporary, as a financial crisis was mentioned during our play time. Finally, there will be some additions and updates to the multiplayer.
The Lost and Damned looks to be amongst the most sophisticated additions to a game acquired through either Xbox Live or the PlayStation Network. It’s quite reminiscent of the expansion packs that came in the months following the release of popular PC strategy games. Furthermore, it seems that you’re thrown straight into the action, with none of the stuffing around or 'character building' to get in the way, particularly when you’ve already done that playing as Niko. So as the first of two promised expansions (fingers crossed) set to release this year, it looks to set a high standard, not just for the GTA series but downloadable content in general.
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