THE LOST AND DAMNED Posted by Dan Pearson on Feb 24, 2009 15:55 (Feb 24, 2009 15:55) |
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Downloadable content for games is always a sore spot, the past few big releases have had them, Fallout 3 and Fable 2 add-ons were both fun but failed to completely impress the paying public. Now it’s the turn of golden boys Rockstar.
Rockstar are not strangers to extra content for games, way back on the PS One they were one of the first to release an add-on disc for the original GTA in the way of GTA London. They got it right then and my word have they got it right again with The Lost and Damned on Xbox Live. I will not spend too much time going over the game engine, suffice to say the graphics are as great as ever, the city is the same and all of the shops are still around, (check out our original GTA review here if your new to the game) so what’s new?  After a lengthy download of over 1.7 gig you load up the GTA disc and start a new game, you will see that you have two stories to choose from, the original and The Lost and Damned, that’s because even though based in the same city, this is completely separate from the main game (other than a few cameos and a little merging of stories). You play as Johnny, vice president of The Lost and Damned biker gang. You have been running the show smoothly whilst the president Billy has been in jail, however now that he is released and back in power he seems hell bent on starting up a full blown gang war with rival bikers, stealing bikes, causing fights and stealing their drugs. Being a faithful brother of the Lost you carry out his wishes, but at the same time you hate what is happening to the gang you ran so well for so long. As usual the story will takes us through the usual double crosses, crooked politicians and bent coppers, all GTA gold. The story surpasses what we have come to expect of the GTA games with voice acting and well portrayed characters that rivals the best Hollywood films, you really begin to feel for some of the characters. Though very strong, the characters almost take a back seat to the real stars of the show, the bikes, there are plenty of new rides to try out, each with rebalanced handling and controls. Being part of a gang there are times when you ride as a pack, you will have your place highlighted on the street, stay on target and you will regain health and your bike will also repair itself, which is quite handy. Each mission does not really deter from the classic formula of collecting or shooting missions. The execution of each mission is perfect, one of my favourites is a keeping a tail mission where the cops are following you, with a press of the B button you can see from the police perspective, making sure you are still in their sights and leading them to the checkpoint. On top of the main missions, gang wars and bike races will also pop up. In a pure stroke of genius you gave the ability to wield a baseball bat whilst racing, so if you are challenging a position you are able to swing the bat to the right or left of you, charge the hit and time it right to send the opposition flying. Your not alone here either, if struggling you can call in back-up from the gang.  As before you can play multiplayer via the mobile phone, however you will notice a few games missing but plenty of new additions. The deathmatch and team deathmatch modes are what you come to expect. Chopper vs Chopper has one player on a bike and the other trying to take them down in a helicopter, the obvious overkill makes for some great gaming. Own the City has teams vying for land, each highlighted area has computer controlled characters that you need to clear out of the area, but don’t stray too far from home base as rival gangs can also steal your territory. Lonewolf Biker has all players hunting down a single player, whoever kills the Lonewolf will then become the target themselves and with only 10 seconds of invincibility you have to be quick to get clear. The best mode by far is the Race mode, though not massively different from the GTA4 race mode you do have the inclusion of baseball bats, so what we have is an online GTA version of Road Rash, which of course is a classic game itself and this makes for some great road fights. Another few extras worth a mention are the updated TV channels and internet sites, new weapons including a grenade launcher and a sawn off shotgun and some new tunes that fit well with the rock lifestyles of the Lost and Damned. Finally you have the price, 1600 points seems a lot but this equates to £14 in real money which I feel is very reasonable for what is essentially a whole new game topping 10 hours in gameplay. I have spotted a few stores selling Lost and Damned points packs offering the 1600 on a payment voucher which is a very good idea. Rockstar have outdone themselves with this must have piece of DLC for the Xbox 360. The Lost and Damned is what DLC and digital distribution should be all about thanks to it’s high production value and quality content. It will now be interesting to see what other programmers bring to the mix now that they know how downloadable content should be done.
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