Grand Theft Auto IV: The Lost and Damned

Reviewed by:
Gerasimos Manolatos

Price: $19.99

The Skinny: Return to Liberty City, only this time as bad boy biker Johnny Klebitz. The Lost motorcycle gang's top dog, Billy, is back from his stint in rehab, returning to find that his gang has put profiteering over violence with Johnny at the helm. It's up to you to temper relations with the boss, all while fighting off rival gang Angels of Death.

The Good: More guns. A new-ish storyline. More crazy, ass-clenching moments only a Grand Theft Auto game could get away with. And all for only 20 smackaroos. (But, was a flaccid penis really necessary, Rockstar?) We rushed through the missions in just under 10 hours, and while the story is solid, there are still the occasional parts in which you're stuck taxiing around jackasses and doing some not-so-interesting grunt work. Expect gameplay to last a bit longer if you want to grab all of the the expansion pack's additional 250 gamerscore points. Once you're done with the missions, you'll find a slightly meatier online experience with our new favorite mode: Chopper vs. Chopper. It's similar to Saints Row 2's Cat & Mouse mode, in which one player in a helicopter attempts to take down an opponent whose objective is to bike through as many checkpoints as possible. Oh, and the new classic metal music tracks? Fantastic.

The Bad: Eastern European transplant Niko Bellic was a perfect protagonist for the GTA series' fourth installment. In a strange new land full of sketchy associates, Niko charms his way—molotov cocktail in hand—to an eventual conclusion whereby he exacts revenge for past misdeeds. But TLAD protagonist Johnny Klebitz? While a fresh new game play perspective and an interesting personality contrast with his violence-minded superior, Johnny provides fewer memorable moments than Niko. In fact, the best missions are the ones in which Niko makes an appearance. Even then, you retrace some of the original missions, only with a different character. We really wanted to like Johnny, but once you go Bellic, it's hard to go back.

Maxim Tip: Johnny's custom-made Hexer bike apparently never returns once it is destroyed. While we did happen to lose it a few times, it managed to find its way back randomly. If you feel inclined to test this theory, we suggest creating multiple game saves before sending the bike to hog heaven.

Buy, Rent, or Disembowel: If you're still assimilating Niko into American culture with the original's missions, you might want to wait on this until you're done. Otherwise, look no further for more Liberty City mayhem.

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