Videogame Review: Grand Theft Auto IV: The Lost and the Damned

Rockstar
Available now
> The action is hot in this downloadable episode.

Liberty City has got chopper fever in the Xbox Live exclusive The Lost and the Damned episode of GTA IV. You play Johnny, the second-in-command of biker gang The Lost, who, we learn, looked after the gang when the leader was in rehab for heroin addiction. Now that the leader’s out, he’s looking for trouble, and you have to clean up after him—as well as make some dirt yourself. Download time was about 30 minutes, but set up was nothing; a couple seconds later, we were riding our chopper through the streets of Liberty City. The biking action is fun and refreshingly different from GTA IV. The script and voice talent are as good as in the original too, as are the graphics. The Lost does have some improvements over its predecessor, such as shorter story return when your character dies and the ability to train your cohorts to be better helpers. If said cohorts die, however, you have to train all over again with the replacement.

Shelf Talk: Grand Theft Auto IV is one of the titles that helped the videogames industry expand to a majority share of the global home entertainment market last year. This exclusive “episode” is a good catch for Xbox Live, and retailers can get in the game by selling special gift cards.