Previews// GTA IV: The Lost and Damned

Aside from a few exceptions – Burnout Paradise being the most notable – it seems the true potential of DownLoadable Content (DLC) has been somewhat wasted, with developers opting to nickel-and-dime gamers for costume packs and weapons that for some reason were not already on the game disc. With Grand Theft Auto IV, Rockstar is dipping its toe into the DLC market, and is packing tons of brand new content in the process.

In The Lost and Damned, players assume the role of Johnny Klebitz, a member of the titular Lost Motorcycle Club as he is thrown in the middle of rival gang warfare, initiated by his trigger-happy club leader. The episode focuses on The Lost’s side of Liberty City, intertwining with events in the main GTA IV game. While details on the missions themselves were shrouded in secrecy, SPOnG was invited to pop round to Rockstar’s gaffe and play some of the new multiplayer modes included in the DLC.

All of the multiplayer games in The Lost and Damned feature motorcycles – which makes sense, given you’re part of a biker gang and all. The first type of game I played was a city race, where players had to ride through checkpoints around a chosen district in Liberty City. Influenced by games such as Road Rash, you can also beat up a rider next to you to try and knock them off course.

This mode could be the most popular, but I also found it to be the one that felt the least satisfying to play. The bikes are quite difficult to control, with overturning a frequent problem for those who were scrambling to reach the checkpoints (missing them by a narrow margin was another issue entirely).

The handling was most likely tweaked for this mode in order to make it easier for players to slalom in and out of back alleys and cars at high speed, so it is worth exploring all the bike models on offer before taking the racing side seriously.

The handling wasn’t a problem on any of the other modes however, even when using the same bike – which is good news because most of the other modes are fantastic. Some were bike-focused renditions of popular FPS setups:

Deathmatch sees folks from different gangs racing around the city, grabbing pick-ups from the pavement and blowing a hole in the competition’s head.

Own The City is your classic Territories match, but this time it's on Harleys. To take over a territory, you have to kill all the enemies defending it – assuming a rival gang isn’t in the same area, you can also take over some neutral zones to even the score.