REVIEW: The Lost and Damned

I've decided to review The Ballad of Gay Tony and Lost and Damned separately. Together, on the single Episodes from Liberty City disc at $40, I'd be hard pressed not to give the package 5 out of 5.

But maybe The Lost and Damned suffers its counterpart, being the milder, better written tale of what it means to be responsible, even when you're a rough neck motorcyclist who manages to hold what semblance of a family a bike club makes.

In TLAD, you play as Johnny Klebitz, second in command of The Lost Motorcycle Club. When Johnny's captain, Billy, is released from rehab, Johnny sees much of the prosperity he's worked for go to shit.

I say TLAD is the milder, more mature story because of themes worked into the mission structure and the lack of ape shit weaponry and vehicular combat. Players will find themselves launching grenades into the windows of rival gang clubhouses, but they won't be doing any base jumping.

Johnny does a lot of complaining, but I'd be hard pressed to find anyone who wouldn't complain when they're being endlessly shot at for a leader who's junkie habit has turned him into little more than a maniacal, selfish, jackass. Tensions immediately rise between Billy and Johnny, though that tension is necessarily felt by the player, so much as it is unnerving. If you can't guess what you'll be doing in the final mission by the second or third mission, then I'd have to say "Pay attention, soldier!"

From a writing stand point, I actually remember liking TLAD better than The Ballad of Gay Tony, but as far as quality gaming goes, TBOGT is the way to go. If you're only interested in downloading one episode from Liberty City, I'd have to suggest investing in Gay Tony and his clubs. Despite that, just buy the Episodes disc. It's a much better value.

PLAY READ WRITE / REVIEW SCORE: 4 OUT OF 5