GTA IV: How The Lost and Damned makes Niko look soft

Within five minutes of our hands-on with GTA IV’s long awaited DLC, The Lost and Damned, we’ve already watched a cut-scene where a bloke’s shot in the back in broad daylight, a building's gutted with a grenade-launcher for no reason and heard enough swears to make Chris Rock blush. “We’re going for a grittier theme this time around” we’re told by a Rockstar representative, and they’ve certainly achieved it.

New amoral lead, Johnny Klebitz and the rest of his gang make the adventure of Niko Bellic seem like a stroll in Middle Park. They don’t give a stuff about snuffing out a rival in the day or even killing women. In fact, it’s not just the new grainy filter on screen that depicts a seedier side to Liberty City, it’s the callous actions of your biker chapter, The Lost, that give this new episode a darker outing. Compared to Klebitz and his crew, Niko seems a bit soft. Here's why.

JOHNNY'S IN A PROPER GANG WITH HARD MEN...

Unlike Niko Bellic, Johnny’s already a fully-fledged citizen of criminal underbelly and he’s got a crew to ride with. There’s a formation pattern to stick to when rolling as a gang, and if you can hold your position in The Lost’s logo that appears on the ground to show where you should be, then you’ll start banter with your buddies. This makes them more inclined to protect you in battle and increases their fighting skills too.

However, if one of these guys bites the big one, they’ll be gone forever and replaced with a rookie who you can build up again. Although you can bypass this and just crack on with the killing yourself if you like. The bikes have also been tuned here so they feel a lot more sturdy than before, which is ace because you’ll be on them a lot. Don’t worry mind, because Johnny can still steal cars and hail cabs just like Niko.

...SO THERE'S SOME PROPER GANG WARFARE

It’s not long before you descend on a rival gang’s hideout for a bout of violence. The second mission – Angels In America – sees The Lost president, Billy, declare war at The Angel’s HQ because he believes they killed their buddy Jason (in actual fact it was Niko from the original GTA IV mission 'No Love Lost'). A grenade-launcher shot through the window sees gang members pouring out of the place like angry rats.

This sparks all-out gang warfare as you bust into the burning place to retrieve a stash of smack – the real reason Billy wanted the raid. But like Billy says “Act fast and don’t think about the consequence as success works like a bike. The faster you’re going the more momentum you pick up”. Harsh.

The missions intertwine with the main threads from GTA IV, which means you’ll fill in certain plot points from the original and also bump into old acquaintances like Niko, Playboy X and Elizabeta along the way.