Yes, we know races aren’t new to GTA IV’s multiplayer, but Lost and Damned’s take on the formula takes a pretty straightforward motorcycle race and turns it into an homage to Road Rash. Every racer gets a bat that they can use to clobber opponents on the left (by hitting X) or on the right (B). Holding down the button enables players to wind up for a stronger hit. And like in nearly every other L&D multiplayer mode, anyone who falls off their bike can respawn with it – at the last race checkpoint they passed – by holding down Y.

Mikel: So yeah, Races. Rockstar's found another way to make these interesting, this time by taking inspiration from Road Rash.

Chris: Which is a great place to start. I lost hours to that game.


Mikel: Did you have much luck clubbing anything? Because I think I got in like two, maybe three good hits in the two races we played through.

Chris: Yes!



Mikel: I don't think it was until race number two that I figured out you could get a stronger hit by holding down the buttons.

Chris: Clubbing is almost my favorite thing about the DLC, since you can hold the button to reel back an even more absurd hit.

Mikel: I didn't manage to do anything besides knock some opponents off-balance for a second, though, even with a really awesome charged hit.

Chris: Basically, I held that button the whole time, -for maxi-smack impact! - only to unleash it whenever I came across anybody.

Mikel: It's such a great feeling when you're doing that, and you see a target coming up that you can align yourself with perfectly, and then WHACK!

Chris: A hard-enough hit can knock someone completely off their bike. I did this several times, and although I couldn't see it, the laughter of the riders behind me assured me it was both successful and hilarious.

Mikel: The only thing is, I kind of wanted to see them go skidding face-first and that just never happened for me.

Chris: It's like mailbox baseball, but with the heads of unwashed ruffians!

Mikel: Huh. I guess my ruffians were just better at staying seated than yours.

Chris: Well that's the thing. That may happen, but you'll be too far away to see it...

Mikel: But yeah, this was a lot of fun, and that's coming from someone who normally hates the racing in GTA IV. When it's more about bashing heads than hitting checkpoints, I don't mind so much when I come in close to last.

Chris: You won't see someone take a tumble unless you're looking in the rearview. But shouldn't you be racing, mister?

Mikel: To hell with your racing! If the clubbing controls carry over into single-player, that's all I'll be doing. Just cruising along the sidewalks, smacking people in the face.

Chris: Well, you didn't have as bad as one of the Rockstar guys (Steve Hahnel, I believe). He was in a top position, his bike was taken out right before the finish, so he had to sprint to the line.

Mikel: He could have just respawned his bike, but that would have taken time. And set him back to the last checkpoint, which would have cost him the race.

Chris: I admired his efforts, but cocked up anyway, hit him at full force as I cruised in for fifth place and enjoyed the "OHHHHHH" that emanated from everyone spectating.

Mikel: What a bastard.

Chris: The main incentive to not jump into a car is the clubbing. And it's totally worth it!

Mikel: Yeah, clubbing is a lot more fun than just ramming someone with a fender. I'm not being sarcastic, either.

Chris: I agree. It was enjoyable enough to overshadow hitting checkpoints and my placement in the race itself. But you gotta wonder if that can sustain a multiplayer mode...

Mikel: It was fun while we played, at least.


Basically just a hyperviolent game of tag, Lone Wolf Biker declares one player the Lone Wolf, and tasks him with racing through a series of checkpoints while everyone else tries to kill him. Whoever succeeds then becomes the Lone Wolf, and the player who can remain Lone the longest by the end of the match wins.

Chris: One of the most suggested changes from our readers was some kind of zombie mod.

Mikel: Well, zombies ain't happening this time around, unless there's something Rockstar didn't tell us. They're not in the multiplayer, at least. I do see the appeal, though; the games that have included something similar, like Call of Duty: World at War, Saints Row 2 and Gangs of London have never quite done it right.

Chris: Yeah the zombie thing isn't in the cards, but the infection-spread tag mechanic is present in the Lone Wolf Biker mode. Kind of a Liberty City version of the schoolyard classic "Smear the Q-word we can't say."

Mikel: That's true. Think of Lone Wolf as being chased by fast zombies, who can shoot guns and ride motorcycles. And also don't look like zombies.

Chris: And the person "tagged" is actually "brutally murdered by up to 15 opponents."

Mikel: Yeah, or "perforated by machinegun fire from all directions"

Chris: It really was the most hilariously chaotic mode I've seen in the game, one guy versus all.

Mikel: God, that was insane. I started out as the Lone Wolf, fell off my bike (because the bike I chose was insanely shitty) and then was immediately cut down after the brief invincibility period wore off. Like in every other mode, you can hold Y to respawn your bike, but damned if I could keep from panicking long enough to remember that. I don't even know how it's possible to run the checkpoints with 15 crazed bikers on your ass.

Chris: And the person who kills the "Q-word" then becomes him, with only a 10-second grace period to get away from the pack. About the funniest thing I saw was you as the target, trying to flee the group by running downstairs into a park bathroom.

Mikel: I killed the Lone Wolf in Middle Park and then immediately dove over a railing and tried to get clear of the crowd. Instead, I just ran into a dead-end bathroom and cowered in a stall for a few seconds, like some kind of noob.

Chris: You were backed into a corner and killed vicously. And I got my bike stuck in a urinal. So thank god for that respawn button.

Mikel: Man, how many times do you get to write "I got my bike stuck in a urinal?" But yeah, Bruce Dugan from Rockstar cornered me and we shot each other to death at point-blank range.

Chris: It looked like I brought the BatPod into a bathroom stall.

Mikel: That's what happens when it's near impossible to fall off, I guess. It can still happen, but it seems to be only slightly more frequent than flying through the windshield of a car.

Chris: When something crazy enough did occur, I flew about thirty feet in the air and died in an extremely amusing show of polygon slapstick.

Mikel: I don't think I was that lucky. I just fell off and got riddled with bullets. No sound except for the constant popping of SMG fire.