The Lost and Damned appreciation thread

[The Bad]

"Across the West River from glamorous Algonquin lies Alderney; home to industrial wastelands, strip malls, dreary suburbia and The Lost Brotherhood, a notorious biker gang along with band of thieves, murderers and drug-runners. The Lost have sworn to live by their own rules, above the law and in complete allegiance to the brotherhood. Billy Grey, the clubs President, has one set of priorities: Bikes, Booze, Babes and Blow; in any order and preferably all at the same time. His second-in-command, Johnny Klebitz, knows that time is running out for this gang of outlaws, and with money to be made in Liberty City, he is determined to make cash as quickly as possible before they all ride off into the sunset. Johnny has been in control of the club while Billy serves out a court-ordered stint in rehab. He has focused the gangs activities on deals and truces, instead of petty vendettas, and has been making good inroads into Liberty City's organized crime world, even developing a working business relationship with the Angels of Death, long-term rivals of The Lost. One problem. Billy's coming home, and he's crazier than ever..."

 

The Lost and Damned's plot and tone consists of a dark, gritty lifestyle revolving around The Lost Motorcycle Club that operates in Liberty City. Billy Grey is the president of the club, who is the most reckless of all and leads the others in a stubborn refusal of rational methodology (even in the case of Johnny, when Billy frowns upon him for making peace with the Angels of Death). While the main protagonist, Johnny Klebitz, is battling rivals across Liberty City beside their gang he also associates with wealthy political congressmen, lower-class bikers and drug pushers, emphasizing the distinction between upper and lower class in America. The Lost own a clubhouse and mostly patrol throughout Alderney, North Algonquin, and South Bohan. Labeled as the most dangerous threats to personal safety in Liberty City, the Lost partake in drinking and drug abuse, gang shootouts, illegal racing, drug distribution, mere prostitution and motorcycle thefts. When Johnny Klebitz and his fellow bikers feel compelled to "put this place out of its misery" by burning it to the ground, it symbolizes the end of the Lost motorcycle club, as the pressures of authority, government, territorial gangs, and members either double-crossing the gang or becoming killed by the dozens prove that the club can no longer function from the enemies it has gained.

 

What did you enjoy about it?

Edited October 22, 2014 by The Bad

[B Dawg]

What did you enjoy about it?

Everything. From the backup system to Gang Wars difficulty, to the glorious radio stations that are up to standards set by Vice City or San Andreas, the awesome choppers and extra utility vehicles. The whole theme overall.

[Payne Killer]

Everything, the bikes, Johnny K, the bike handling, and the damn good songs on Liberty Rock Radio and LCHC.

[Onett]

Everything, the bikes, Johnny K, the bike handling, and the damn good songs on Liberty Rock Radio and LCHC.

This. Also, The Lost themselves.

[Algonquin Assassin]

I think the thing I enjoyed about TLAD the most was actually feeling like I was apart of a gang. When Johnny took over as chapter president it made me feel like the baddest motherf*cker in Liberty City and of course the cross overs with GTA IV is another thing I like.

 

Out of the two episodes TLAD has always been the better one to me.

[fefenc]

...and R* has f*cked with the only TRUE interactive gang on HD era...

[Lethal Vaccine]

As most of you said, those are many of the reasons I like TLaD, too. It just feels like an all around great game and like SoL said, I prefer TLaD as well to TBoGT. Personally, I like TLaD, then IV, then TBoGT, but IV and TLaD are pretty much equal at 9.5/10 and 10/10, whereas TBoGT falls short at 8.5/10 or 9/10. Still nothing wrong, but I still and always will prefer TLaD over TBoGT.

 

It's strange, though, my true love goes to 3D Era, IV, TLaD. Notice, TBoGT and V are next on the list in order of release. This is why I have no hopes for Rockstar and GTA anymore because they will never return to my favorites (III, VC, SA, LCS, or VCS) and I doubt they will ever return to how IV and TLaD was. They will only be scraping the barrel with TBoGT type of stuff and/or GTA V. As TBoGT and V are my least favorite in the series, but TBoGT is still WAY better than V. TBoGT like I said, to me, is around 8.5/10, but V is like 6 or 6.5/10, the lowest rating I gave to any GTA game.

[Drunken Cowboy]

Excellent, lively, believable characters with impeccable voice actors. Big focus on motorcycles, heavy metal, denim and leather, "hardcore" lifestyle. Coherent and creative story that was paced well and blended with GTA IV's. Emotionally gripping especially in those final scenes and phone calls. Copious amounts of neat motorcycles that looked, sounded, and handled awesomely.
Seemed to be the best crime simulator of all the GTAs. "You're part of a gang. You've gotta deal with a lot of sh*t. There isn't going to be a happy ending and you aren't gonna have millions of dollars lying around." Again, there was something pretty daring and profound about leaving the player on a piss-soaked mattress with $20,000 in the end.

Johnny is one of my favorite characters in gaming. He showcases that chivalry, fatalism, and smarmy sarcasm that a lot of heralded video game characters showcase (Max Payne, John Marston, etc.) yet didn't seem to have a lot of fan support at the end of the day.

 

To summarize, every character and near every mission served a purpose. Cool unique music, vehicles, and guns, and like GTA IV it didn't sacrifice story, plot, or characters for great gameplay.

11/10 would sell a copy of GTA V again to buy EFLC on Steam again.

[matajuegos01]

i don't know about you but i feel like TLAD was the logical step after IV, it was more serious, more gritty, more violent, I don't know but i considerit to be the most mature gta as of now. I like everything from it

[Goldn-Bayse]

What do I like about it?

 

Great interesting story with likable characters (except you baby Brian, I hate you), Bike Mechanics, Gang Wars, Great Weapons, more exposition for the GTA IV trilogy and the great conversations between Johnny and Malc.

[The_B1u3_Jay]

GTA:V spoilers

I appreciated Trevor stomping a mudhole in this pathetic meth-heads ass.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jk.

 

-I appriciated the fun protagonist that Johnny was.

-I loved everything from the new weapons (Sawn-off and Assslt Shotgun) and vehicles (All of the new

motorcycles) to the better bike handling.

-I loved the LostMC clubhouse with all of those fun activites.

-I felt like a baddass biker riding down the street in my hexer and blasting the AI with my sawn-off shot-gun.

-I also loved the gang wars. Even if they were a pain in the ass after level 30.

-I also loved Liberty Rock Radio and Integrity 2.0 (Hellicoper landing pad) ;-)

Edited October 24, 2014 by Awesom-0

[donnits]

I appreciate that Johnny was just a minor character in IV and yet Rockstar managed to turn him into one of my favorite protagonists in The Lost and Damned. I appreciate that they completely changed Liberty City without actually doing anything to this city. They made it feel scarier and dirtier, which i really liked. I especially appreciate the new bikes, like the Angel, Lycan and Johnny's very own Hexer. There's even new driving physics to go along with these new bikes, enhancing the feel of being a true biker. Driving bikes, especially the Hexer or the Hakuchou is also just plain fun. Personally, it's the funnest driving i ever played in a video game. The story itself was also great, along with the characters. I very much liked Billy as an antagonist. He and Brian did some funny things in the story, like Billy's tricking of Dave with mescaline and the laugh that soon followed or Brian's overall pathetic-ness. However, they also did things to truly get under your skin, like an antagonist should. The game is also VERY quotable - almost everything Ray Boccino says is golden. Billy's memorial for Jason was great, too. Characters like Jim and Angus felt like true friends. The new guns on offer were so awesome, too. I love me a classic double-barrel sawed-off or a modified automatic pistol. The Street Sweeper, although VERY cheap, is just badass. On the flip side, Pipe Bombs, as useless as they are, are awesome, as well. The weapons gave you the feel of being a criminal, as they were mostly illegally modified or created from scratch. The new Gang Wars side job is so much fun, i love it. My favorite side job in the IV saga (and HD era so far). This list can go on and on, and i'm sure i missed some stuff, but i'm going to stop now.

 

To put it simple, everything new that The Lost and Damned added - it knocked it out of the park.

[Niobium]

choppers, great music (not only rock, but vice city and vladistock fm), an anti-authority, racist-killing protagonist who rides awesome choppers, shotguns, awesome friends like jim, amazing storyline, gang wars...

 

that is all...

[HollandNights]

Only thing they did wrong with TLAD was that they didn't give it a full size spin-off!

[HollandNights]

Only thing they did wrong with TLAD was that they didn't give it a full size spin-off!

[Drunken Cowboy]

^Despite EFLC's immense sales numbers, they dissappointed R*.

Mature kids who like gang wars and cage fighting don't buy enough cash cards.

[HOW'S ANNIE?]

What I like about TLAD? It's utterly brutal. Yeah sure IV was dark and serious, but just the way sh*t is in TLAD really makes me feel like I'm with a bunch of out of control psychopaths. The fact we ride around in groups using heavily modified weapons (not just things like a scope or grip, but TRUE blackmarket sh*t) and utterly destroying those in my way made me feel like it was truely a gang simulator. Then there's all the drug use and Stubb's nudity, both of which we'd never seen, or at least as heavily, in a GTA game before. Everybody who walked away alive, yet had nothing in return money-wise or life-wise. Unlike Niko who by the end of IV had nothing but a sh*tload of retirement money, Johnny, Terry, Clay and Angus had to really start from scratch.

 

Then there's Billy of course. My definition of a perfect protagonist. There was just this love/hate relationship between Johnny and Billy. Even if you didn't get to see it all unfold on screen you got a decent idea that Billy truely was someone whose vices destroyed his mind and turned everyone against him. When Johnny came for him he didn't put on some big cliched speech or bed for mercy, he knew he was dead and just rolled with it. You can even see how much Johnny really did care about Billy, and how much it tore his heart out to kill him, even if he tried to sell him out twice. Never seen such a great protagonist/antagonist interaction within these games before.

 

Finally the soundtrack... Any game, whether GTA or not, to feature a song by The Doors is f*cking legendary in my book.

[Drunken Cowboy]

^ Yeah. Holy hell did that game try to discomfort you.

 

- Smashing Pretty-Boy's jaw in the first mission.

- Jim's torture scene.

- Bus cannibalism.

- Kidnapping characters we love.

- Executing friends.

 

And worst of all,

- Stubb's donger

 

They made LC into a much more dangerous, different place. TBoGT also felt very different and cool in that way, but something about air-lifting train cars and shooting cables of suspended military APCs hurt the credibility.

[HollandNights]

I thought the way TLAD shifted your emotions during the game was amazing.

 

At the start, you're re-united with the club president. The club is a whole, and you're a bunch of badasses without a single f*ck given. You smash jaws, steal bikes, kill dirty cops. You run the town!

 

Then, as the story unfolds, the club collapses. The club president is arrested and starts snitching, Brian is killed and you're forced to eliminate half of your own club. The clubhouse is then empty with no atmosphere - it's dead.

One by one, your friends (and ex-friends) are picked off. Jason, Jim, Brian, Billy. You start to feel alone, powerless to the mob forces that are putting the squeeze on you. That feeling of being a badass and being able to do whatever you want? That's gone, you dont run the town anymore. People aren't scared to f*ck with you now.

That's why I love TLAD.

Edited October 24, 2014 by HollandNights

[Algonquin Assassin]

I thought the way TLAD shifted your emotions during the game was amazing.

 

At the start, you're re-united with the club president. The club is a whole, and you're a bunch of badasses without a single f*ck given. You smash jaws, steal bikes, kill dirty cops. You run the town!

 

Then, as the story unfolds, the club collapses. The club president is arrested and starts snitching, Brian is killed and you're forced to eliminate half of your own club. The clubhouse is then empty with no atmosphere - it's dead.

 

One by one, your friends (and ex-friends) are picked off. Jason, Jim, Brian, Billy. You start to feel alone, powerless to the mob forces that are putting the squeeze on you. That feeling of being a badass and being able to do whatever you want? That's gone, you dont run the town anymore. People aren't scared to f*ck with you now.

 

That's why I love TLAD.

 

And to think this is all accomplished in just 22 missions.

[Lethal Vaccine]

Exactly. TLaD, as well as TBoGT (for the most part) just cuts to the chase. There is no beating around the bush; no filler. Does what it needs to do and then ends. It's a great game.

 

However, SoL, there is 23 missions. I know, I know, there is 22. But when you complete "Get Lost" the final story mission, you'll notice in your stats it says 23 missions passed, 23 missions attempted. Not 22. It appears that Get Lost counts as 2 missions. This happened in my previous 100% TLaD Save, and now this one, too. It also happened to a friend. So it's not a glitch, I think Get Lost just counts as 2 missions for some bizzare reason. It says 21 Missions Passed before Get Let, but 23, after Get Lost...

[Onett]

So, I guess I should throw my own two pence into this.

 

To me, TLAD is the greatest piece of DLC I've ever played. The story, gameplay, characters and atmosphere are all done perfectly. Liberty City feels more dangerous and foreboding, like this truly is the worst place to live in the world, especially Alderney. The storyline is perfect, no filler, just 22 missions of pure awesomeness (expect for that one with Stubbs' dongle. That was.... fun) and the ending is awesome. It finishes the story off perfectly with

 

Johnny storming a government facility to kill a childhood friend, burning down the Lost clubhouse and commiting social suicide

 

just ended it perfectly.* In all honesty, this is my second favourite GTA, and there's good reason for that.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

*Until V comes and f*cks it up royally.

[KarimNTerr]

In many GTA games, the protagonists were part of a gang, or a Mafia family, but I think that GTA: The Lost and Damned is the one that did it better: you really felt as a member of a group, and that's something I really liked about it. Don't get me wrong, I loved how the OGF or the Leone crime family have been depicted in their respective games, but in GTA: The Lost and Damned you didn't feel alone, or "forgotten" by your fellow adventurers.

 

The storyline was really amazing, I loved how Rockstar created an interwoven plot that makes you view Liberty City from different angles: the good, the bad and the beautiful facades of a city forgotten by God. The characters were charismatic and coherent, everyone had a precise role, and altogether brought a strong and superb story.

 

The atmosphere was awesomely suggestive, a modern Far West with horses of steel and blood on wheels! Listening to Liberty Rock Radio 97.8 while riding Johnny's Hexer into the Alderney sunset was something sublimely fantastic.

 

Really, playing to GTA: The Lost and Damned has been an intense experience.

Edited October 28, 2014 by toxluv

[GTA-Biker]

I loved the biker gang based story,new songs on the radio,new chopper and cruiser bikes...

I just wish it was longer,it had less than 50 missions(22 story missions,4 random encounters,10 Angus´ bike thefts and 5 Stubbs´ sidemissions),I hope they make another GTA about biker gangs in the future,but with longer story,maybe something about The Lost MC in the 70s when they were still a new motorcycle club or something set in the 90s when young Johnny Klebitz just joined The Lost.

[Official General]

I still liked TBOGT better than TLAD. However TLAD was much better than I thought it would be. I'm not really a fan of the biker gang scene, but to my surprise I actually enjoyed it quite a good bit. It was indeed very dark and gritty, even more so than IV itself sometimes - and I really found that side of Liberty City and Alderney and I enjoyed that. It went into more detail about the Liberty City criminal underworld, which made it all the more interesting, especially intra-gang feud between Billy and Johnny, the Mafia's go-between/mediation between the two warring factions, and other mob/gang- related stuff. It did a very good job of completing the IV trilogy.

[Payne Killer]

Anybody still play TLAD? I'm playing it more than IV. Which is strange.

[Lethal Vaccine]

I keep playing it mainly for the Gang Wars and I need still the Unique/EC Orange/Black Gang Burrito. Haven't played in a few months as I got other GTA projects right now that I am working on, but when I do go back to the IV Era, it's usually just TLaD. Also IV just to drive around in my armored Vehicles, too.

[PhillBellic]

I like both EFLC games, however I prefer TLAD. It feels like it belongs more in the IV saga.

[Ducard]

However, SoL, there is 23 missions. I know, I know, there is 22. But when you complete "Get Lost" the final story mission, you'll notice in your stats it says 23 missions passed, 23 missions attempted. Not 22. It appears that Get Lost counts as 2 missions. This happened in my previous 100% TLaD Save, and now this one, too. It also happened to a friend. So it's not a glitch, I think Get Lost just counts as 2 missions for some bizzare reason. It says 21 Missions Passed before Get Let, but 23, after Get Lost...

The ending credits count as a 'mission' too, which is why the missions passed stat at the end of the game is at 23.

Edited March 17, 2015 by Ducard

[Blaze7805]

This game was so good.