It's no surprise the open-world crime-fest "Grand Theft Auto IV" - one of last year's best and highest selling video games - has fallen victim to the trend of adding downloadable content to expand the experience.
And leave it to developer Rockstar to do this better than anyone else with "Grand Theft Auto IV: The Lost and Damned."
At $20 (or 1600 Microsoft Points), "The Lost and Damned" has a fairly hefty price tag, but it is probably the meatiest piece of DLC for any game yet.
New music, new television shows, a new comedy act and new multi-player modes are included, but the main draw is most definitely the new story.
"The Lost and Damned" puts players in the shoes of Johnny Klebitz, the vice president of the Lost motorcycle gang. "GTA IV" players may recognize the name, because Johnny and his gang played a small role in the story of the main game's character, Niko Bellic.
While Niko was a foreigner struggling with his dark past while trying to make his way in the U.S., Johnny is a proud and true American who struggles with very different issues.
Although the Lost at first seems like a typical Hollywood biker gang, players quickly learn there's a lot of depth to its members.
The leader of the Lost, Billy, has just been released from prison, and he seems changed in ways that Johnny isn't too comfortable with.
Gone are the days when the Lost brotherhood (or as Billy would ridiculously say, "buh-RUH-THER-hood!") was a group of fun-loving rebels who stole bikes. It seems Billy would rather have his boys spilling blood and breaking bigger laws.
Although not nearly as intense or emotionally involved as Niko's tale in the main "GTA IV" experience, "The Lost and Damned" still provides an intriguing plot to keep players interested. This is helped greatly by absolutely superb voice acting.
The story also has players cross paths not only with Niko, but also with a few major characters that "GTA" players should recognize. This lets them see Liberty City from a very different set of eyes, providing a really interesting experience.
The story is meant to be played almost entirely on the two wheels of Johnny's chopper, but thankfully the bike riding game play has been much improved, making the experience of driving a motorcycle more exhilarating than frustrating.
The main story took me only about six hours to complete, but it was six hours well spent.
Besides that, there is still a lot to see, such as races and gang wars to partake in. Throw in the new multi-player modes and players can consider "GTA IV's" lifespan significantly expanded.
"The Lost and Damned" is the first of at least two downloadable episodes for "GTA IV," and both this and the next one are slated to be exclusive to the Xbox 360 (sorry PS3 owners).
Although I was initially disappointed this first DLC pack would center on a biker gang rather than Niko - whom I had grown attached to - Rockstar delivered with yet another superb crime thriller in Liberty City.
I personally can't wait to see what Rockstar does with the next content pack.
If you were a fan of "GTA IV" and want more of the experience, there is absolutely no reason why you shouldn't play this expansion.
"The Lost and Damned" is available for download now on the Xbox Live Marketplace. It requires a copy of the original "GTA IV" to run.
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