GTA IV: The Lost and Damned Hands-On

Well I'll be damned. In-depth, hands-on preview of the first of two huge, episodic follow-ups to Grand Theft Auto IV.

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Incidentally, pressing down on the D-pad brings up statistics for all the other riders - not their health, but their battle-readiness. You don't have squad-like control over the other guys, but you can keep an eye on them when you're in a particular action-packed scenario - help keep them alive, and their stats go up. It's an optional thing to get involved with - Rockstar doesn't want to "force it down people's throats", they told us - but it's an interesting addition that could work nicely, and will also mean the other members watch your back too.

Incumbent Lost leader Billy has just come out of 'forced rehabilitation' after being busted with drugs, and plea-bargaining down to 'personal consumption'. In the meantime, Johnny called a truce with rival gang The Angels of Death, claiming the rivalry is no good for business, and people he cares about are getting killed. This is where the story begins, and Billy is very quickly back on the scene, immediately unsupportive of the 'truce' that's been made, and leading to some inevitable friction with Johnny early on. Think Bauer/Almeida... with facial hair. On bikes.

Anyone sad to see the loss of Alderney in Chinatown Wars will be pleased to know it's where The Lost calls home. If you're curious about exactly where their safe hang out is, we noted the exact location - just head over towards the south west of upper Alderney island, and it's right on the corner of Berners Road and Vitullo Avenue, opposite Schneider Avenue and not far from south Alderney's hospital. In terms of access to buildings that were in GTA IV, if they were open in your 'down time' in the main game, they'll be open here - and there now are several other new buildings and hang outs, too.

Aside from saving your game in the safe house, there are various mini-games in there - a hi-low card game, an arm wrestling game, TV you can watch (which includes new material), and you can also get weapons delivered there by one of your associates - including good old Jacob. The Lost clubhouse, as it's called, is accessible immediately after the first mission.

In the parking bay outside the clubhouse is Johnny's unique, one-of-a-kind bike (although if you do trash it, you can give someone a call who'll deliver a "similar" one, which is good to know). The new bike intentionally has a lot of weight to it, and is designed to feel different to the others used in GTA IV - it's slower but more manoeuvrable, and also more forgiving - so if you come off of it, you won't take as much damage.

Johnny has a rough and ready appearance; although he sports facial hair, it's a lot less fearsome than the other bikers', who look like the chaps that lost their clothes, boots and motorcycle at the start of Terminator 2. Given these guys are all hardened, lifetime Liberty City criminals, they're all pretty scarred up - both facially and figuartively.

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