nerdalerts

So, As many of you probably know by now (if you’re a regular on XBL) is that Rockstar’s expansion for GTA 4 has been released.  At a price of 1600 MS Points, it’s rather expensive.  I will give a quick rundown of what to expect, so you can judge whether or not you feel like buying it.

Story mode:
You play a biker in the gang “Lost”, and your story runs parallel to Niko’s.  Rockstar has stated that this new addition (first of 2 that are scheduled), is going to provide a different side of Liberty City.   There’s going to be 1/3 of the missions from the original version and should take roughly 10-15 hours to complete.

The biggest additions one might notice is there are not mid-mission checkpoints.  No more failing a mission and having to drive all the way back across the map to restart it.  A common gripe from regular GTA 4.  However, this expansion does not add this function to the pre-expansion content. 

New Items:
There will be new weapons to include grenade launchers, pipe bombs, sawed-off/automatic shotguns.  There will also be new vehicles, including custom choppers that the gang ride.  And the way the protagonist controls a motorcycle is far more proficient than the way he drives a car.  Think about Niko, He could drive a car pretty well, but cornering on a bike was sketchy.

Multiplayer:
New game modes have been added.  Some seem really cool, some seem decent:
Witness Protection – Bikers try to eliminate a bus while the cops try to protect it.  (sound hard)
Race – Racing on bikes with racers carrying bats.  (road rash anyone?)
Lone Wolf Biker – Kill the Carrier on bikes. 
Own the City – Try to gain control of the city section by section.  (…meh)
Club Business – Like the original Mafia game in GTA IV, but with more tasks.
Chopper vs. Chopper – Helicopter vs bike. Bike rider tries to get through checkpoint while helicopter tries to stop the biker.  (this sound bad ass)

If you’re really a fan of GTA 4, have the spare 1.8GB hdd space it requires and an extra 1600 points, I’d say to go for it.

:UPDATE:  Ok, so this weekend I was able to knock out this expansion from start to finish (took me roughly 8 hrs).  All in all I’d say it’s a decent expansion, and it does introduce new things.  The new auto shotgun is absolutely bad ass.  There’s roughly 10 new motorcycles, mostly choppers, but there are a few sportbikes.    One of the best parts about this game, to me, are the few times you cross paths with Niko.  I always ran around in a suit and tie when I was niko, but when you see him he’s still in the junk clothes he arrived in.  I thought it was a little funny at least.   Some of the missions are pretty bad ass, but the game does have a stereotypical ‘biker gang’ feel to it.  I’m not going to ruin the plot, but there are some “sons of anarchy” moments.  The mid-mission checkpoints are very useful, since you’ll probably die much more often than in the original gta4.  The enemies are much more accurate, at least it felt that way.  I liked the expansion, but not as much as the original.  They said it had about 1/3rd the missions as the original, but to me it felt like much less.

spoiler alert:  you’ll see a dick