Grand Theft Auto IV: The Lost and Damned



""The Almighty forgives. The Lost don't.""

The Lost and Damned, released on February 17, 2009, is the first of two DLC expansion packs for Grand Theft Auto IV (the second being The Ballad of Gay Tony).

The story focuses on Johnny Klebitz, the vice president of the Lost Brotherhood motorcycle gang. He has been the gang's unofficial leader ever since the president, Billy Grey, was put in jail, and has forged a truce with their arch-rival, the Angels of Death. The game begins with Billy being let out of jail, resuming his leadership position and creating tension with Johnny by trying to resume the war with the Angels of Death.

Since Johnny is an experienced biker, he can actually stay on his bike (and survive crashes) at speeds faster than walking, although his corresponding dislike of cars means his four-wheel skills aren't as fancy as Niko's.

TLAD is also the first GTA game to feature full-frontal nudity. Male nudity. Take that, Jack Thompson.

The game is available either online through Xbox Live or PSN, or at retail packed with Gay Tony in the Episodes from Liberty City two-pack. Both games were previously Xbox 360 exclusives, but have recently been made available for the PS 3.

Tropes:

 * All Bikers Are Hells Angels: Both averted and played straight. Though The Lost MC is a true "One Percenter" gang, you also see and meet some of their less-hardcore weekend-warrior members. Then there's the Angels of Death, which play this trope straight and are Expies of Hells Angels.
 * The Lost seem to have been more closely based on the Outlaws, one of the Hells Angels major rivals.
 * Ambiguously Brown: Jim looks like he is of Hispanic descent, though the issue of his ethnicity is never really answered. It is possible his appearance was based on that of legendary Hell's Angel Sonny Barger, who is ethnically Caucasian but looks very Hispanic.
 * Ambiguously Gay: Malc, maybe. The Ho Yay between him and Johnny doesn't help.
 * Artificial Stupidity: Don't even try to keep gang members alive. They'll just charge ahead of you full speed into a firefight and get shot to death within seconds. Your named allies are smarter, though, and nigh-immortal to boot.
 * Anti-Hero: Goes without saying. Borders on Anti-Villain.
 * Assassin Outclassin': This is the objective of one mission . Calling Terry and Clay for backup in this mission causes them to set up an ambush for you to lure the would-be assassins to.
 * Authority Equals Asskicking: Averted while Billy Grey is chapter president, but later played straight
 * Awesome Moment of Crowning: Subverted.
 * Badass Biker: Johnny and his gang-mates in The Lost.
 * Bad Guy Bar: The clubhouse, which is also your save point.
 * Big Applesauce
 * Big Bad :
 * Book Ends: The first and last cutscenes of the main story each have a scene where the crew rolls Angus out of the club house. However, in the later cutscene.
 * Brooklyn Rage: A lot of characters qualify for this trope, considering the setting, particularly many of the rival gang members The Lost go up against. The Lost themselves, however, do not quite qualify. See Joisey below.
 * The Caligula: Billy Grey could qualify as this, given his penchant for violence, drug use and mayhem. It's even revealed in The Ballad of Gay Tony that.
 * Card-Carrying Villain: Congressman Stubbs, all the way.
 * Celibate Hero: Johnny qualifies in-cutscene and inasmuch as a protagonist of a game that allows you to hire prostitutes can be considered as such. Compared to the other IV-era protagonists, Johnny gets involved in no notable romantic or sexual attachments over the course of the story, and repeatedly rejects Ashley's advances. As if to emphasize this, the episode lacks the Dating Sim-type mechanic seen in the main game.
 * Civil War: The Lost.
 * Collection Sidequest: Angus's bike thefts.
 * Cool Bike: Given its subject matter, it's no surprise the game's selection of new bikes embodies this trope. Honorable mentions go to Johnny's "one-of-a-kind" Hexer, Billy's Revenant, Malc's Double T Custom, and DeSean's Hakuchou Custom.
 * Color Coded for Your Convenience: All the main characters have uniquely colored bikes; Johnny has a white and blue one, contrasting Billy's black and Brian's red bikes, and Jim has a black and red one to match Johnny's. Clay, Terry, and Jason each have differently colored bikes as well, in colors of purple, blue, and magenta. Additionally, Malc's and DeSean's bikes are green and orange (possibly to signify their removal from the Lost and Angels of Death conflict).
 * Awesome but Impractical: Malc's Double T Custom and DeSean's Hakuchou Custom are a pair of unique bikes that you can only nab in certain missions. They both come with snazzy paintjobs, extended swing-arms and the fastest top speeds for a bike in the GTA IV era. They also fishtail like drag cars and have turning circles that can be matched by most SUVs. All of this is actually acknowledged on the Uptown Riders' in-game website.
 * Corrupt Politician: Congressman Thomas Stubbs III.
 * Darker and Edgier: While Grand Theft Auto IV was this to the previous games, The Lost and Damned is even darker, with a grittier, more squalid tone and less funny moments overall.
 * It's also literally darker: a grainy filter is placed over the whole game, which can be toggled in the Display options menu.
 * Deadfoot Leadfoot
 * Deadpan Snarker: Johnny.
 * Death Seeker: A lot of Johnny's quotes whilst gunfighting (aside from the regular Trash Talk variety) seem to indicate he's one. Ripping off one of Liberty City's most powerful mafiosi with little regard for the possible repercussions may lend credence to this.
 * (American) Democracy Is Bad: While the ineptness and corruption of the American government have long since been elements of the GTA series' settings, these become an overarching theme in this episode when The Lost realize their Mob War with The Angels Of Death is a much smaller problem compared to the threat they face from the authorities.
 * Johnny and The Lost are blackmailed by a Corrupt Politician into committing acts of violence to further his campaign goals, as personal favors for his colleagues, or for profit.
 * Police and government surveillance is a large concern for much of the game, and while it may make sense to monitor the activities of a criminal organization like The Lost, Johnny later participates in a scheme orchestrated by Stubbs involving planting a bug on the Deputy Mayor's sports car in order to out the man as gay. This the very same car that was given to Niko in GTA IV.
 * Aside from Dirty Cops and The Angels of Death, police informants and criminals who become state witnesses are presented as the lowest of the low from The Lost's perspective, and they are almost ended when  decides to testify against them.
 * Johnny and his friends in The Lost are portrayed as suspicious, disappointed, and angry at the government and law enforcement, and given much of what they experience over the course of the game, rightfully so. They justify their existence as criminals by believing it a proper response to their living condition.
 * Dirty Cop: One of Jim's missions has you chasing down and killing some.
 * Disabled Snarker: Angus' paralysis, which he got in a biking accident, has led him to become even more bitter and cynical than his fellow brothers in The Lost already are, particularly at the man he considers responsible for it. Incidentally, that man is Billy Grey.
 * Distracted From Death:  gets killed off-screen because Johnny was occupied while fending off threats to his life.
 * Downloadable Content: It is, but can also be bought retail.
 * Equal Opportunity Evil: The Lost, especially compared to the Angels of Death.
 * Downloadable Content: It is, but can also be bought retail.
 * Equal Opportunity Evil: The Lost, especially compared to the Angels of Death.


 * Face Heel Turn:  after Billy's arrested   Meanwhile, while he's behind bars
 * Final Speech: Lampshaded by, who taunts "What, are you waiting for a speech or something?" before you kill him.
 * Five-Bad Band/Five-Man Band: The Lost, somewhat.
 * The Big Bad/The Hero: Billy Grey.
 * The Dragon/The Lancer: Johnny Klebitz and Brian to Billy.
 * The Starscream: Brian thinks Johnny is one.
 * The Brute/The Big Guy: Clay and Terry. Also Jason, given his status as "Enforcer."
 * The Evil Genius/The Smart Guy: Jim and Angus.
 * The Dark Chick/The Chick: Ashley, Brian, and Jason.
 * The Sixth Ranger: Malc
 * Foregone Conclusion:
 * It shouldn't come as a surprise when  turns up dead.
 * Also discussed in-game. When Johnny talks about his problems concerning  to Congressman Stubbs, Stubbs tells him not to worry, predicting that   would either be dead or in jail within a month.
 * Grenade Launcher: The HK69 makes its GTA-series debut when Billy gives Johnny one to lay siege to the AOD clubhouse. Admittedly, it is of limited use considering that its grenades aren't contact explosives.
 * Henpecked Husband: Jim considers himself one, and though, underneath it all, he genuinely loves his wife, his friends in The Lost MC (none of whom have settled down with someone) never stop giving him shit about it.
 * Honor Among Thieves: The Lost pride themselves on their sense of brotherhood, and thus, they pretty much consider there to be a special place in hell for brothers who turn snitch.
 * Honor Before Reason: However, the shortsightedness of this virtue is a large theme in the game, best seen in Johnny's willingness to help out Ashley because of their past and her membership in The Lost . This is painfully emphasized when Angus emails Johnny   at the end of the game, to "End the charade that this gang means anything."
 * Hypercompetent Sidekick: Johnny serves as this to Billy.
 * Bumbling Sidekick: In contrast, Brian serves as this to Billy . Given that over the course of the story, he's been noted to run away from fights, this may overlap with Cowardly Sidekick.
 * Informed Judaism: Johnny mentions that he is of Jewish descent, but isn't shown adhering to their practices.
 * Intergenerational Friendship: Johnny and Terry are both in their early thirties, while Jim and Clay are both over a decade older than either of them (Clay is actually twenty years older than Terry).
 * Joisey: The game focuses on the Alderney chapter of The Lost MC, and much of the action is centered there. There is, however a Broker chapter to The Lost, and Johnny calls on their aid to steal some diamonds from Gay Tony.
 * Kavorka Man: Clay is an aging Army veteran and all-around Scary Black Man. He also unfailingly mentions his latest sexual conquest to the group every time they hang out. On one occasion, he actually laments not being able to get back together with a girl he likes because she's in the Angels of Death.
 * MacGuffin: The bag of diamonds, which drives part of the plot of all three GTA IV games.
 * The Millstone: Ashley Butler, Johnny's meth-addicted ex-girlfriend, who is constantly trying to force herself back into Johnny's life even though he wants nothing to do with her anymore. Her large debt to Russian mobsters is what forces Johnny to, and her relationship with Ray Boccino leads to Johnny's involvement in the ill-fated diamond deal,
 * More Dakka: "Shifting Weight". Johnny rides on the back of a motorcycle, firing an unlimited-ammo, rapid-fire street sweeper shotgun that absolutely *demolishes* the pursuing police cars.
 * Neighborhood Friendly Gangsters: In contrast to the Angels of Death and even The Lost, The Uptown Riders do not quite fit the "One-Percenter" vibe the other gangs do. They don't deal drugs or otherwise make majority of their profit through illicit means; the extent of their criminal activity is limited to acting as muscle for other gangs, basically as favors.
 * Politically-Incorrect Villain: The Angels of Death only consists of white members and their symbols contains many subtle and not-so-subtle references to Nazism. Their website claims they aren't racist, it's just that no "members of the inferior races" have ever passed the tests required to join their gang.
 * Sawed-Off Shotgun: Johnny can fire one of these from his motorcycle.
 * Full-Auto Assault Shotguns Are Just Better: If you prefer an alternative with More Dakka. You can't fire it from a motorcycle, though. Except for that one mission.
 * Semper Fi: Jim proudly recounts serving in the USMC, and by all accounts it turned him into a pretty tough-as-nails guy, . Subverted, however in The Lost MC's founding membership, which was composed of Marines who had come home from The Vietnam War and hadn't had their fill of drugs and violence.
 * Serial Killer: Curtis Stocker (aka the "Dine and Dash Killer"), who broke into homes and feasted on the internal organs of people.
 * Shout-Out: Johnny is given a baseball bat before a biker race with the line "Nice bat...let's give these bitches some Road Rash."
 * "Brian, come out and play!"
 * The Dine and Dash Killer is an obvious homage to Hannibal Lecter.
 * The Rhapsody is based on an AMC Pacer, which is perhaps known best as the Mirthmobile from Waynes World. No points for guessing which song the car's name is supposed to reference.
 * Smug Snake: Brian Jeremy and, as in the main game, Ray Boccino. Although he's slightly more competent here.
 * Soul Brotha: This trope applies to The Uptown Riders' membership and overall image. They seem to gain most of their profit from selling merchandise themed with their Hip Hop-based branding. But for the most part, they're really just in it to share the thrill of motorbike racing; one of their items for sale (which can be seen on the in-game Internet) is an instructional video on stunts featuring Malc and DeSean.
 * Pimped Out Bike: The Uptown Riders' main choice of vehicle is a sport bike of Japanese make, tuned for drag racing, and modified with extended swing-arms and custom wheels. Johnny derogatorily calls them "Jap scrap", "pussy-pads", or "hair dryers", even though these enhancements boost the bikes' top speed, because these have an adverse effect on handling. If you get on one, you'll find that for the most part, he's right.
 * Spies In A Sport Sedan: Johnny and Jim quickly catch on that The Lost are under police surveillance when they spot some undercover cops in a high-performance pursuit car staking out a drop-off point for their stolen bikes. They later take advantage of the cops' conspicuousness when they easily spot the car parked across the clubhouse soon after and use the opportunity to lure the cops into an ambush.
 * Stealth Pun: Terry is The Lost MC's Sergeant-At-Arms. Outside of club affairs, he's an Arms Dealer, who you can purchase weapons from at discounted prices.
 * Stop Helping Me!: Did you know that you can call Terry and Clay for backup? Don't worry, because Jim will be sure to remind you at every opportunity.
 * Those Two Guys: Terry and Clay.
 * True Companions: The Lost MC are supposed to be this in theory. Johnny, Jim, Terry, Clay and Angus are a good example, though.
 * UST: There is some betwen Johnny and drug mule Marta. Unfortunately a language barrier and Elizabeta totally cockblock him.
 * White Collar Crime: One mission that Stubbs blackmails Johnny into doing involves him hijacking a prison transport containing some colleagues of Stubbs' who have been caught for their involvement in some manner of corporate fraud and setting them free.
 * With This Herring: Averted — Johnny can buy some of Terry's gun stock at a significant discount from the start of the game onwards. He can also order bikes for free delivery from Clay.
 * Further averted in the final mission, when Terry's "discount" increases to free. Time to stock up.
 * Yes-Man: Brian is such an ass kisser that even Billy's sick of it.