The Good, The Bad, and The Lost

The Lost and The Damned expansion for GTA4 is awesome, which many of you probably realize because it is currently setting records for number of downloads on xbox live. I enjoyed my experience with TLAD more than the bulk of GTA 4, but that is not to necessarily say that TLAD is "better" than the main arc of GTA 4. The primary realization I had while playing through TLAD is that the game stars Johnny Klebitz, but is not about Johnny Klebitz, just as GTA4 stars Niko Bellic but is not "about" Niko Bellic. The main character of GTA 4 is Liberty City. TLAD and GTA4 provide different interpretations of the same city, but it is the city, in the end, that is the focus. This realization really sets in during the (never thought in my life I would say this and probably should get my head examined) the best ending credits I've ever seen, which juxtapose scenes where Johnny and Niko were in the same place at the same time. The significance of the credits is that it shows how the individual experiences of Johnny and Niko are as complex as the experiences that tie the whole city together (here's the clip without music, it admittedly kicks much more ass with music; also a side note - my other favorite ending credit sequence belongs to twisted metal black):

The thrust of the argument I am trying to make here is that arguing that TLAD is "better" than GTA4 is impossible because TLAD is GTA4 insofar as the games are about Liberty City

Specifically discussing TLAD, I enjoy it so much because it functions on two levels: one as a straight Western; and the other is that the game seems to have been created as a weird, meta interpretation of Jon Bon Jovi's fascination with cowboys. Beginning with the Western themes that pervade TLAD, we have a band of outlaws, a power struggle within than band, a band stays together because of a code of ethics, constant skirmishes with law enforcement, and a finale that culminates in a prison raid/shootout - I'd argue you could find any 3 of these in a majority of the Westerns out there. More specifically, the Lost ride motorcycles and fight primarily with shotguns - all but basically slapping a blue star on their backs and calling them cowboys. The game functions as a western set in the late industrial revolution, where the antiquated rules of the west are slowly being eroded by modernity - the Lost set up operations in the 60s/70s and are ultimately coming to the realization that their way of life is unsustainable in the modern age. Even the multiplayer suggests this - involving lost vs police while the lost are trying to make a raid on a police bus which could just as easily be a horse-drawn wagon.

I also don't think it's a coincidence that "Dead or Alive" by Bon Jovi is on this soundtrack, the lyrics of which basically describe a modern cowboy who rides a motorcycle instead of a horse. Whether I am correct or not, I picture this game as the literal embodiment of this song as well as his other songs focusing on cowboys, and that makes this game absolutely hilarious to me because these songs are awesomely/ridiculously self-serious and describe a reality that noone has ever been a part of (save for Jon Bon, who still owes Philadelphia a free concert after the Soul won the Arena Bowl, but thats an issue for another day).

"The Lost" is a perfect name for Johnny's gang - the principles on which they were founded have totally eroded and have left the gang as a marauding group of criminals who don't know what their purpose is anymore. (Shitty Pun Alert) The only thing not lost is this game's story which is tight as hell and as fun of a game as you can get for $20. I have to make up for that pun...