Downloadable Content

**Xanatos** · 02-17-2016, 11:57 AM

I think we can all agree DLC is one of the worst aspects of modern gaming seeing as it's more often than not a shameless cash grab. That being said, let's ignore for a moment that vast endless sea of shitty DLC and for a change discuss some good ones.

Dark Souls 2 (Crown of the Sunken King, Crown of the Old Iron King, Crown of the Ivory King) - I got to play these DLCs thanks to "Scholar of the First Sin" edition of the game, but trust me when I say individually each DLC is more than worth its asking price. I felt somewhat disappointed by lackluster and surprisingly easy boss battles in Dark Souls 2, I'm glad to say these DLCs more than deliver in that department. Fume Knight alone is one of the finest and most exciting boss battles in the entire franchise, he is fast, savage, vicious, especially in the second half of the battle, he made me his bitch so many times. Elana, Squalid Queen is another memorable boss, if by nothing else than that tune she sings prior to the battle. These DLCs also expanded the lore in all the right ways, by far the best aspect of Dark Souls 2 in my opinion.

Dragon Age: Inquisition. (Trespasser) - Massive Spoilers! I knew there was something off with Solas through good part of Dragon Age: Inquisition, but could not pinpoint what. That after credits scene had me all excited, so when I heard about Trespasser DLC and what it is all about I felt bit cheated. However, the way this DLC is done, it's brilliant. You get to know the real Solas, some of his backstory and his actual intentions while the overall closure and the inevitable conflict is yet to come. All the while "The Dread Wolf" is playing in the background, one of the most beautiful pieces of music to grace this franchise. The Trespasser DLC is one huge tease for the next Dragon Age game, and I love it. A game bound to have one of the best villains ever, a villain you're personally and emotionally invested in from the get go. "What is the old Dalish curse? 'May the Dread Wolf take you?'"

**Unknown Entity** · 02-17-2016, 02:12 PM

Yeah, I'm playing through Dragon Age Inquisition for the first time. I don't know what yet, but there's definitely something up with Solas. Like he's about to actually go all Voldermort on my ass or something.

Spoilers ahead!

I really liked Point Lookout and Brotherhood of Steel DLC from Fallout 3. Not only do you get to continue on playing the game after the events at Project Purity, but I loved the final fight in Brotherhood of Steel. Might've been because when it finally worked and didn't glitch on me. But that final rescue against odds w epic. And Point Lookout gave you a whole new place to explore, along with a pretty creepy plot. When I got that jar right at the end of that set of quests, I shuddered. Right before plopping it on a shelf in my Megaton house. =s

Then you have Dawnguard from The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. The plot was good, but the quests sucked. The new place you get to go to was mostly empty, without much reward. Going back there to kill a hidden dragon was more effort than it was worth. But the best part about the DLC was getting the companion Serena, vampire chick. She's the most powerful Mage you could get, and is the ONLY companion and NPC that communicates with your Dragonborn on an emotional level, or shows that she cares in some way or another. Asking her out with an Amulet of Mara and getting knocked down is one of the cruelest things Bethesda have ever done. Such a tease! Especially as you can make her human again, if you were compassionate back throughout Dawnguard.

It's received some mixed reviews, but I really liked Hearts of Stone from The Witcher 3. CDProjektRed did say that of the two DLC packs, the first would be the smallest and last about ten hours, and that Blood and Wine would be as big as The Witcher 2. So I went in expecting ten hours of content, and fifteen hours later felt I'd finished everything but maybe one or two treasure hunts (don't feel the need to bother, got nice gear as it is). You get a heist, a wedding and a whole lot of side quests added to the main game. Gives you a smaller area to explore in Novigrad, with a handful of places to explore. The heist was fun, but I felt you should have had many more options on how you wanted it to play out. And the wedding was adorable, even though it wasn't entirely Geralt you were playing as. I was a little pissed that Geralt couldn't remain loyal to Yennifer during the end of the wedding though, without coming off as an asshole to Shani (she's ADORABLE OKAY, AND OBVIOUSLY IN LOVE WITH GERALT. He was either shooting her down or getting his dick out!). But yeah.

**Pete** · 02-20-2016, 05:32 AM

I hate the concept of dlc. I hate the idea of paying more money for an incomplete game, but on the other hand, I do want to play the game as it was intended. Depending on the game, I'll shell out my hard earned money. For example, Fallout 4 season pass was purchased the day it came out.

I liked the Mass Effect downloads, minus the bullshit clarification ending in 3. They added a nice amount to the stories and had a good deal of extra character interaction, which was pretty cool to see.

I'm very much looking forward to the Fallout 4 dlc. It looks massive and really interesting. Shit, just give me more power armor. #hoarder

On the other hand, I felt like MGSV Ground Zeroes could and should have been a dlc or just included with the full game. I'm still annoyed of paid $30 for an hour and a half

**loaf** · 02-20-2016, 11:01 AM

DLC was created because the Cost of Video games skyrockets in the pass decade yet games are still 60 dollars. That is why they exist.

**Heartless Angel** · 02-21-2016, 09:44 AM

The only time I dislike dlc is when devs release incomplete games and then try to charge you 20 bucks to buy the rest of it. Things like Mass Effect, The Witcher, Elder Scrolls, Fallout, etc I'm completely fine with. They're already complete games and they give us large chunks of new content with a price that's mostly fair relative to the amount of content gained.

When dlc is available on ****ing release day, that's when devs piss me off. That's not new content. That's withholding existing content and trying to beat extra cash out of it.

**Michael Swayne** · 02-21-2016, 10:32 AM

I love extra story content, and will get it if I enjoy the base game. Like the above posts, Skyrim, Fallout 3/New Vegas were definitely great buys. Oh, and the DLC for Nier was amazing. It isn't really up to the same scale as something like Skyrim, but it just made the base story that much better. And the Epilogue of Prince of Persia was nice as well. It kind of answered my questions I had at the end of the game. Kind of.

DLC I don't like are stuff like optional outfits or extra items. If the costume has special abilities (Lightning Returns) then I have no problem shelling out the $0.99 or whatever it costs...if I truly need it. But some outfits (Final Fantasy XIII-2) do nothing for me, and I have many regrets about purchasing them.

Extra battle maps or characters in games like Samurai Warriors 4 are okay, especially when I have someone to play with online. It gives you more areas to play in, so the repetitiveness of mashing the square button isn't AS bad.

But all in all, if I weigh the cost of the DLC by how many hours I am going to put into a game, and it isn't a good amount, then you can count me out.

**Rocky** · 02-21-2016, 07:10 PM

Originally Posted by Heartless Angel

The only time I dislike dlc is when devs release incomplete games and then try to charge you 20 bucks to buy the rest of it. Things like Mass Effect, The Witcher, Elder Scrolls, Fallout, etc I'm completely fine with. They're already complete games and they give us large chunks of new content with a price that's mostly fair relative to the amount of content gained.

......

When dlc is available on ****ing release day,

you mean like Mass Effect?

**loaf** · 02-21-2016, 09:05 PM

lol everyone saying ME didn't have DLC on launch didnt play it at launch

**Heartless Angel** · 02-22-2016, 12:34 AM

It was available release day, but the game was complete without it. Sort of a subjective measurement, but it didn't feel like it was missing anything without dlc. I was irritated that they had DLC on launch, but after actually playing it, it didn't bother me so much.

**Rocky** · 02-22-2016, 03:16 AM

Originally Posted by Heartless Angel

It was available release day, but the game was complete without it. Sort of a subjective measurement, but it didn't feel like it was missing anything without dlc. I was irritated that they had DLC on launch, but after actually playing it, it didn't bother me so much.

did it bother you that the DLC was already on the disc behind a paywall?

it didnt need to be downloaded at all, the game already had the dlc ready to go, they just decided to charge extra for the hell of it.

to be fair i thought the dlc was good for the ME games, especially ME2, but thats a bit ridiculous for what EA/Bioware did.

**Heartless Angel** · 02-22-2016, 09:34 AM

Yes, but again the game didn't feel like it was missing anything without that dlc. It was still a shameless cash grab, but at least they worked for my money and delivered some quality content.

**loaf** · 02-22-2016, 01:34 PM

ME3 was incomplete, yes.

**SuperSabin** · 02-22-2016, 01:41 PM

One DLC thing I remember buying is the case 5 extra of Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney for wiiware. The DLC case extra was really good too with a in-depth plot, how complex it was, and nerve wrecking how the case was unfolding. It was with the purchase.

To summarize dlc, if there is extra content worth utilizing and playing with, then it's worth buying.

I'm pretty sure mega man 9 and 10 had some solid DLC extras as well, I bought the challenge remix stage extra for 9.