Posts tagged DLC
Review: Fallout 3: The Pitt (XBL)
May 10th
Fallout 3′s second add-on, The Pitt invites players back to an oddly comforting but desolate world, one where mutations, slavery and murder are expected factors of life. And as bad as all of those things sound, they’re what make Fallout an interesting series of videogames.
This time around, Bethesda Softworks ditches the virtual reality pods and simulation gimmicks seen in Operation: Anchorage; instead, the developers have crafted their interpretation of a post-apocalyptic Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and in the process manage to create a locale as equally nightmarish as any seen in the Capital Wasteland.
It’s a satisfying return to the best parts of the Fallout 3 world, and despite The Pitt’s technical flaws, it’s a significantly more impressive experience than Anchorage.
Review: Fallout 3: Operation: Anchorage (XBL)
May 9th
Operation: Anchorage isn’t exactly a waste of time, but it’s close.
Bethesda Softworks’ first Fallout 3 DLC is by no means lacking polish or the studio’s high production standards, but it’s truly not much more than a three-hour treasure hunt with a few unwelcome gameplay additions and a shiny, non-wasteland setting to cover its overall shortcomings.
This lackluster nature makes Anchorage a frustrating piece of content to plod through as Bethesda certainly isn’t new to the idea of extending their core titles. The numerous releases for their last game, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, first began with pointlessness but later ended with something epic; it certainly appeared that the company learned from its initial mistakes and mastered the delivery of DLC packages.
Unfortunately for Fallout 3, the development team manages to repeat its history of initially poor downloadable content with the uneven and unsatisfying Operation: Anchorage, which ends up looking like a failed attempt at streamlining Fallout into a first-person shooter experience. Read the rest of this entry »
Sasquatch PSA: A Weekend (and Partial Week) of Fallout 3 DLC
May 7th
Somehow, even after three DLC releases, Vault 77 still isn't in the game
This weekend we’ll be running a three-part Fallout 3 DLC review feature in honor of the newly released Broken Steel, the third and supposedly final exclusive pack for the Xbox 360 and PC.
All three reviews will be self-contained and cover a specific add-on, but we’ll also determine whether or not Broken Steel’s increased level cap of 30 impacts the relevance of the other two expansions’ content.
Look for our first two reviews to hit this Saturday and Sunday, with the final one dropping on Monday.
And yes, what Ron Perlman says about war never changing applies to our dates as well.
- Saturday, May 9th: Operation: Anchorage — Are the FPS-leanings and winterized weaponry worth the rather short playtime? Take a break from your hangover woes this Saturday to read our answer.
- Sunday, May 10th: The Pitt — A vicious ax that’s part chainsaw, all murder? Check. One pointless collect-a-thon for an achievement? Check. Some bang for your Microsoft space buck? Visit the site on Sunday to find out.
- Monday, May 11th: Broken Steel — Liberty Prime, everyone’s favorite Commie-hating robot, is back for an appearance, and Dogmeat can’t really die anymore. This is supposed to be the biggest and best Fallout 3 add-on yet, but that’s our job to decide come Monday.
Review: Fable II: Knothole Island DLC (XBL)
Apr 28th
Color me disappointed.
Knothole Island, the first DLC released for last year’s acclaimed Fable II, isn’t exactly what I was expecting. It’s especially disconcerting considering the impact that Fable II’s introductory form left on me.
Let me put it like this: If the core content of the original release was a satisfying four-star dinner, then Knothole Island is an insufficient sno cone dessert — bright and colorful, but not much more than dressed-up frozen water sold at a premium.
Still, the expansion has something to offer to the obsessive-compulsive Fable fans who’ve been wanting an out for their previous mistakes, as well as a few new duds along the way.
Review: Left 4 Dead DLC (PC)
Apr 24th
Left 4 Dead (L4D) is still the paramount zombie apocalypse videogame — there are no contenders, no second place awards. It’s a frenetic, hair-trigger suicide mission into an infected wasteland that doses players with relentless fun.
Even five months after its release, the original Campaign mode continues to be both exciting and trying, while Versus still turns up the intensity by forcing players to alternate between the roles of survivor and infected.
But despite the release version’s polish, there was always some tiny element missing, something teased but never fully delivered: unadulterated intensity free from the stairstep pacing of the campaign. The strongest moments of L4D lay in its massive NPC crescendos, where a horde of the undead claw, vomit, smash, strangle and pounce to ensure every survivor is indeed, left for dead.
Valve finally realized it could hack all of that terror and confusion into one sanguine slab of gameplay, resulting in the recently added DLC pack.
Daily Recap: April 22, 2009
Apr 22nd
Because my snark is running low as of this writing, let me take this introductory opportunity to tell you what’s dropping on our site for the remainder of the week.
Coming tomorrow is our hands-on overview of the new Nintendo DSi system. To be clear, the purpose of an overview is to be less like a review–instead of making recommendations on the overall value of the product, we’re simply providing our readership with an introduction to it. We’ll still offer our crystal-clear opinions backed-up with facts, but the final purchasing decision is up to you, as always. Also on the way tomorrow is a review of Xbox Live Arcade title Galaga Legions.
Friday we’ll be reviewing the new Left 4 Dead DLC pack with its hectic and horrific Survival Mode. Can we last more than two minutes? Doubtful.
Next Tuesday’s big post is a “cooperative” review of Resident Evil 5 between Nick and me. This review has been a long time coming, and we look forward to adding our special co-op-centric commentary into the structure of our usual, trusty reviews.
Now, onto the news…and some awesome poster art.
Review: Prince of Persia Epilogue DLC (Xbox Live)
Apr 21st
Last year’s Prince of Persia was a wolf in sheep’s clothing. Fans of the series’ earlier games often dismissed it out of hand as an oversimplified, brain-dead rehash of a platforming game, and a pale shadow of the franchise’s former glory.
Frankly, they don’t know what they’re missing. Prince of Persia was designed to be an enjoyable experience from start to finish, and for my money, it delivered almost flawlessly. What it lacked in precision platforming and twitch-reflex combat it more than made up for with simple (but not oversimplified) controls and a rhythmic balance between tense combat and laid-back, serene exploration sequences. It may not have appealed to everyone, but it was precisely what I had hoped for.
And that’s what makes the epilogue so baffling. It tries to appeal to both the game’s fans and its harshest critics, and what resulted is…well, a bit of a mystery.