Assassin’s Creed Odyssey – Legacy of the First Blade – Episode 2 – Shadow Heritage DLC Review (PS4)

Eager to continue my journey as Kassandra once more, I jumped into this second episode as soon as it came out. Although there was some trepidation because I had seen all about the controversy surrounding the second episode, I still had to see it for myself and judge it for myself as everyone should do. After adding another 3 hours to my already over 100 hour playthrough, I was able to get all of the trophies so that means it’s time for a review.

Taking place right after episode 1, Hunted, which you can read my review of here, you’ll continue as Kassandra or Alexios and run into Darius and Natakus or Neema while exploring Achaia. Realizing that no matter what they do they’ll always be on the run, Darius needs your help once more to escape Greece and get away from another section of the cult and the leader of this section, The Tempest. Will Darius finally be able to escape with the help of Kassandra or Alexios in this intense naval focused DLC? Or will Darius and Natakas or Neema finally find a place to call home?

The Controversey

Many Spoilers will follow

As you may already know Assassin’s Creed Odyssey is based heavily on choice as this franchise moves on its way to becoming a full blown RPG. Part of the choice that you can make pertain to your characters sexuality. Play Kassandra and Alexios as you want, straight, gay/lesbian, bi, or even asexual if you choose. This choice is thrown out the window in this DLC as no matter what you choose your character will enter into a relationship with either Natakas or Neema and produce a child. That is not how an RPG works and Ubisoft’s half-assed apology really hit a nerve as they said it had to be done for story reasons and “bloodline” reasons. The whole “bloodline” story basically ended years ago and makes no sense in the timeline seeing as Odyssey comes before Origins and Origins was about Bayek avenging the death of his son. After the death of his son there were no other children meaning no more bloodlines. I understand that Odyssey comes before Origins and this has to be linked, but does it have to do that by taking away the players choice? Being a part of the LGBTQ community, I played my Kassandra as a full blown lesbian who bedded every female character she could. To see her turned into a doe eyed idiot over some man in this DLC was just disgusting as I had no say in it. Did I break Natakas heart in the end by telling him I only wanted a family, yes since this was my only option. The only choice I had in this DLC that pertained to my heavily choice driven style of playing. There were so many different avenues Ubisoft could have taken for this major part of the story and their lack of doing so was just lazy. While they promised to fix this, I don’t see how they can and this did sour my opinion of this game and any other so-called RPG they make in the future.

Although I liked the overalls tory for this DLC, it was a little underwhelming. The cliffhanger at the end that will come into play in the final episode of this DLC was an interesting one, but not one that made this DLC worth it. The only interesting thing I could find about this DLC that was good was the increased naval activity and the new naval toy that was added to the Adrestia. All of this was over shadowed by the lack of choice and once again the briefness of this DLC.

The playability of this game remained stable once more as a few new skills were added to enhance your playing style, but that was it. Although the new naval toy is fun for the DLC, who will this come into play later on in the game especially if you’ve already completed the game? I can’t see myself going back out in the water just for fun to burn a bunch of ships. If the last four installments don’t concentrate on naval battle then it’s pointless. Notably, game breaking bugs and glitches were back as I had a complete game crash when trying to manually save. Everything was fine and nothing got corrupted as I was able to start the game again and pick up where I left off, but it is worth mentioning that it happened and needs to be fixed.

The graphics, while the same, were a little underwhelming as Achaia is no Macedonia and there wasn’t anything that I felt like I missed in this area during my initial playthrough. Also, there seemed to be facial problems this time around as when Kassandra went to express emotion it felt off and forced, just how I felt when going through each awkward scene.

There are another 5 trophies for this DLC and as with the first episode before it, the trophies are easy to obtain. All you have to do is complete the DLC, easy, use your new skill and naval toy, easy, use a weapon given to you in the game, easy, and eliminate the new branch of the cult, also easy. With the trophies being this easy there should be no reason why you shouldn’t be able to fully complete this DLC and get all of the trophies.

This game is still a single player game so there is still no multiplayer.

Overall I give this DLC a 2 out of 5.

What’s Great:
+ Kassandra and Alexios’s adventure lives on as you find yourself helping Darius once more and are left with a cliffhanger of an ending.
+ New skills and naval toys to try out and play with until you eventually get bored with them because you can only burn so many ships and laugh manically before it becomes a little overdone.

What’s Not So Great:
– Another DLC on the short side. The story is a quick one and felt a little rushed. Hopefully the final DLC for this adventure will be a little more fleshed out and contain more choices.
– Beware of glitches that cause game crashes and underwhelming graphics.

This wasn’t the greatest DLC for this game in so many ways. A main way was that this so-called RPG game turned into a standard Assassin’s Creed game since important choices were taken away. What I’m looking for going forward is to see how Ubisoft rights their wrongs and to just complete this episodic adventure before moving onto the next. At this point I would say that unless you want to pick up the season pass to get Assassin’s Creed III and Assassin’s Creed Liberation for free to do so because it’s a good value, but if you’re looking for something enjoyable to continue Odyssey and then maybe hold off to see how things progress with the DLC going forward.

Assassin’s Creed Odyssey – Legacy of the First Blade – Episode 1 – Hunted DLC Review (PS4)

Because sinking over 100 hours into the main campaign of this game wasn’t enough, I decided to buy the season pass and play all of the DLC for this game. I’ve already played the first of 6 DLC’s planned, along with some additional feats that have been added, and got all of the trophies for this DLC. So, that means it’s time for a review.

In Legacy of the First Blade – Episode 1 – Hunted, you continue your journey as either Kassandra, have I mentioned that she’s my personal favorite, or Alexios. During this time, you’ll encounter Darius. Darius is the first person to wield the hidden blade that fans of the franchise know so well. During this DLC you’ll also encounter Darius’s son Natakus if you’re playing Kassandra or Darius’s daughter Neema if your playing Alexios. This change up of if Darius has a son or daughter will make more sense in episode two of the Legacy of the First Blade DLC. Taking place fully in Macedonia, you’ll learn about a new cult, which seems to be a common theme in Odyssey, and learn about the first member of the Assassin’s order.

By the time this DLC came out, I had already finished the main campaign of the game which meant that the DLC was available to me and I was way over leveled for it which was fine by me. If you’re playing for the first time, the DLC won’t be available until you reach level 28 and chapter 7 of the main campaign. Anyway, even though I found this DLC to be a little on the short side, I thought overall that it was an enjoyable addition to a story that I desperately wanted to continue. I liked how this DLC basically stuck to one part of the huge Assassin’s Creed Odyssey map instead of making you traverse through all of Greece to find your quests. The fact that you stayed in one area made you appreciate that area a little more as it may have been a little underappreciated throughout the main campaign of the game itself.

The playability of this DLC was exactly as it was for the rest of the game, but some new skills have been added to the skill tree for you to try and see if they’re a good fit for you and your character. While all of this was good, I was expecting to be able to finally wield the hidden blade as I realized that I didn’t get a chance to do so throughout the whole main campaign or the DLC and kind of missed it, but was sadly disappointed as the DLC ended and no hidden blade was awarded to Kassandra. I’m sure by the last episode this will be rectified. Other than that this DLC was totally flawless as the various different patches that have been released from the time the game has come out began to clear up some of the bugs and glitches that I mentioned in my initial review of the game.

The graphics for this DLC match the main game and are just simply stunning. The graphics for this game and the DLC continue to impress me and will continue to do so until the game is finished.

There are a total of 5 trophies for this DLC and they are all easy to obtain. All you have to do is finish the DLC, assassinate the new cult members that have been added, and do some random things. None of these are missable and just require you to make the most out of the DLC.

There was no multiplayer in the main version of this game so I really didn’t think it would be added on for the DLC, and it wasn’t.

Overall I give this DLC a 5 out of 5.

What’s Great:
+ You get to take a quick journey with either Kassandra or Alexios and get introduced to the Assassin that started it all.
+ Various patches and this DLC itself fix some of the pre-existing bugs and glitches within the game itself making the DLC run flawlessly.

What’s Not So Great:
– I found this DLC to be a little on the short side and that’s with doing all of the side missions and getting all of the trophies.

Overall this was an enjoyable but short addition to Assassin’s Creed Odyssey. I liked how it introduced the first Assassin and added to the already existing story. That being said, I’m currently playing the second episode and will be weighing in on the controversy surrounding that episode soon. For now, I would say that if you finished the game and want to continue your journey to pick up the season pass since you’ll be able to play the DLC right away as you should be way over level 28. If you haven’t finished the game, I would say to hold off on the season pass for now until you finish the main game because you are going to need the best weapons and armor for this DLC. Also, depending on where you stand with the controversy surrounding the second episode you may want to wait and see how Ubisoft plans on redeeming themselves.

Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel – Claptastic Voyage DLC Review (PS4)

If you know me then you know that I just love Borderlands. I didn’t always love it as one point in time I refused to play it until it was pushed on me and I played it for the sake of playing it. I still really didn’t like the game at that point. It wasn’t until I was kind of pushed to play by myself that I began to appreciate it more and grow to love it. Now it’s in my top 10 list and it’s one of those games that I keep on my system and go back to play every now and again either to help out some random person or just to play a few missions myself. Anyway, this was one of those DLC’s for the Pre-Sequel that I was looking forward to because it kind of promised to be Tiny Tina’s Assault on Dragon Keep story heavy. Unfortunately though it really wasn’t what I was expecting and this was just going to go on my I Never Finished list until my buddy @tjarvinen86 wanted to get the platinum for this game and to do that we had to do it right meaning we had to also get the 100%. So, needless to say I was able to get all of the trophies for this DLC so that means it’s time for a review.

In Claptastic Voyage, you can play the character that you were playing through the main campaign whether it be Athena, my personal favorite, Wilhelm, Nisha, Claptrap, Jack the Doppelganger, or Aurelia the Baroness. Taking place after the main campaign of the story, the DLC is narrated by Athena at the urging of Claptrap as he asks her to tell everyone the story of another mission that Jack sent them on. While each character will have their own motive for going on the mission, the main mission is basically for you to become digitized and go into the mind of Claptrap to retrieve the H source which will make Jack even more powerful than he is by the end of the game. The outcome will lead directly into the opening sequence of Borderlands 2.

As much as I’m a fan of this series, I’m not really a fan of this DLC. Although I will say that the story is a fun one as you get to poke around inside the mind of Claptrap, it in no way is comparable to Tiny Tina’s Assault on Dragon Keep when it comes to the story. The story is there, but what makes this DLC lengthy is the mutator rounds which is basically just another Holodome Onslaught type of thing, not the story. Of course it tells how and why Claptrap is the only one of his kind left and I guess that was the main point of the DLC, but it could have been done in a different more interesting way. This DLC felt like a chore to play as the maps were difficult to navigate and if you were lost then you were kind of fucked. Whether playing alone or playing with a buddy, nothing made this DLC fun and after a while, the story of it just fell flat as you were running around constantly getting lost or having something random happen. I know that the randomness of this DLC was supposed to be like that because you’re in the mind of Claptrap, but it was still frustrating and made this one of the less enjoyable Borderlands DLC.

The playability of this DLC was the same as the game itself. Everything that was in the main campaign followed over into the DLC which was good because you were still able to do everything that you were used to doing during the main campaign. The big problem that I had with this game though was the maps for each area of the DLC. The maps were so difficult to navigate as sometimes you would use teleports to take you to a place only to find out that you passed the place up somehow and you had to do this section all over again to get it right. Then there were parts of the map that required precise jumping. Like that really happens in a Borderlands game. No precise jumping lead to a lot of dying and a lot of time just sighing and trying to finish this DLC.

The graphics for this DLC are the same as the main game and they aren’t that bad. They aren’t the greatest as this game was just a port from the PS3 version, but they aren’t the worst either. I’ve always held a fondness for the graphics when it comes to Borderlands because of how different they are. They take the comic book / graphic novel type of art and bring it to life in a game. I think it’s awesome and it’s something that this game does best.

Now onto the trophies for this DLC. There are a total of 10 trophies for this DLC and unfortunately there is one missable trophy that if you don’t get it on the first go around you’ll have to play about half of the DLC all over again either with a different character or on a harder difficulty in order to get it. I’m talking about the Wheely Fast trophy, which kind of turns you into Indiana Jones as you have to outrun a bolder. I have to tell you that the first go around when I originally played this DLC back in 2015, I missed this trophy and because of that I completely gave up ever getting this DLC done again because I didn’t feel like putting myself through this DLC again. When my buddy, @tjarvinen86, said that he still had this mission open in his game and we were getting the trophy, it motivated me to go through and cleanup the trophies for this DLC which are fairly easy as long as you don’t miss that one trophy. The rest of the trophies are of course story based and grindy, but nothing that can’t be done.

I’ve played this DLC alone and I’ve played it with a buddy. I have to say that I enjoyed this DLC a lot more playing with a buddy. This is one of those DLC’s where you should play with someone who isn’t always so serious and just wants to have fun because this DLC, just like the main game, isn’t meant to be taken seriously. It’s supposed to be fun and you’re supposed to be a jackass. I’ve played Borderlands a bunch of ways. I’ve played with real serious people where things had to be done a certain type of way, I’ve played by myself where I just did whatever the hell I wanted, and I’ve played with people who need to have certain loot drops and would save and quit when a loot drop didn’t happen. This was the first time that I played with someone who just wanted to be fun and it really made a huge difference. This DLC like the game was made to play in co-op and the servers are stable enough that you can do it so why not take advantage of it?

Overall I give this DLC a 3 out of 5.

What’s Great:
+ If you ever wanted to go inside the mind of Claptrap to see what’s really going on in there, now is your chance. Spoiler alert, it’s just as crazy as you probably already imagined.
+ This is the final DLC for the Pre-Sequel and it leads up to the opening sequence of Borderlands 2 which is nice especially if you want to play in order. While it doesn’t have that huge Tiny Tina’s Assault on Dragon Keep story, the story is there and it’s worth playing.
+ The graphics for this DLC are consistent with the rest of the game and it’s worth noting that for a huge game like Borderlands, the graphics are unique and interesting and really make the game.
+ While you can do this alone, it’s more fun to co-op this DLC because Borderlands was meant to be played with friends. Not only does it make the loot drops better when you fight the main boss battles, but it makes the DLC itself more fun.

What’s Not So Great:
– The maps for this DLC are just horrible. You will find yourself getting constantly lost or constantly dying as you try to get from one part of the map to another. This makes the DLC become annoying and at times just unplayable as you want to rage quit.

While this isn’t the best DLC out there for a Borderlands game, it’s a decent DLC that deserves some recognition. It’s an expansion on the game, but just not what I really thought it would be. It’s kind of hard to top Tiny Tina’s Assault on Dragon Keep and even though this DLC tried to do that, it really couldn’t. The story was there, but what made this DLC long was the Holodome Onslaught type of battle after the DLC was over. What was enjoyable was that it lead to the opening sequence of Borderlands 2, which was a nice little surprise especially if you played Borderlands 2 first. I would say that if you’re playing on the PS4, that you might as well play because you got this DLC for free. If you have to purchase this DLC for the PS3, I would probably say to pass unless you’re a diehard Borderlands fan like I am. This was a nice ending to the Pre-Sequel, as I now patiently await Borderlands 3 as I have been for the last 4 years.

Saints Row IV: Re-Elected – Enter the Dominatrix DLC Review (PS4)

I really can’t remember the last time that I’ve played DLC or even reviewed it because to be honest with you, I’m not really that big into DLC as of late as I used to be. Even for games that I like, I rarely buy it and it seems like the games that I want DLC for, yes I’m talking about you Mass Effect: Andromeda, I don’t get it so what’s the point. Anyway, the only reason I played this DLC and finished it was because I had most of it done already when I initially played Saints Row IV: Re-Elected and in the process of getting the platinum for that game I was also able to collect all of the trophies for this DLC so that means it’s time for a review.

In Saints Row IV: Re-Elected, Enter the Dominatrix, you play as your character after the main campaign of the game. This DLC tells an alternative version of Saints Row IV in a comical way where instead of the digital Steelport being run by the Zin and Zinyak, it’s being run by a rouge AI called the Dominatrix. The whole DLC is basically told as “lost footage” that’s found by some random reporter and each Saint will have something to say about the scenes and what takes place during the DLC. While not that long of a DLC, it has the same humor as Saints Row IV: Re-Elected and fits the game nicely while giving you some new weapons to cause mayhem with.

So, I thought that this DLC was OK. It was a while since I had originally played it to when I actually finished it so there was about a two year gap in the whole progression of the story. I like the “exclusive” interviews that were given during the DLC where the Saints talked about how things should have been done differently and how they were over budget for some scenes so it’s done as a story board instead of an actual game portion. It has the same humor that Saints Row IV carries throughout the rest of the game so it was a fitting DLC, it wasn’t that long of a DLC though, but it did give you some more badass weapons to add to your arsenal so it was kind of a give and take DLC.

The playability of this DLC was basically the same as the main campaign of the game especially since this was just an extension. Nothing really changed and everything basically stayed the same. The good thing that came from this was that it ran bug and glitch free so that deserves some kudos and some extra bonus points.

The graphics of course are also the same as the main campaign of the game and match up perfectly. I have to say that after waiting and then playing again two years later, I thought that the graphics were pretty good and held up well. They weren’t the best graphics, but let’s face it that overall game doesn’t have the best graphics, but they match the rest of the game and that’s what matters.

There are a total of 10 trophies for this DLC added onto the already existing 51 base trophies for the game and the other 10 trophies for the How the Saints Saved Christmas DLC. The trophies are fairly easy to get and just require some grinding along doing some specific things. I was seriously done with trying to get the final three trophies that I needed to get for this DLC until my buddy @tjarvinen86 basically pushed me to get the trophies because I had to have the 100% in this game. Thanks for helping me grind the weapon trophies buddy and for helping me pop all of Paul’s polyps. I couldn’t have made it through Paul’s ass without you.

Since I’ve already said that my buddy helped me, there is multiplayer in this game, but not a PVP type of multiplayer, but a Co-Op mode. I don’t mind this multiplayer especially when playing with a buddy who wants to just be a complete jackass with me and not be so serious about things. Gaming should be fun right? I have to say that this is one of those rare occasions where the multiplayer was just great because the game is just a silly one and it’s fun to be just a silly with someone while playing the game.

Overall I give this DLC a 3 out of 5.

What’s Great:
+ This is a pretty fitting DLC and it tells an alternate but shorter story than the one told in the main campaign. It even throws in some extra stupid things for shits and giggles because what would Saints Row be without all of the crazy shit that it does?
+ The playability and graphics are consistent with the rest of the game and there are no bugs or glitches to report about. Even two years later the graphics pretty much hold up on the PS4.
+ One of the rare games where playing with a buddy is more fun than playing by yourself as long as you have the right person to play with.

What’s Not So Great:
– This DLC is extremely short and the only reason that it was played was because it came with the game. If I had to pay for it I would have been even more disappointed because it wouldn’t have been worth the going rate of how much DLC costs now a days.
– Some of the trophies require a real grind and can become annoying at times especially some specific mission based trophies that require you to do something. There is the option to go back and not start the whole DLC over again but pick the missions that you want, but who the hell wants to do the same mission over and over again in order to get one trophy?

So if you have Saints Row IV: Re-Elected, you might as well play this DLC because it came with your game. It seems foolish to not play something that’s included and you’ve paid for. Anyway, if you’re going to play, I would suggest playing with a friend because that’s how Saints Row was made to be played and it makes the game 10x more fun as you can just be a jackass with a friend. If you’re thinking about purchasing this DLC for Saints Row IV on the PS3, I would say that unless you are absolutely in love with Saints Row and have to play every single thing available to you, then skip it because it’s short and not worth the time it’ll take to just run through it and it’s not really worth the money.

Dragon Age: Origins – Darkspawn Chronicles DLC Review (PS3)

Have you ever wondered, if you’re a Dragon Age fan, what it would be like to play as the Darkspawn? To be in his or her mind and control one as they try to take over the world and just let the Blight spread? Yes? Than this DLC is just perfect for you. Keep reading to find out why.

Taking place in an alternative universe where the Hero of Ferelden doesn’t exist, it’s up to you, leader of the Darkspawn hoard to make sure that the remaining hero’s don’t kill the Archdemon. You’ll play as some Darkspawn who has been chosen to help the Archdemon spread the blight by taking out every last person who can effectively kill the Archdemon. In order to do this you’ll have to fight through the final battle of Ferelden and defeat everyone standing in your way. In order to do this you’ll recruit other Darkspawn to help you on your journey.

Unfortunately, this isn’t the best DLC that goes along with this game. I really don’t care about the Darkspawn other than the fact that they have to be defeated. Expect for the one in Awakening, these are mindless creatures who can’t really think for themselves and it’s a pain in the ass to actually play as one. I like the idea of the “Sliding Door” effect, meaning that if The Hero becomes the Hero, things play out this way, but if the Hero doesn’t become the Hero, things can play out this way but it just doesn’t work for this DLC and if you’re lucky you’ll get an hour of playtime out of it.

The playability of this DLC is the same as it is the main game. You’ll use kind of a turn based mode of play and be able to control your hoard of Darkspawn as you see fit taking out enemy after enemy until you reach your final goal and put an end to Alistair once and for all. Other than that the DLC ran smoothly and there were no bugs or glitches that were game breaking.

The graphics, which weren’t all that great in the main game, are the same in this DLC. They aren’t all that great and if you compare them to the standards now, they no way hold up to anything that you play. Sadly this is one of the downsides to Dragon Age: Origins. It’s a great game with a great story, but the graphics are just absolute crap.

Of course there are trophies for this DLC. What would be a DLC without trophies? There are a total of three trophies, one of which is story related and the other two are highly missable. While it’s possible to get Ogre’s Keeper on your first playthrough it was Enthralling that held me back from completely finishing this DLC. I don’t know how many times I had to reload an old save because something got messed up or one of my Darkspawn died in the process making me have to start all over again or just go back to my last save. Seriously annoying.

One of two Dragon Age games that does not have multiplayer. I’m sure that the future Dragon Age games, if there are future Dragon Age games, will have multiplayer so enjoy the multiplayer free ones while you can.

Overall I give this DLC a 1 out of 5.

What’s Great:
+ You get to play as a Darkspawn and take out all those annoying characters that you hated throughout the game and even have to takeout those you liked.
+ Alternative universe story idea.

What’s Not So Great:
– Boring as you play a mindless creature who can’t even control his own actions.
– Very short with very little replayability factor. If you’re playing this DLC just to play it’ll take you under an hour.
– Graphics that don’t hold up to today’s standards and never really held up to the old standards when the game was originally released.

If you have this DLC with the Game of the Year edition of Dragon Age: Origins that comes with everything including the expansion, then you’ll probably want to play this one. If not, I would suggest skipping it as it’s a total waste of the time and everyone knows that this will never happen because the Hero of Ferelden cannot be stopped. While it was a good attempt at showing off an alternate universe, it just didn’t work out.

Mass Effect 3 – Citadel DLC Review (PS3)

I’m at a point where I can’t believe how much DLC I actually own and paid for. It’s really crazy when you think about it because if you purchase every single piece of DLC that comes out for every single game that you own then you’re spending an astronomical amount of money for extra content. While most of the times the DLC isn’t really worth it, this was not one of those times.

This DLC came out well over three years ago and came out amid a whole scandal that involved the ending of Mass Effect 3, what the fans thought they deserved, something called “artistic integrity”, and a whole bunch of other stuff that was the craziness involved with the Mass Effect series. After the eh of DLC that was Levithan, the ugh of DLC that was Omega, no one was sure how this one piece of DLC was going to be. While this DLC is mostly about saying that final goodbye and spending some extra time with your beloved squad mates, if they so happened to live throughout each game, there was a super silly, fun, and vastly different story from the main story as a whole that was told. Apparently, back when Cerberus was recreating Shepard they made a backup clone in case the real Shepard every needed any extra body parts. Poor Shepard clone wasn’t really needed after that and has now made it his/her goal to take over the real Shepard’s life. It’s a crazy story that will get all of your current and some of your past squad mates involved in what is some of the funniest settings and the craziest scenes that have ever been done for this series. Not to mention at the end Shepard can throw an epic party.

If I had to pick one DLC, one single DLC out of the ton that I’ve played, and say that this is my favorite DLC hands down then this would be it. Compared to the rest of the game which is filled with doom and despair and the star child that ruins a trilogy of games, this DLC is what most people, including myself wanted from Mass Effect 3. It was that mission of everyone working together to bring down something, sure it wasn’t the reapers, it was Shepard’s evil clone, but still. It also gave that extra time to meet with each of your squad mates and have that final moment with them after playing over 100’s of hours with them at your side. Did I mention that there was a party? This was everything that the Mass Effect 3 ending should have been and more. It was that final goodbye that people wanted instead of the “Thanks for playing, buy more DLC” message that was first released with the game.

The playability of this DLC was on par with the rest of Mass Effect. It all takes place on different areas of the Citadel that haven’t been explored by the players. While there are a few hiccups with the voice cutting in and out like the rest of the game, it runs a hell of a lot better than the other three DLC’s for this game.

The graphics are on par with the rest of Mass Effect and the new areas of the Citadel look amazing. I really wish the players were given a chance to explore these areas a little more throughout the rest of the games, but this DLC will have to do. Everything was vibrant and full of detail making the rest of the Citadel look dingy and dinky.

Trophies, the one thing that kept me from completing this DLC years ago. There are a total of 9 trophies for this DLC and while they’re mostly story related and easy to get, the ones that involve the combat simulator will have you tearing your hair out and tossing your controller through the window as they are not easy and you’ll have an easier time playing the multiplayer set on platinum with a bunch of random people than you will trying to get all of the trophies that have to do with the combat simulator. Needless to say, these trophies are achievable they just require some work.

While there’s multiplayer for the game as a whole, there isn’t for this DLC and it’s a truly single player experience so that you can have one last moment or two with your squad mates.

Overall I give this DLC a 5 out of 5.

What’s Great:
+ A proper and final goodbye to Commander Shepard and his/her crew.
+ Some of the best writing for the series…the series.
+ A funnier and lighter DLC compared to all the doom and despair that was the rest of the game.
+ EPIC PARTY at the end. EPIC.

What’s Not So Great:
– While you can now use this as your new ending to the Mass Effect trilogy, if you want to say you completed the game fully you still have to play the original ending and go through all that crap again.

If you didn’t get any of the other Mass Effect 3 DLC’s, and I can completely understand why, do not pass this one up. It’s like a love letter to the fans giving them just about everything they wanted, aside from a new ending all together, and is a nice way to say goodbye to a game that you can spend 100’s of hours getting lost on. If there is one single DLC that you’re ever going to purchase let it be this one because you won’t regret it.

Saints Row IV: Re-elected – How The Saints Save Christmas DLC Review (PS4)

While I like the Saints Row games, I really do, I’ve never really been into the whole idea of getting the DLC for this game. Luckily for me the DLC was included in the Re-elected version of the game for PS4 so I was able to finally experience what a Saints Row DLC included. Keep reading to see if I enjoyed it or now know why I’ll probably always pass on them.

It’s Christmas time in the world of Saints Row! Yes, even though the whole world is gone and it’s basically just the Boss and your crew mates, your crew will still be in the holiday spirit and want to celebrate Christmas because I hear it’s the most wonderful time of the year. I can relate to the Boss this time around as he/she is not a big fan of Christmas, neither am I for my own reasons, but it comes down to the fact that Christmas needs to be saved from the evil Clawz and since there’s no one else to do it, you’ll be assigned the task. Will the Boss be able to save Christmas? Will the Boss finally believe in the magic of Christmas and Christmas time? You’ll have to play the DLC to find out.

I went into this DLC not really knowing what to expect. I knew it would be crazy because it’s Saints Row, but I thought this DLC was a little over the top. The quests that go along with this DLC are mediocre at best and really only take a few minutes each to complete making this DLC take about 1 hour, 2 if you really stretch it and try to get all of the trophies. This time around you’ll work with future Shaundi and the original Santa to take down the evil Clawz. There are a few cool cut scenes and the end cut scene was probably the best out of the whole DLC. I’m not saying that this game made me believe in Christmas again or even like Christmas all that much, but it was nice.

The playability of this DLC is similar to the rest of the game. You’ll go to the ship to get your missions and then go from there, there isn’t anything special that you really have to do or new things that you have to learn. If you’ve been playing this game then it’s the same thing. I didn’t experience any problems with the DLC even though I’ve had a few problems with the game itself, but overall it ran smoothly.

The graphics are the same as the main graphics for Saints Row IV: Re-elected. I have to say that this being a remaster and all, I wasn’t really that impressed with the graphics. I found them to be similar to the PS3 version and not that much improvement made to them. Out of all the remasters that I’ve played, and I played a lot, this was one of the ones where I didn’t spot a visible difference. Maybe it’s just me.

Complete this DLC and you’ll be able to gain an additional 10 trophies. The trophies are pretty easy and if you miss some, because they are story related, you’ll be able to go back and get the trophy that you missed. This was pretty cool since I missed a couple of the story related ones but was able to go back and replay one mission to get the trophy that I needed instead of having to start a new game and play the DLC all over again.

There is co-op play for the whole game and even though I didn’t use it, I’m pretty sure you can play the co-op mode for this DLC as well since everyone who owns the PS4 version should have the DLC. Anyway, if you have a buddy who is also playing Saints Row IV: Re-elected, I don’t see why you shouldn’t be able to play this together.

Overall I give this DLC a 2 out of 5.

What’s Great:
+ It’s a Christmas version of Saints Row, chock full of all the crazy antics that Saints Row has to offer.
+ Smooth running DLC that can be played after the main game or while you play the main campaign.

What’s Not So Great:
– A story that was a little over the top even for Saints Row.
– DLC doesn’t really add all that much to the original story of the game and is only really 1-2 hours long.
– For a remaster, the graphics are a little underwhelming and if there’s a Saints Row V, it hopefully will look a lot better.

So, I finally came to the realization that I’ve been missing absolutely nothing when it comes to the Saints Row DLC. It doesn’t really add anything to the story as a whole and it’s just another crazy couple of missions that take place in the Saints Row universe. If you have the Re-elected version of this game then I would say there isn’t a reason why you shouldn’t play it since it’s there, but if you have to pay for it then I would say to give it a huge pass because you really aren’t missing anything.

Fallout 4 – Contraptions Workshop DLC Review (PS4)

I know, this is a little out of order since last week I reviewed the Vault Tech DLC for Fallout 4 and technically this one came out first. The thing is though, when I downloaded this DLC I wasn’t in any type of hurry to play Fallout 4 and try out this workshop DLC. Truth is, none of my settlements had enough building material for any of the new things to be built until I played the Vault Tech DLC. Keep reading to find out what I thought about this workshop DLC.

Because this is a workshop DLC, there is absolutely no benefit to the story. You can build the new stuff added to the workshop or you can simply just not do it. Either way, it doesn’t help you out in anyway story wise. If I would have known that mostly all the DLC for Fallout 4 would have been this way, I probably would have skipped the season pass.

Once you have a bunch of building materials, completing the DLC is simple. The only hard part is having all of the parts needed to actually make the new contraptions in the DLC. If you play this after playing the Vault Tech DLC, you should have everything that you need just from scavenging around the vault. All in all, once you have everything this DLC should take you approximately 15-20 minutes to complete.

These damn workshop DLC’s! Ugh, they are some of the most difficult DLC’s to actually play because they involve constructing stuff which when it comes to that in Fallout 4 I am completely clueless. This from someone that spend hours upon hours upon hours crafting and doing all of this stuff in Skyrim. For me, half of the crafting is just super difficult to try and make work and I can never make some of the really cool things that people have made before getting to the point of super frustration and then eventually quitting all together. That being said, if you know how to craft then this DLC will be super easy for you.

Since this DLC just adds new things for you to build in your settlements and to mess around with, the graphics are basically the same as they are throughout the rest of the game.

There are of course trophies for this DLC. Three of them to be exact and once you have all the materials you need to build what the trophies want you to build, they’re super easy to get. So get to building so that you don’t mess up your 100% on Fallout 4 because of this DLC.

This is one of those times where I really wish there was some multiplayer so someone, anyone could just help me out with the building. Sadly there isn’t any multiplayer for this game and this DLC sure as hell didn’t add it in.

Overall I give this DLC a 1 out of 5.

What’s Great:
+ New stuff to build for your settlement.

What’s Not So Great:
– Nothing story related and this DLC adds absolutely nothing to the game other than new building objects.
– If you’re not good at crafting, then you’ll most likely hate this DLC as the only thing it requires you to do is craft.

For me, this DLC was just a waste of time and makes me seriously regret buying the season pass for this game. The only way you’re going to like this DLC is if you’re into crafting, don’t mind that it adds nothing to the story, and want to be able to build some weird contraptions. Needless to say, I would say to give this one a pass if you don’t own the season pass, or just simply wait for the Game of the Year edition.

Fallout 4 – Vault Tec DLC Review (PS4)

DLC number 5 of 6 for Fallout 4, I know I missed a few inbetween, but I played this one on release because unlike the other “workshop” type DLC’s this one was actually supposed to have a story to it and some quests. I was eager to play it when it was released this past Tuesday because who isn’t interested in building a vault? Keep reading to see what I thought about this DLC.

This was really a bare bones type of story that came with this DLC. It was just there I guess, just to prove this wasn’t anther workshop DLC. Basically, the wanderer (you know, your character) gets a generic radio alert telling him/her to go to this vault that needs help. Vault 88. Once you get there you’ll have to fight off some raiders and try to find the entrance to this vault. Once you’re in there you’ll unlock the workshop and then have to dig your way to the overseer. From there you’ll learn that this vault was setup for some experimentations. You can either partake in them or kick the overseer out from the beginning so the choice is yours. If you kick out the ghoul overseer, then the quests basically end. If not you’ll have to do some mundane things like interview some applicants to be the test subject who will ultimately be some guy named Clem. After that you’ll conduct a few experiments on a very eager Clem as well as the rest of the vault dwellers.

If you do everything this DLC has to offer, you’ll be playing for at best two hours. The story could have been a hell of a lot more interesting if it was more fleshed out instead of just a bunch of random fetch and build quests. After I finished the quests and got all of the trophies for the DLC, I seriously had no interested what so ever in continuing to build the vault even though I had become the new overseer. Like everything with Fallout construction, everything was just overly complicated to build and put together and took a little time getting used to hooking up each contraption to a power supply and a terminal to choose the experiments. This DLC could have just been a hell of a lot more and just turned out to be blah.

You really have to know the construction system of Fallout to be able to successfully play this DLC without wanting to throw your controller out the window. Like all of the building and construction stuff in Fallout, it’s complicated and I could never set things up the way I wanted to. With this DLC, I wish they would have added something to clean up the dead bodies and creatures that were just laying around the vault after I was finished clearing it out. Why can’t this be done? Seriously, there’s a dead body in my vault because one of the dwellers killed the other. I mean, I kind of pit them against each other in an arena battle, but that’s beside the point! That dead body will forever be there in his underwear with everyone walking over him like he doesn’t exist. So, by this point you’re probably wondering why he’s in his underwear and it’s simple. He’s dead and no longer a dweller so he didn’t need the uniform anymore…or the pip boy. It’s not like he’s using them.

Since it’s attached to the actual Fallout 4 game, the graphics are basically the same and the new construction options look really good in the vault setting. There are a bunch of new objects, decorations, walls, and etc. to build and they all look good just as Fallout 4 does.

Complete this DLC and everything it has to offer, which isn’t much, and you’ll have another three trophies added to your gamer card and to your Fallout 4 trophy list. If you’re going for that 100%, then this shouldn’t in anyway mess you up because the trophies are super easy for this DLC.

As always with Fallout 4, this is a strictly single player experience.

Overall I give this DLC a 2 out of 5.

What’s Great:
+ By the end of the DLC you’ll be the proud new owner of a vault and be able to build it how you want.
+ Compared to the other workshop DLC’s it has a small story that may not be much, but it’s still there.

What’s Not So Great:
– A very weak story just to show that this isn’t another workshop DLC.
– Overly complicated building which is like the rest of Fallout 4 if you think about it because anything having to do with construction in this game is just way too complicated. Especially where electricity is involved.
– Although it’s not pegged as another workshop DLC because that would mean that you spent a bunch of money on another workshop DLC, it’s a workshop DLC plain and simple. Weren’t there already enough of those?

While this isn’t a must play DLC for the Fallout 4 game, if you have the season pass you might as well download it and play it. If you don’t have the season pass, I would say to either give this one a pass unless you’re really into building or wait until an eventual Game of the Year edition of Fallout 4 comes out. I haven’t been all that happy with the quality of DLC that has been released for this game, but I am looking forward to the sixth and final DLC, Nuka World, that should come out sometime in August.

Fallout 4 – Far Harbor – DLC Review (PS4)

Just when you thought you were done with Fallout 4, another story based DLC gets released and you’re sucked back into the Wasteland to do some more exploring. This DLC was the one that everyone was waiting for since it opened up a whole new huge area in the game along with new characters, new enemies, and new places to explore. Did Far Harbor live up to everything it was supposed to be? Keep reading to find out.

In Far Harbor, the detective agency of Nick Valentine has a job for you. It’s the case of a missing girl who typically ran away from home for whatever reason girls do that type of thing and now it’s up to you to go and save her. You’ll travel, via boat, to the distant Far Harbor that is home to a group of Synths, the original people of Far Harbor, and the Children of Atom. As luck would have it, the residents of Far Harbor and the Children of Atom are basically about to start a war with one another and that’s just another problem that you have to solve. While on your journey, you’ll learn more about the synth refugee that was built on Far Harbor along with some history to go along with it. More questions are asked, but in typical Fallout fashion, they aren’t really answered.

While this DLC is longer than Automatron, the story, while exciting at first, soon gets a little bland and boring towards the end. As with the original story you have the option of siding with the three factions that are on the island as well as bringing peace to the island as a whole. The choice is yours and you can play it however you want. While this is also the same as Fallout 4, there are some new elements that are involved and there are new, more intense, enemies on the island that prove to be a challenge even for higher level characters. There’s also the addition of new weapons which were pretty cool, but overall I was a little disappointed with the DLC. Don’t get me wrong I like the new area that was opened up and I enjoyed exploring it, but I didn’t like that in the beginning of the DLC a question to your characters own humanity is raised but never even gets answered. I don’t know if they plan exploring this in another DLC or what, but I would like some answers.

Unlike some people on the PS4, I had absolutely no problems with this DLC. My only complaint was in the graphics department, which we’ll get to in a little bit, but other than that the DLC ran just as smoothly as the main game. I didn’t have to do this new fix that they’re talking about which involves uninstalling and reinstalling and I didn’t have to do anything. From start to finish the DLC worked perfectly for me.

Now the graphics, while they were the same as the rest of the game, there was this addition of fog which was just horrible. I get the whole thing with the fog because they’re on an island and blah, blah, blah, but that doesn’t mean that it was pretty or even easy to make your way through. Not only does it carry a bunch of radiation, make sure you have Rad-X and Rad Away, but it just makes this blurry mess of not knowing where you are or really where you’re going. Other than that everything looked the same as the main game, but that fog was really the worst addition for this game.

Of course there were trophies associated with this DLC, and they really aren’t all that hard to get. If you’re looking for that 100% in Fallout 4 you’ll have to add another 10 trophies to your collection. 6 of the 10 trophies are story based, while the other 4 trophies revolve around you exploring, unlocking settlements, killing the creatures of Far Harbor and collecting all 5 editions of the Far Harbor Almanac. While none of these are hard to get, they are time consuming.

Like the main game, this is a single player experience, and in my opinion, Fallout should remain a single player experience. There is no need for multiplayer for this series.

Overall I give this DLC a 3.5 out of 5

What’s Great:
+ New and interesting area to explore.
+ Lengthy DLC that adds to the overall game making you fall right back into the world of Fallout
+ New characters that are interesting to learn about.

What’s Not So Great:
– Story slowly starts getting boring well before the halfway through point.
– While I didn’t have a problem playing, I’m hearing a lot of reports of people having a problem with this DLC and that’s never a good thing.
– That damn fog! Worst thing ever to add into this game and it takes away some of the beauty that is Fallout 4.
– Unanswered questions which either means more DLC or that they’ll just remain unanswered since maybe they were never important in the first place. If they weren’t important then they shouldn’t have been asked in the first place.

While this was a decent DLC, if I didn’t already have the Season Pass, at the original price, I would have never in a million years payed the hefty $24.99 price tag that was placed on this DLC. I think that this price tag sets a new and unhealthy precedent on the staggering costs of DLC, which I won’t talk about here, but seriously if you don’t already have the Season Pass I would wait until a Game of the Year addition comes out and get all the DLC at once. As much as I enjoy playing Fallout 4, I would never pay this much for DLC. If you’re a huge fan though that doesn’t own the Season Pass, then you’re going to get this DLC regardless, but it’s my strong recommendation that you wait for the Game of the Year edition of Fallout 4.