So you may have heard of this little backwater game called Red Dead Redemption... Actually, you're weird if you haven't. You're not so weird if you haven't finished it yet, though. It's a long game, and on top of that we've had a busy summer with plenty of good games to play.
To try and keep your attention, Rockstar has promised several downloadable packs - the first of which was free and the second not so free. Here are my impressions of each...
Outlaws to the End Co-Op Mission Pack
If your first thought is: these missions sound generic, you'd be right to a point. In starting up a co-op mission you'll find yourself in familiar territory. Of course, there are only so many places to begin a mission in an open world game...but when I say "familiar" I mean someplace that you've probably already been a dozen times. Gang hideouts, for example.
Where the great fun in these co-op adventures kicks in - aside from gunslinging alongside three other players - is when it's time to move out from your starting position. Whether rafting down the river or rolling away in a carriage, the action quickly moves from one scene to the next. You'll be treated to a finale, as well; my personal favorite was arriving at Ridgewood Ranch and having a huge showdown against waves of attackers, Magnificent Seven style. It was everything a co-op mission should be.
Granted, not all of the missions play out that way. Out of the six available, four of them provided the rush described above; the other two were glorified Gang Hideouts without the awesome escapes.
For a free DLC pack, Outlaws to the End delivers in a mighty way. These missions are what Free Roam should have included from the very beginning.
Legends and Killers Pack
Where the blissfulness of free DLC ends, though, is where the woes begin. Legends and Killers - the premium pack released on August 10th - is to Outlaws to the End as Burnout Paradise's Legendary Cars DLC was to the free motorcycle update: overpriced and underwhelming.
Let's count the ways that Legends and Killers please me: I got a throwable tomahawk and Red Dead Revolver character skins for multiplayer (some of them locked, even). Now let's count the ways that I was disappointed: no new Gang Hideouts, no new guns, no new horses or mounts, no new co-op missions...you get the point. For a co-op player there is very little of value here.
To be fair: there are ten new Achievements and Trophies. But my desire to search them out wanes when they are all associated with the nine new versus match locations and the new weapon (which gets old after a short while).
So it seems that the quality found in the free DLC is actually paid for in arrears by anyone who purchases the Legends and Killers pack. This doesn't give me much hope for the Undead Nightmare pack (which looks to be as scant as this one), although Liars and Cheats - the next pack to be available - might actually end up being money well spent.
If you're strapped for cash, skip Legends and Killers and wait to see how multiplayer poker, Liars Dice, and horse races pan out in Liars and Cheats. And by all means grab the Outlaws to the End pack; it has the highest replayability of any mode in the game.