"Good thing this machine-gun/sniper rifle has a flamethrower on the end of it!"

It’s no secret that I love Valkyria Chronicles. Not only was it my favorite game of 2008, it was also my very first review here at Wing Damage. Long have I awaited for the promised downloadable content. Was it worth the wait and, more importantly, the price of admission?

Read on and decide for yourself!

3 separate packs of DLC were released simultaneously for $4.99 (US) a pop. I find it a bit strange that they are all equally priced when at least 2 of the packs have vastly differing amounts of content.

The shortest of the packs is the Edy’s Detachment mission. This mission was very obviously made to promote the new Valkyria Chronicles anime series that made it’s debut in Japan recently. The mission focuses completely on characters that are not part of the main plot, but have a larger role in the show. Interestingly, you don’t get to choose your units from a larger squad. You are stuck with the units you are given. In addition to this, if one of your units dies, you have no medics to bring them back. The units you start with must last you until the operation’s completion.

This map looked awfully familiar. I’m nearly positive it was used in one of the side missions within the normal game. Even still, it is a unique mission with split objectives. At the start, you are simply trying to hold down a small area for 3 turns. The objective isn’t particularly hard, but is kept interesting since there is a variety of units wanting to take you down including multiple tanks and snipers. Once 3 turns have passed, you then have to make a specific character reach a destination while still protecting the original spot. I was happy to see the mission expand this way.

Edy’s Detachment wasn’t particularly difficult, but it still managed to keep me on my toes. Honestly, I think $5 is a bit steep for this mission, especially considering I don’t think the map was new, but it was still fun and I don’t regret my purchase.

Next up, we have the beefier pack entitled “Behind Her Blue Flame”. What surprised me is that this pack contains 4 missions. Your actions during the first mission determine whether you progress to one of two other missions. If you receive an “A” rank on all three of these missions, you are awarded a fourth mission as a bonus.

This pack puts you in control of the Empire. In each of the missions contained within, you will fight the Gallian Army (in the main story, you control the Gallian Militia). Most importantly, you can take full control of Selvaria Bles. For anybody that didn’t get far enough in the game to know this, she uses a gun called “Ruhm”. This can be described as a machine-gun with amazing accuracy and range. To make matters more ridiculous, Selvaria is considered a scout class, allowing her to cover an enormous distance. If you didn’t get your power fix enough from Ruhm, the bonus mission allows you take control of Selvaria in her Valkyrur form. This means you get to shoot lasers out of your space lance and blow through tanks and any unfortunate souls who happen to stand in a line with a single shot.

Though this pack isn’t particularly hard, beating 2 of the missions contained within unlocks Ruhm for use with one of your shock-troopers in the game’s normal campaign. Since all my shock-troopers are elite by this point, a flamethrower is also fashioned on to the end of it. This makes for one ridiculously amazing gun. I was able to take down 2 soldiers with full health in the same turn with this gun. However, even Ruhm couldn’t save me from the new “Expert” difficulty.

I can’t fully review the extra difficulty DLC because, frankly, I can’t get anywhere in it. When you start a New Game + on Valkyria Chronicles, a Hard mode becomes available. The Hard mode introduces new deployment locations as well as new mission objectives for all the skirmish battles. Expert mode takes those new missions, gets rid of both of your tanks, and then dumps a bucket of new enemies on top of the existing ones. When I started the first mission, I was in the center of the map with several mortars pointed at my cluster of soldiers and a sniper aiming at me from high atop a tower. There was also a bridge full of gatling turrets and a gobs of other enemies. My units dropped like flies.

The DLC description boasts the introduction of new weapons as well as mentioning something about new melee combat. Unfortunately, I just can’t survive very long. I don’t recommend skipping the Hard mode and going straight to Expert unless maybe you’re over-leveled. It did not work well for me.

I think “Behind Her Blue Flame” is the strongest of the packs. Not only do you get 4 missions out of it, but you are actually awarded an amazing gun for completing it. Though I don’t understand the pricing structure, I encourage giving more money to such an amazing game. After all, you wouldn’t want a sequel to be Japan-only, would you?

Tags: dlc, downloadable content, strategy, Valkyria Chronicles

This entry was posted on Wednesday, April 29th, 2009 at 5:00 am and is filed under Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.