Dawnguard: DLC-licious!

     Skyrim is one of the best games I have ever played. So how do you make it even better? By adding some sweet new downloadable content (dlc). That's exactly what Bethesda did with Dawnguard. Dawnguard is the first dlc for Skyrim and easily shows the creativity and passion the developers still have for this game. Last fall Bethesda's Todd Howard stated that they wanted the dlc for Skyrim to be more like expansions, and that it was more about quality and not quantity. Well, mission accomplished!

     The story of Dawnguard fits nicely into the overall story and world of Skyrim. If you're not finished with the main quest line you don't have to worry. The dlc is unlocked once you are level 10, and will appear by talking to city guards or getting a message from a courier (which is how I started). With the message you are asked to meet a group of vampire hunters (Dawnguard) and investigate the current spreading of vampirism in Skyrim. As you help the Dawnguard you will eventually get the opportunity to either keep helping them, or become a vampire yourself. Which ever choice you make will open up different quests, which leaves even more replay value.

     The dlc will lead you through some new areas, which mostly consists of caves and dungeons. You will also get to use the crossbow as a new weapon. If you already have a high archery skill the crossbow is a pretty good weapon. You have to use steel bolts so regular arrows won't work. You'll be able to craft new crossbow bolts such as bolts with fire, electricity, ice, etc. It's a strong weapon but don't expect any rapid fire! One particular moment that I loved was having to battle two dragons on a large frozen lake. The dragons burst from under the ice and continue to dive at you, then back through the ice. It was intense and a lot of fun.

     Another thing that the Dawnguard dlc unlocks is some new skill trees. If you are already a werewolf you can enhance your skills with the new werewolf skill tree. The new abilities include being stronger, feeding increases health, and new totems. The new totems allow you to call other werewolves, ice wolfs, hunter sight, or strengthen your howl of terror ability. Of course if you become a vampire you can transform into a vampire lord. This opens up the vampire skill tree with abilities like turning into mist, calling a cloud of bats, and summoning a gargoyle.

     There are new achievements and trophies to unlock through the dlc too. Most of them you will unlock just by playing through the story. The entire dlc will take you around 10 hours to complete, but if you go back and play through from the other side it will last longer. For being the first dlc for Skyrim I was pleased with it. It added some new areas, abilities, quests, weapons, and of course more fun in the land of Skyrim.

Final Verdict: 9/10

Written by: Alter Ego 83