0.0 hours played
Written 7 years ago
First, a bit of context – the previous DLC, the Jolly Roger, did not meet universal acclaim. There were criticisms. Some critics were louder than others. I myself have outlined the most obvious issues with the Jolly Roger DLC in my review of it. And having just finished the Hero of the Nation DLC, it seems pretty clear to me that the developers listened to the criticisms carefully – perhaps more carefully than they should have. As such, we have a DLC that lacks both the issues AND the strengths of the previous one.
Gone are the strict time limits. For each quest you get 1-2 months, which is plenty of time to prepare for whatever awaits you.
But at the same time, gone is intricate and nuanced storytelling. Every quest of the Jolly Roger had 5-10 stages. The first one was easily one of the best. In contrast, one of the first quests of the Hero of the Nation is to deliver a passenger to two different isles. Come on devs, you know better than that!
You no longer have to worry about hellishly unfair fights – be it sea or land battles, you get enough resources, time, and people to fight in a glorious all-out war. And those ARE fun.
You will get plenty of opportunity to acquire monstrous 1 class ships, which are a site to behold. There is also one unique location, which is very nice, and the final prize is sweet.
But at the same time, you don’t meet that many interesting characters either. There’s actually, only one brand new character, the rest are the ones that you’ve already met in the main game. That’s not to say that it’s a bad thing – develop what you already have all you want, but this will also remind you that the devs did not spend enough time coming up with an interesting story.
And this is one big issue of this DLC – too straight forward, too simple.
There are couple other minor quips I have with the DLC.
(1) This is clearly not a spoiler, as you all expect Charles to advance on the career ladder and get a high rank. But the problem is – the soldiers in the cities don’t recognize him as their superior. They still bark at me, “Whaddayawant” every time I address them.
(2) The only new character is not voiced. I mean, he does not have his own line, like everyone else. This bugs me. That one sweet line that characters have is part of what gives the game its charm.
If you want action, you’ll get plenty of it. In that department, the DLC truly delivers. It is action packed and fair on the new-comers. But I value story. I like nuance and detail. So to me, this DLC is a slight step down from the Jolly Roger.
Still, I can’t in good conscience tell you not to get it. For $5, the content more than pays for itself.
Verdict: 6.5/10
