The month of July 2009 shall forever be known as National Downloadable Content Awareness Month. This is easily one of the top months this platform lifecycle to feature some of the most wanted DLC. It has been such a star studded month that it would come as no surprise to accidentally overlook one or two of these awesome game add-ons. So without further ado, here is a list of some of the highlighted DLC packs to hit PSN and Xbox Live this month.
Rock Band/Rock Band 2 – Mayhem Pack – 1080 Microsoft Points/$13.50 PSN or 160 Microsoft Points/200 Wii Points/$2.00 PSN per song
Rock Band has seen an occasional metal song from time to time since its release, but never has there been as big a metal release as the Mayhem Pack. It is a collection of the following eight tracks, with many of these bands making their Rock Band debut –
Behemoth “Conquer All”
Black Dahlia Murder “What a Horrible Night to Have a Curse”
Cannibal Corpse “Hammer Smashed Face”
God Forbid “Empire of the Gun”
Job for a Cowboy “Embedded”
Marilyn Manson “Disposable Teens”
Slayer “Black Magic”
Whitechapel “This Is Exile”
Gears of War 2 – All Fronts Collection/Dark Corners – 1600/1200 Microsoft Points
Over the last few months I finally have succumbed to getting addicted to an online shooter in Gears of War 2. I blame the ever-so-smartly marketed double XP weekend luring me in for “just one more match.” However, I never have caved to paying for individual map packs…yet. $10 a pop for each of the three map packs already out for Gears 2 is a bit too much than I desire. Epic Games is making a great offer for those who have waited with the new All Fronts Collection. It introduces seven new multiplayer maps and a “deleted scene” from the Gears 2 campaign that Epic is promising to deliver an additional hour and a half of gameplay in single player or co-op. The new campaign content gives players two paths to play the level in – all out guns blazing or stealth mode where Marcus and Dom disguise themselves as Locust as they make their infiltration.
For the hardcore that have already downloaded the previous packs the seven new maps and deleted scene can be purchased separately as the “Dark Corners” add-on for 1200 Microsoft Points. For those of us who waited however, for only 400 points more (that’s $20 all together), the All Fronts Collection will throw in the three map packs already available for Gears. Compare that to the $45 one would have paid if they bought all the add-ons individually and you would be insane to pass up on this good a deal.
Motorstorm: Pacific Rift – Adrenaline & Speed Packs – $9.99 each
After several straight weeks of free vehicle skin downloads, Pacific Rift finally rolls out two premium content downloads with the Adrenaline & Speed Packs. The Speed Pack introduces three new tracks that take place in the beaches and sandbars of the Pacific. There are also three new “Volcanic Remixes” of older tracks that add lava pits and other obstacles to avoid. The Speed Pack also introduces 32 Speed Events, a series of challenges where players can race through obstacles and obstructions for time bonuses and top leaderboard placement.
The Adrenaline Pack does not contain any Speed Events, but it still offers up three new tracks that contain more death-defying jumps than the Speed tracks. In addition to the new tracks there are also four Volcanic Remixes and one other all new remix to older Pacific Rift tracks in the Adrenaline Pack. I have already purchased both track packs, and the new tracks are well worth the investment after spending many hours online with them, and if you are crash prone like me than those Volcanic Remix tracks will easily help you earn the “200 Wrecks” trophy in no time.
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