Yesterday we had a chance to sit down with the latest DLC pack for Gears of War from Epic Games. RAAM’s Shadow. While a completely single player affair that doesn’t follow the exploits of Marcus Fenix or Delta Squad, RAAM’s Shadow gives us more insight into the overall Gears of War universe, and offers up even more of the high octane action one would expect from the series
In RAAM’s Shadow, Epic Games has taken us for a ride in the “way back” machine, all the way back to just after Emergence day, when the war between the Humans and Locust was just breaking out. For much of the expansion, players will take on the roles of members of Zeta Squad during the evacuation of Ilima City, which features two familiar faces from past Gears of War games in Lt. Mihn Young Kim (Gears 1) and Tai Kaliso (Gears 2), and offers up two new faces in Alicia Valera and Micheal Berrick. The primary player takes the role of Berrick, a former Stranded a who has a taste for cigars, the world’s largest sideburns, and a bit of an attitude problem. Other players fill in the other members of the squad. We also get to meet a young Jace Stratton, long before the events of Gears of War 3.
Nothing says "Bad Ass" like huge sideburns
However, there are two segments of the DLC where players play as the Locust Horde in their attempt to unleash a Kryll Storm upon the city, which would kill any human still living there. The primary player gets the honor of playing as General RAAM, the final boss from the original Gears of War, and other players join in as various members of the Locust Elite. For those who remember the nearly impossible to beat (at least without a live co-op partner) RAAM, the opportunity to tear humans apart by directing a Kryll attack should sound pretty tempting. And despite the fact that RAAM is truly overpowered, the gameplay segments are still pretty compelling from a story perspective, as we finally learn some details about exactly how the Locust horde managed to wipe out so many humans.
Those Cogs don't stand a chance
RAAM’s Shadow is fairly extensive expansion, that will take gamers between 3 and 4 hours to complete. And while it doesn’t offer up any new multiplayer maps, all the characters that are playable in the expansion become available as multiplayer skins. There are even a few achievements available in multiplayer for groups who play only as members of Zeta Squad.
RAAM’s Shadow delivers what we want from a DLC pack for a game like this. If offers up a new story that while non-essential, gives us a deeper understanding of the Gears of War universe. The ending sequences of this DLC deliver some of the most heart pumping action we’ve experienced in any DLC pack, as we were forced to go head to head with the nigh indestructible RAAM as he rides the back of a Reaver. Needless to say, RAAM’s Shadow is a must have for fans of Gears of War 3.
Overall Score: 9.5/10
