What's the best expansion pack ever?

[Benji]

DLC is tacked on and lame, but once in a while expansion packs get it really right - so what are some of your favourites?

For me, Witcher 3's Blood & Wine was great. A whole new region, loads of new tales and something that felt familiar to the main game but different enough that it provided you with a real sense of different locale without knocking you over the head with it.

Also RDR's Undead Nightmare, which was basically an entire game in its own right, and was where zombies in pop culture peaked for me.

[Roster Depth Sicko No. 2]

From the ones I've played, Dragonborn on Skyrim was pretty dope. New region, new armour and weapons, whole bunch of cool quests, 'legendary' skills so you could go past the level cap.

All three of Skyrim's were awesome in their own way though.

[stokeriño]

Probably one of those Civ IV or Civ V expansions that turned the incredibly-flawed vanilla game into something actually fun to play. I forget what any one of them specifically did though.

To go back to the first 'proper' PC game I ever owned, I always loved the expansion to X-Wing vs. TIE Fighter (XWvT: Balance of Power).

[Benji]

I liked Dragonborn, but I think Dawnguard was a better expansion. Probably my favourite vampire-centric thing since Legacy of Kain.

1 minute ago, stokeristmas said:

Probably one of those Civ IV or Civ V expansions that turned the incredibly-flawed vanilla game into something actually fun to play. I forget what any one of them specifically did though.

To go back to the first 'proper' PC game I ever owned, I always loved the expansion to X-Wing vs. TIE Fighter (XWvT: Balance of Power).

Oh damn yeah. Good call. The addition of religion was the best change they ever made. Then fucking with culture and tourism in Civ 5 too.

[Gazz]

FO3: Broken Steel or CK2: The Old Gods.

I'm basically a sucker for big robots and Vikings.

[Benji]

Googling Robot Viking produces a disappointing lack of results. Someone get on that.

[Gazz]

I'm amazed no one has modded Liberty Prime into Skyrim.

[Skummy]

StarCraft: Brood War is the best for me - new units and gameplay balancing tweaks that actually improve the game all round, rather than just feeling like a tacked on extra, and a great continuation of the story as well. Admittedly it's been probably fifteen years or more since I last played it, but it's the first thing to come to mind when I think of expansion packs.

The Fantastic Worlds expansion for Civilisation 2 was pretty great, too - a bunch of fun scenarios (I've been desperate for a decent strategy game taking its lead from the Jules Verne scenario for years), and a really easy to use editor. Far from the best, but one I sunk a lot of hours into back in the day.

[9 to 5]

32X.

[Benji]

5 minutes ago, GaChristmaszz said:

I'm amazed no one has modded Liberty Prime into Skyrim.

"Talos... is non-negotiable."

[apsham]

Shivering Isles for Oblivion was pretty top notch for the time.

[Baddar]

Undead Nightmare gets my vote.

Special mention for the Island expansion on Burnout Paradise though. Playing the base game, you could see a bridge that was blocked off and construction work in the distance so knew that something was coming - I think it cost about a tenner which was probably a bit expensive for what you were getting, but I remember playing the game to death and really looking forward to exploring a new area.

[Adam]

GTA IV's expansion story modes, Lost & Damned with the biker gang, and Ballad of Gay Tony, where you played as a nightclub bouncer essentially, were great ways to add to that world and also fairly well married the stories up together at a time when that wasn't such a common theme in games like that.

[Bobfoc]

2 hours ago, Santa with Benjles said:

I liked Dragonborn, but I think Dawnguard was a better expansion. Probably my favourite vampire-centric thing since Legacy of Kain.

Have you tried Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines?

As for my picks, I'm in agreement with most of the ones that have been posted already. The GTA IV expansions were great entries that prioritised different styles of gameplay, which was something the vanilla game sorely lacked, and Undead Nightmare offered several hours of what was effectively a new game entirely.

To add to the list, I think I'll go with Medieval II: Total War Kingdoms. It took the sprawling map of the vanilla game and condensed it down to four smaller-scale campaigns, making your chosen nation actually feel like a working nation, rather than just a big expanse of empty space with a few major cities littered around. It also included a load of new units and has changed the game in the long-term too, with most Total War mods using Kingdoms as their base.

[Just Joe]

Warhammer 40K Dawn of War: Dark Crusade, introduced the Necrons and Tau and changed the game up completely, freedom to complete the campagin however you pleased rather than linear mission settings from the base game and Winter Assault, made it into basically Risk set in the 40k Universe. Best thing was all the Factions played differently so they had variety in how you deployed your units tactically. 

 

[Pooker]

The Diablo 2 expansion gets my vote. Lord of Destruction added two new classes, an entire new act, and a bunch of other improvements.

[Kyle]

5 hours ago, Adam said:

GTA IV's expansion story modes, Lost & Damned with the biker gang, and Ballad of Gay Tony, where you played as a nightclub bouncer essentially, were great ways to add to that world and also fairly well married the stories up together at a time when that wasn't such a common theme in games like that.

I knew there was a reason I liked you besides your exceptional taste in Premier League football teams.  

For me, the way Lost & Damned and Ballad of Gay Tony shone a new light on the city was great. The gritty feel and new bikes from L&D plus the ridiculous new weapons and vehicles and glitzy locations from Ballad massively expanded GTA IV's life span for me to the point I probably have 1000+ hours logged over both my current and old XBL profile.

Also Undead Nightmare was the fucking bees knees, obviously.

[FestiveJack]

Rise of Rome for the original Age of Empires.

Oh and Kingdoms for Medieval 2 Total War.

[MDK]

6 hours ago, Adam said:

GTA IV's expansion story modes, Lost & Damned with the biker gang, and Ballad of Gay Tony, where you played as a nightclub bouncer essentially, were great ways to add to that world and also fairly well married the stories up together at a time when that wasn't such a common theme in games like that.

I honestly can't decide what main character I liked the most in IV. 

[Rocky]

GTA IV is definitely my favourite. Even the mechanics in every chapter was different to the last. The bike control in TLaD made it so much fun to rip around the city. and each one was set in a different part of the city of which you didn't really venture to during the other chapters. It was very well put together.
Undead Nightmare is also up there. added a whole different spectrum to the entire game.