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GOTY 2014: Expansions & DLC

Breathing new life into old games.

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Bioshock Infinite - Burial at Sea (Irrational Games / 2K Games)

Perhaps it's fitting that Burial at Sea gets a mention with it being Irrational's swan-song, at least as they were. This is also content that took us back to where we started our Bioshock adventure all those years ago; beneath the waves in Rapture. Familiar faces make returns and we get some degree of closure as the final part of Infinite plays out on our screens.

It's fair to say that Burial at Sea wasn't the best piece of DLC ever made, but it had so much personality, and it took us back to that most intoxicating of locations. It's hard not to feel strongly enough about it to place it in our featured top three. It might have felt a little limited when compared to its full-length brethren, but this is still a Bioshock experience, and the last of its kind from Irrational.

GOTY 2014: Expansions & DLC
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Crusader Kings II - Multiple Expansions (Paradox Interactive)

The year started off with Rajas of India, an expansion that added the Indian subcontinent to the CKII world map, and along with it a plethora of new playable families. It was a solid enough start, but it's not the reason it gets a mention here.

Crusader Kings II, like its predecessor before it, is a well-supported game, and in the second half of the year we got two expansions that really did open up the experience of the dynasty simulator. The first was Charlemagne, which included a much earlier start date (an additional one hundred years, or there abouts) and a whole host of additional improvements.

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Then, just before the end of the year, but also just in time for us to play it and include it here, we also got Way of Life, a fantastic expansion that elaborates on the soap opera side of the game, adding in a range of scenarios and events that boost the RPG side of the experience. It adds a whole load of extra personality into the mix, and this was already a game that was capable of creating great player-driven stories.

GOTY 2014: Expansions & DLC
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1. Diablo III: Reaper of Souls (Blizzard / Blizzard Activision)

Around the time that Reaper of Souls launched Blizzard introduced a raft of changes that completely overhauled many of the more contentious elements of Diablo III, most notably fixing up the loot system and casting out the old Auction House. The results were well received, and an already good game got even better.

Then we got the Reaper of Souls expansion, and with an extra chapter set in the city of Westmarch. This time the player is facing up to the "Angel of Death" himself, Malthael, and waged a war that took to heaven and back again in the process. Of course the player had the option to tackle all this new content with one of their existing characters, but then there was also a new class - the Crusader.

All of this was packaged together along with the base game with the Ultimate Evil Edition that launched on consoles in the summer, and what a mighty fine package it turned out to be. The content here is built with near-endless replayability in mind, and with the Nephalem Rifts and Adventure Mode, you've got plenty to keep you busy. A good expansion gives you plenty to do, a great expansion does that at the same time as improving the game it's built upon. Reaper of Souls is a great expansion.

GOTY 2014: Expansions & DLC
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Honourable Mentions

GOTY 2014: Expansions & DLC
The Lost Crowns Trilogy hit Dark Souls II this year and gave masochists something else to kill them time and again. A quality DLC trilogy.
GOTY 2014: Expansions & DLC
Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare was solid enough before it was added to. Thanks to some free expansions, it's now a very good game.
GOTY 2014: Expansions & DLC
The Lost of Us got some short story-driven DLC at the beginning of the year. Left Behind offers a change of pace and some nice background story.
GOTY 2014: Expansions & DLC
Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft got single-player Curse of Naxxramas this year, and Goblins vs. Gnomes added some explosive new cards to the deck.
GOTY 2014: Expansions & DLC
Mario Kart 8 got some additional tracks in the form of The Legend of Zelda DLC pack. The best racer of the year just got better.
GOTY 2014: Expansions & DLC
World of Warcraft expansion Warlords of Draenor could easily have snuck into the top three, but a woeful launch meant we kept it a mention at the end.


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