june gloom on 2/11/2009 at 02:20
Just realized that the (
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Half-Life:_Opposing_Force) Opposing Force expansion for Half-Life, which in my opinion was better than the original game in every respect, has been out 10 years today.
Since there's no point in turning this into another knobslobbering thread (since it'll just eventually turn into knobslobbering Unreal again anyway, thanks BRnumpty wherever you are) let's talk about expansions that you remember just as much as the games they were for.
Malleus on 2/11/2009 at 02:28
Operation Flashpoint: Resistance comes to mind. It contained lots of improvements, and almost could've worked as a sequel. Also, Lock On: Flaming Cliffs - it set a new standard, not just in the franchise, but in the whole combat flight sim genre.
kidmystik101 on 2/11/2009 at 07:09
Opposing fronts for CoH. Can you say mortar pits? Ffffffuuuuuckkk yesssssss.
Also the Sims Hot Date (damn yes that game was awesome)
nicked on 2/11/2009 at 07:31
* Baldur's Gate 2: Throne of Bhaal - virtually an entire sequel packaged as an expansion pack!
* Neverwinter Nights - Hordes of the Underdark - so much better than vanilla NWN it's uncanny.
* Painkiller - Battle out of Hell. Not really "better" than Painkiller, but this kept up the quality so that you could play the whole thing as one long game and not notice any change in quality or anything.
* And unofficially T2X - it's such a long, high quality, well-thought-out Thief 2 expansion that it's easy to forget it's not actually canon.
Pyrian on 2/11/2009 at 08:09
Medieval Total War: Viking Invasion. I played it far more than the original.
EvaUnit02 on 2/11/2009 at 11:31
I consider Opposing Force to be the best expansion that I've ever played.
* Wages of Sin - Excellent expansion, good levels and new weapons. There was even an option that let you play through Sin with the WoS gameplay enhancements. Also Hoverbike Deathmatch was the shit.
* MechWarrior 2: Ghost Bear Legacy - Not so much better, but an overall tighter, more solid experience than the original game.
* NetMech - MW2 MP client, I had a lot of fun LAN'ing this.
* Doom 3: Resurrection of Evil - Far more cohesive than the original game. The gravity gun and Artefact powers were a lot of fun to use and brought much needed gameplay variety to Doom 3. The level design was a lot better you really got the impression that UAC base was being twisted/engulfed by Hell, the vanilla game failed miserably at expressing this idea.
* Crysis: Warhead - head and shoulders above Crysis.
* Warcraft 2: Beyond the Dark Portal - Not better than vanilla title, but very good nonetheless. This had fully blown story, FMVs, new dialogue, etc. - it shat all over the piss poor expansions that Westwood had shitting for C&C1 and RA1. Westwood only managed to catch up with C&C2: Firestorm.
kidmystik101 on 2/11/2009 at 11:39
Quote Posted by EvaUnit02
I consider Opposing Force to be the best expansion that I've ever played.
* MechWarrior 2: Ghost Bear Legacy - Not so much better, but an overall tighter, more solid experience than the original game.
* NetMech - MW2 MP client, I had a lot of fun LAN'ing this.
Oh god yes. Mechwarrior 2 is still one of my favourite games. TIMBER WOLF, CAN YOU DIG IT
Ostriig on 2/11/2009 at 13:29
NWN: Hordes of the Underdark - I'll echo nicked on this one, it was really an excellent installment, following the progression from OC to SoU and then HotU itself, expanding on party interaction, setting and story grandeur. Normally, I'm not very keen on "overly epic" plots, but HotU built nicely on its predecessor, and it felt like a natural evolution.
NWN2: Mask of the Betrayer - If HotU was a full shitload better than the NWN OC, than MotB surely multiplied that ratio by a factor of ten. Even though, admittedly, part of the reason is that the NWN2 OC has shipped with some shortcomings for its time. With MotB, eve though I disliked most of the supporting cast and their "oh so special" nature, and I hated one particular mechanic, the highpoints of the game really swept any complaints right under the interdimensional carpet.
Unreal: Return to Na Pali - Yo dethtoll,
Inline Image:
http://i211.photobucket.com/albums/bb67/Ostriig/kanye3.jpggunsmoke on 2/11/2009 at 13:31
Well, Night of the Raven for Gothic 2 surpassed Gothic 2, which IMHO was quite a feat. I also agree with your opinion on Opposing Force, dethtoll. Great stuff.
Worth mentioning as well, are Tribunal and Bloodmoon for Morrowind. Moreso Bloodmoon, though. Really expanded the world and rules well.
SWAT 4 Stetchkov Syndicate. Wow! I cannot heap enough praise upon this. I am a huge SWAT fan (I even have my complete boxed Police Quest: SWAT sitting here) and this exp. fixed nearly every quibble I had with the vanilla game. So much that it is hard for me to go back and play it now.
DooM 3: Resurrection of Evil took the DooM 3 game to a new level of cool. Again, it fixed and changed a lot of my problems with the original game enough that it is tough to go back to.
Honorable mentions: Black and White: Creature Isle, Rainbow Six 3: Athena Sword, and a CONSOLE game expansion! FarCry: Instincts Evolution.
suliman on 2/11/2009 at 13:35
Opposing Force is probably the best, but I also loved Allied Assault's second expansion pack, Breakthrough. Some great set pieces in that one.
