As I keep telling my friends, Helldivers is a damn fine game. I enjoy everything about the tactical twin-stick shooter--from the hilarious friendly fire incidents to the last second extractions. It's a blast.
That's why I was a little surprised to see DLC out so early. The game felt complete (for the price) when I reviewed it a few weeks ago. Then I saw the items in the DLC packages and suddenly Helldivers doesn't feel quite as complete after all.
The Commando, Defender, and Support packs each have some pretty sweet gear. Gear I didn't know I needed until this very moment. Gear that now seems suspiciously absent in those sparse level-ups where you get no new fancy black and yellow clothes. Pretty disappointing, Arrowhead/Sony/entire gaming industry.
Each pack costs $2.99, or you can get them all together for $5.99. Here's what your hard-earned lunch money will buy:
Commando Pack
Commando Costume (helmet, armor, cape) SMG-34 Ninja: It's a silenced submachine gun that will help you with those pesky black box missions. Since patrols seem to act on sight and not sound, the silencer might simply be there to make the gun barrel look longer and thicker. MLS-4X Commando: It's a shoulder-fired version of the mech's rocket launcher. It fires homing missiles that can be upgraded for a little extra armor penetration.Defender Pack
Defender Duds (helmet, armor, cape) CR-9 Supressor: A semi-auto rifle that fires small frag grenades. No thanks. If I'm shooting a "semi-auto" in Helldivers I'll soon be "full-dead." AD-334 Guard Dog: It's a drone that shoots at bad guys. This officially means Super Earth is Mega'Merica.Support Pack
Support Swag (you know the drill) LAS-16 Sickle: Laser-assault-rifle-carbine thing. Not sure if it's more pew-pew-pew or ratatatat. It can overheat. Don't let it. AD-289 Angel: A drone that heals and repairs all friendlies. Wait, all friendlies? So that means if I summon the healing drone in might heal my friend, who didn't pay for it? Does this mean Super Earth is actually just Colossal Canada? Or maybe Ultra Europe? Hmm...I hate when devs shave content to make minimal DLC. You can protest all you want and not pick them up. I'd complain more, but I like the game. I'll be calling in Angel drones and wreaking havoc with my Commando rockets. Just don't try to take any of my soothing green heal rays, you commie cyborg.
Helldivers supports four player local co-op, four player online co-op, and combo co-op. It is available now on the PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, and Vita.