Games where the expansions/dlc were better than the main game

[Scotty_ffgamer]

Are there any instances you can think of where an expansion is better than the main game itself. Is it worth buying the game just to play the expansion?

[Psychotic]

GTA IV's DLCs were both better experiences than its lackluster on-the-rails main story.

[Pike]

Are there any instances you can think of where an expansion is better than the main game itself. Is it worth buying the game just to play the expansion?

It's worth buying Oblivion for Shivering Isles. Otherwise I'd honestly recommend skipping the game unless you're super diehard into Elder Scrolls.

Also Diablo 3 wasn't particularly great until Reaper of Souls but due to the way Blizzard patches things the RoS improvements kind of got baked into the base game so now it's just all great, as a whole.

[Madame Adequate]

Yeah Pauw and Pike's examples are all correct.

[Ayen]

Nothing springs to mind.

[Slothy]

Brood War is better than Starcraft. And Starcraft was fucking awesome.

[Freya]

Mass Effect 3's DLC. Like, all of them. Leviathan was just great and should have been included in the main story. Same for Javik with the From Ashes DLC. The Aria DLC, Omega, was just fun. And the Citadel DLC was so much fun OMG one of the best DLC stories i've played in a game for the pure fun insanity of it all.

[Pike]

Brood War is better than Starcraft. And Starcraft was fucking awesome.

This is definitely true but to clarify for Scotty I wouldn't put it in the "worth buying the game JUST for the expansion" category, because it's still a solid standalone game. Like, it's worth buying even without the expac (but the expac makes it that much better)

[Madame Adequate]

Oh, Titan Quest's Immortal Throne expansion is a must.

[Slothy]

Brood War is better than Starcraft. And Starcraft was fucking awesome.

This is definitely true but to clarify for Scotty I wouldn't put it in the "worth buying the game JUST for the expansion" category, because it's still a solid standalone game. Like, it's worth buying even without the expac (but the expac makes it that much better)

I figured I covered that with my "StarCraft is fucking awesome," comment.

I'm actually not even sure you could buy one without the other these days. I never see physical copies aside from the battle chest and I'm pretty sure if you buy it digitally you get both now. Maybe I'm mistaken though.

[Ayen]

My hard copy came with Brood War and I didn't even know what Brood War was going in. I was just searching for StarCraft 1.

[Pike]

I figured I covered that with my "StarCraft is fucking awesome," comment.

You did, but it caught me off guard because most of the other games in the thread were of the "Vanilla wasn't that great" variety haha

[Fynn]

Neverwinter Nights. God, was the main game terrible. But the expansions were both really good!

[Rez09]

Civ V is much better with Brave New World installed, to the point I don't generally advise people get the base game without it. The same is generally true with Gods and Kings as well, but even then I recommend just getting BNW or the complete pack.

To a much lesser extent, I found Chaos Rising more enjoyable than base Dawn of War II, but I don't know it falls into the territory of buying just to play the expansion -- both the base game and expansion are equally enjoyable, but I find the story mode in the expansion more interesting.

[Formalhaut]

Mass Effect 3's DLC. Like, all of them. Leviathan was just great and should have been included in the main story. Same for Javik with the From Ashes DLC. The Aria DLC, Omega, was just fun. And the Citadel DLC was so much fun OMG one of the best DLC stories i've played in a game for the pure fun insanity of it all.

While I wouldn't go so far to say that they were better than the main game, they definitely compliment the main game and are on par with it. The Citadel DLC in particular is incredible, and is a great send-off for the original trilogy.

[Laddy]

Civ V's two expansions make an underwhelming game quite excellent, especially if you're playing a Culture, Diplomatic, or Science game.

As for Oblivion, Shivering Isles destroys the main game. Hilarious writing, interesting quests, and gorgeous visuals that trounces Oblivion's cheesy writing and generic setting and landscapes.

[Del Murder]

MMOs are probably cheating but the FFXI expansion storylines, jobs, and areas were a lot cooler than the originals (with the exception of Windurst which has always been the best city).