Skyrim - Dawnguard Review Roundup

Time to catch up on Dawnguard reviews with a small roundup.

Joystiq's article is titled 'Disappointment before sunrise':

It's telling that I played through most of Skyrim's fang-ridden DLC using my regular character, rather than transforming into the vampire lord ... creature available in Dawnguard. Playing as the vamp isn't enjoyable at all. He's locked to a third-person view, and the camera seems unable to get over the hulking beast's shoulders. When "shooting" one of his two powers (sap energy or raise the dead), I found it nearly impossible to hit my targets consistently.

IGN, on the other hand, liked it quite a lot and awarded 8/10:

Dawnguard is neither as meaty nor as cohesive as Shivering Isles, its Oblivion expansion pack counterpart, but then again it’s not as expensive either. The other issue, as with any Elder Scrolls add-on content, is usefulness. When you get 100-plus hours of gameplay out of the box, do you really want to spend another $20 for 20-or-so more? That’s up to you, but Dawnguard is certainly worth the investment.

CVG also goes for 8/10:

If you've played Skyrim to death, Dawnguard may be a little underwhelming. The new dungeons, although well designed, are mostly made up of existing assets. The quests, although well written, don't feel vastly different from those in the main game. It's just more Skyrim - for better or worse.

There are some standout moments, though. One quest sees you visiting an illegal drug den and sampling the local Skooma. In another you awaken a vampire from a thousand year slumber and recruit her as a companion. The new legendary dragons are an impressive sight too, especially the one you fight in the Soul Cairn - who you can later recruit as an ally.

Another 8/10 at NowGamer, despite the issues - such as the Vampire Lord form being unwieldy:

Some may overlook the issue, but it feels like a rather poor design choice on Bethesda’s part. The worst mistake we encountered saw us entering into a new dungeon but being unable to walk down a corridor, as our Vampire Lord form was just too big to make it through. This happened more than once.

Being forced to revert back to regular form because of silly mistakes like this severely waters down the power fantasy that comes with being a seemingly unstoppable force, and calls Bethesda’s design choices into question.