2K has added several multiplayer DLC packs (such as the hilariously self-referential Kill 'Em Kindly pack) to the game since its release, but earlier this month they released the first bit of single player downloadable content, The Protector Trials. The trials are a challenge mode where you must protect a Little Sister against waves of Splicers using very specific loadouts of weapons and plasmids.
I must say that I've always enjoy a good challenge mode. In fact, I've come to think they are necessity to create a well-rounded game, especially after Batman: Arkham Asylum showed us all what a great challenge mode should look like. In this BioShock 2 variant there's a ranking system that judges your performance based on how much ADAM your Little Sister has gathered, and stars to unlock as you beat the trials, which garner you achievements, concept art, and animations. The DLC comes with 6 maps that contain three trials apiece, each trial with unique plasmid and weapon combinations.
Some of the combinations are quite challenging, and force one to use ammo and plasmids normally regulated to the storage locker or gene bank. Personally, I never used Decoy in the single-player game, but when I found myself armed with it, Elctrobolt, and a handy pool of water, I found some useful applications. Some trials arm you only with trap wire and proximity mines, which is to say, no straight-up, direct damage ammo types. That can be a problem with a Brute Splicer bearing down on you like a ton of bricks.
In the final analysis, the Protector Trials are a fun addition to the core game with it ranking system and unlocks, fast-paced game play, and unique loadouts to play around with. At 400 MS it's definitely affordable enough and engaging enough to be a no-brainer for those into the single-player aspects of the game.
In other BioShock news, check out this trailer for the third game in the series, BioShock Infinite. I'll have more thoughts on this new direction for the series later. Let's just say that a BioShock game without Rapture seems a little dubious, but this new setting could prove interesting in a lot of ways.
