Today a new group of gamers is able to experience Dawnguard, the first expansion to Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. The DLC, previously an exclusive for the Xbox 360, is now available for the PC through Steam.
In Dawnguard, a group of Vampire Lords is planning to blot out the sun and overrun Tamriel. You can help them in this evil quest or side with the society of hunters (the titular Dawnguard) trying to stop them. The downloadable content pack includes new Dragonshouts, armor and weapons. You'll also get a new set of vampiric powers if you join the Vampire Lords.
Dawnguard debuted on the Xbox 360 in late June. That platform was also the site of a very small beta test. Bethesda and Microsoft have a timed exclusivity agreement in place so that the first two DLC packs for Skyrim arrive on that console first. PS3 and PC players have to wait a minimum of 30 days to get the content.
While PC gamers have received Dawnguard shortly after the exclusivity ran out, PS3 owners won't be as lucky. Bethesda says that they're still working on the PS3 version of the content. In an update on the Bethesda Blog, the company stated that they weren't satisfied with its performance on that console presently. They're going to hold off until they can be sure it's a smooth play experience.
Dawnguard costs $20 to download. That's pricy for DLC, true, but supposedly you'll get a lot of gameplay out of the content. The quests are estimated to take about 10-20 hours in total. That's a pretty big range but it's tough to nail down a precise estimate with an open-world game.
