The roads around Rattay have become dangerous enough to require additional patrols. Not wanting to spend more money than necessary on the safety of his subjects, Sir Radzig Kobyla calls in a favor with an unruly band of mercenaries. Henry is sent along to act as their guide (and to keep them in check). While out on patrol the group deals with ambushes, betrayal, and some old enemies of Radzig.
While initially interesting, the six new characters that comprise Kuno's mercenary band aren't featured all that much in the story itself. For example, the group is ambushed during one of their patrols. After the battle Kuno and his band return home while Henry finishes up the remaining 90% of the mission alone. Another time the group saves women from bandits, but you never actually get to see the woman you saved. Most of the bands outings played out like this and felt unsatisfactory as a result. The main story's conclusion is (highlight to read) Henry vs Hagen Zoul or the entire Kuno band ("persuaded") vs Zoul's band. Nothing was built up to, so there was no narrative payoff. I knew as much about the band at the end of the journey as I did at the beginning.
There is a new camp that acts as a main base for the band of mercenaries. It is also where Henry meets up with the group before and after each outing. The band rides out together on four separate occasions, each time encountering some unexpected problem. It has a much more cinematic feel to it than the base game, and features a good bit of combat. Despite all the fighting, Kuno's men are incredibly weak. They fell like domino's in nearly every battle, leaving Henry to do all the fighting alone. You may want to improve your combat skills before jumping into this DLC.
The DLC lasts approximately four to five hours at most and plays like an extra long side mission with more cutscenes than the entire base game. While I enjoyed riding out with the group I never felt a sense of camaraderie because the band would abandon Henry almost as soon as the mission started. Its hard to care about a band of scoundrels when your robbed of every opportunity to understand them. The end result was an experience that felt hollow; a series of adventures that never amounted to much. There is just so much wasted potential in these characters.
First posted to videogamegeek.com
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