Total War: Shogun 2 has had some new and odd DLC released today. Both DLC are coming almost eight months after the release of the game and one of the DLC's was exclusive pre-order content. Before I delve into what the two DLC are I wanted to note that the Shogun 2 expansion Fall of the Samurai is set to release next March.

The Hattori Clan Pack
If you are a longtime Shogun 2 player, like myself, then this DLC probably pisses you off a bit as well. This DLC was available to people who pre-ordered the game from Gamestop only, if I recall correctly, and it's taken them eight months to release it to the public? On top of that they are releasing it for $5, which is a hefty sum for a single clan considering that the very hefty Rise of the Samurai DLC is only $10 and contains significantly more content. The Clan can be used in singleplayer and multiplayer. The Hattori Clan does have some unique units, mostly ninja's, but they don't state specifically how many or what they are. This DLC also comes with one historical scenario, special armour for your avatar in multiplayer and some free experience for your general. I suppose the extra eight months spent on this DLC were spent making that avatar armour and historical scenario. This pack was just released on steam today and it does have a few screenshots. For more info on check out these pages below. Once again the DLC costs $5.
Steam Page: http://store.steampowered.com/app/34345/
CA Website: http://www.totalwar.com/shogun2/hattori






Blood Pack
This DLC is certainly unexpected, essentially it is something that I'm sure the modding community had created in the first month of the game being released. The Blood Pack adds gore and blood to the game but in a very cinematic and polished way. I'm actually more interested in this DLC than I am the Hattori Clan Pack. They seem to have some new animations in order to accommodate more brutal looking combat, but let me list what it does add for certain: decapitation and limb severing, blood effects on units/equipment/ground, blood-squirt from projectile and weapon impact, blood-spatter effect on the camera and new sounds to go with the dismemberment and squirting blood. I can see this pack turning people off but having blood actually added to my experience in games like Medieval 2 and Empire Total War, one of which had blood naturally and the other needed mods. I would love this pack if it didn't cost money and importunately it does. It costs $1.59 over on its Steam Page.