Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun - Aiko's Choice

The game(play) is as nice as the base game. So you can expect the same quality off of that. The story is lackluster tho you wouldn't expect the deeperst and richest RPG hights here. The game, just like Commandos or Desperados, lives by its neat and challenging gameplay after all. Semi SPOILER: The general volume has to be called a impudent rip off for the price of roughly 20€... Really regretting my purchase due to that reason. Totally overpriced for what it contains.. Go for the base game if you havent played that yet. It offers a lot more. No skills and or playable characters have been added in this expansion.

Being a huge fan of the original game, I was pretty excited about the expansion. And while it's rather short (just 3 full-scale levels + 3 mini levels) and thus probably only worth the €20 price tag if you REALLY want to support the devs, I got it on sale so I really can't complain :) The gameplay is as good as ever, the levels are fun and well designed and if you're anything like me (not rushing through the game, trying to explore everything, kill everyone and get all the badges on Hardcore, maybe except for the speedruns) you'll be playing them at least twice which still means around 10-15 hours of fun. Not bad if you ask me ;) Many have complained about the so-so story but I personally found it more than servicable. Maybe it's because I rarely expect a story comparable to a really good book/movie from a game but I just enjoyed spending more time with my ninja squad and learning something new about them. And while the finale left kind of bittersweet aftertaste (knowing what will follow, as this story takes place in the middle of the events of the original game), it's not necessarily a bad thing IMO. Bottom line: If you enjoyed the original game and you can get this on sale, don't hesitate - it's a really nice expansion.

But expansion is really short, for about 5 hours. It should cost half of price

This expansion, Aiko's Choice, showcases a more experienced developer handling some underdeveloped tools and systems. While the mechanics and gameplay aren't changed, being as clunky as they were in Blades of the Shogun, the level design sees a marked improvement over the base game. Aiko's Choice is even easier than Shadow Tactics, but it eschews difficulty for allowing fun experimentation. Its levels are large sandboxes that invite players to tackle their objectives however they please. The breadth of choice is more than a fair trade for the usual puzzle-like level design. The story, too, of Aiko's Choice is well done. Again, like the base game, it rests comfortably wrapped in stereotype and cliche, but its sincerity carries it through. The simple pleasure of something familiar is not to be understated. And it is because of this that Aiko's Choice is very affecting for those who have played the base game before. This is a definite improvement to the whole Shadow Tactics package.

Have been in love with the genre since the first Commandos game, and this one, like the Shadow Tactics main game, is a great title. Do not expect anything new compared to the main game though, this expansion is just more of the same - which I felt was great, as the gameplay already works really well. I finished the game in a little more than 8 hours, and loved every minute of it. If I had to nitpick, I feel that the story could have been better: it does not add any depth to the characters - even not Aiko and this expansion is about her - nor does it contribute something to the story of the main game.