Downloadable Content Comes To Giant Bomb

Today is DLC day here in Giantbomblandia, the native lands of Giant Bomb. You may know it as Sausalito, CA, but enough about that! The important thing is that we've expanded our database to allow entries for all sorts of downloadable content, from Rock Band 2 track packs to the nefariously offensive add-on that started me thinking "man, someone should start writing reviews of this stuff," the horse armor for Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion.

On the database side, you can enter release dates and descriptions for the different downloadable add-ons that are out there. And once something's in the database, you can also write reviews. Yes, now you can tell the world what you think about that Darth Vader download for the Xbox 360 version of Soulcalibur IV, or The Lost & Damned for Grand Theft Auto IV.

We'll also be able to write our own reviews of this stuff in the coming weeks. But for starters, it's all about y'all. So here are a few basic guidelines about how we've set this stuff up.

First, this system is designed to primarily handle piecemeal add-on content for games. This system isn't (yet) intended to handle, for example, retail expansions to PC games. Also, this is only for in-game content, not wallpaper, themes, or any other out-of-game junk.

You can flag DLC entries with one or more types. Here's a list of those types and how they're intended to be used.

• Song (Individual) - one song, usually intended for use with a rhythm game.
• Song (Pack) - a pack of songs, again, usually intended for use with a rhythm game.
• Multiplayer Add-On - this will be primarily used for map packs, but things like the additional ruleset add-on for Halo Wars totally counts here, too.
• Single-Player Add-On - Packs that add new story content or other solo elements--like Fallout 3's Point Lookout, for example--are prime examples of this category.
• Equipment/Clothing - Examples include new costumes for fighting games, new jerseys for sports games, additional skateboards, new guns, all of that stuff.
• Cheat - This category is for the (sort of filthy) type of download that unlocks things in the game without you having to play the game. Things like Tiger Woods PGA Tour 09's fully-powered golfer, or the ability to pay to unlock "Unlimited Ragna" in BlazBlue--even though you can get those things by normally playing the game--apply here.
• Character - Additional full-on characters. In some cases, the line between character and costume may seem a bit blurry, but if they're giving a guy a new name in the process, chances are it's a new character.

So bang around on it, write a few reviews, and let us know what you think. You can find it by clicking on the "DLC Add-ons" tab on the left side of a game page, provided that game exists on a platform that allows for DLC. We're pretty excited to be adding a whole new section to the database, and we hope you're into it.