Just a couple quick thoughts about Raam's shadow. I just finished it up and I thought it was pretty good but I'm a big fan of the Gears storyline. Had a couple of issues with the game seems like the AI in the game was kinda busted. There were a couple of boss encounters where your team mates are supposed be doing something to assist you and they just don't. Couple of times a boss encounter ended up with the boss just standing there while all my teammates crouched in cover.

I'm not upset I bought it because playing as Raam is just so fucking awesome, but playing as Zeta squad just wasn;t the same and you could tell they didnt polish the game like the retail version. Just kinda rambling now, posting this because there doesnt seem to be any other discussion of the DLC around

It was okay. It was neat running through a mostly-intact environment; the story was alright if you're a fan of the Gears universe. Raam's parts were fine, but I wish they could have come up with something better for him to do than "Go here! Now protect the dude while he does a thing. Now let's repeat twice, and then later do it three more times."

I was also disappointed with poor checkpointing and glitches. One timed boss encounter would set you back to the battle before it, even though there's a cutscene before the boss. I also had to restart Chapter 3 twice because Tai and Kim got stuck behind tables, blocking my progress forward. Other than that, it was pretty much Gears of War.

I don't hold it against the game too much for weak AI teammates since the series is built around playing with friends. The overall experience felt like an homage to the original Gears; the Kim vs. RAAM rivalry alluded to in the achievements, encounters with the Kryll, having to blow up emergence holes, etc.

Playing as RAAM does not pose much challenge, but as with Beast mode in the main game, they designed each Locust unit to feel distinct. Oh, and executing a downed COG by holding Y gives you a super satisfying animation.

I really like it but I definitely know what you mean about the AI on boss fights. That last one I'm almost certain the AI had no idea what it was doing, I went and hid behind decent cover while Kim and the lads engaged the boss in some serious melee combat (that didn't work out so well for them). Also had a glitch in the bit with loads of tables (you know, that one bit!) where Tai got stuck on one like an idiot.

These are my only complaints because otherwise it's a lot of fun and I really appreciate freshly created DLC like this. It's all up to date with Gears 3 but they've rolled certain aspects back to Gears 1 that weren't there in the subsequent games like the emergence holes and an emphasis on flanking. RAAM's also pretty cool. His levels aren't difficult but dude. He's RAAM. He's a killing machine. And he can make people blow up into clouds of blood!