One of the things I missed from the first Xcom game was the mechs. I always found their voice lines to be entertaining and the class also very satisfying to use. The first and most important aspect that they got right about the class is that they got the original mech voice actor to reprise their role for the new mechs in this dlc. And I have to say they have returned stronger than ever with more hilarious lines, I won't spoil.

The mechs function similar to the mechs in the first game, but they are not as overpowered. They are EXTREMELY powerful during the early phase of the game however. The key differences are that while their weapons and abilities are powerful, they are not more powerful than every other class in the game. For instance in the first game you could have your mechs spamming double shot every turn with the most powerful weapon in the game killing anything in their path. Here you can fire a double shot but it has a cooldown, and your weapon while strong, is better at shredding armour than outright nuking everything in sight. To stop you from spamming mechs, you can only heal one at a time in engineering, I didn't find a way to heal multiple mechs. Fortunately 1 mech should be all you need and you get one for free if you complete the new mission.

The new mission is rather fun and rather long. For xcom 1 fans, Dr Shen reprises his role for the new mission. While the new mission is fairly challenging, you have unlimited time to gear up for it and you can take it on whenever you choose. I recommend going as soon as possible so that you can get the free mech as you quickly run out of good soldiers early in the game.

Some people are saying the mission crashes a lot and ruins their saves. While I don't doubt this issue exists, I have not experienced it yet. You shouldn't need to reload on this mission however as you are given Shen's daughter to help you complete it and she has extremely powerful abilities.

One complaint I have is that this dlc is a wasted opportunity to add some new advent enemies to the main game as the enemies in this dlc only appear in the one mission. Adding a new enemy type would have made the main game a lot more interesting.

Overall I'm very satisfied with the new mech class. This dlc synergises well with the alien ruler dlc as the mech is very strong against ruler aliens. The mech is not so useful late game, but regardless I found myself using the new mech a great deal. Like the alien ruler dlc, this dlc helps rebalance early game rng much more by giving you a tanky unit to flank the enemy. I'd recommend this dlc to anyone who is a fan of Xcom: Enemy Within. If it's your first time using the mech class you will likely find this new class entertaining.

The only XCOM 2 DLC I will recommend.
The DLC only adds one (abiet long) narrative mission, but the real DLC is in the mech class you get. The mech is essentially the SHIV from XCOM: EU with some added personality. The mech class can't take cover, but has bonuses like armor and armor penetration. The only good DLC XCOM 2 has seen, but not necessary to enjoy the base game.

In short the DLC adds a new mission and gives you a new class similar to MECs from the first XCOM.

The mission can be incredibly easy or incredibly hard depending on how much you've upgraded your soldiers' guns. Not only it's a long mission but you'll also be attacked by a ton of weak robots at the same time during the whole thing.

I'd say it's worth the full price.

Fantastic and challenging. I would suggest this title for anyone who was a fan of MECH suits in XCOM: EW

Great mission, and the only DLC that actually worths the money.
And SPARK is superb addition to the team :D

The only dlc that's worth your time and money, which is saddening considering its the last...but we could get a full fledged expansion like Enemy Within. I haven't gotten the new mecchs to top tier level, but the story is good.

Its a much better story than Vahlen's and I don't just say that because I always liked Shen. Hoping these dlc's actually have implications in the future and that characters return (In an expansion or XCOM 3). If they don't then at least you get to punch some aliens with some Mechs...

Shen will live on in our hearts and each time we punch aliens, we take a moment of silence to remember him...

Shens last gift is really just 1 mission and a new unit type. However the new unit type is awesome and fits in the game very well. it is a robot that works a bit like your grenadiers, in that it has explosive options and a big inaccurate gun. The best part about it is the fact that it levels up like any other troop type. All together I found it to be enriching to the game. I reccomend waiting for a sale though, that price is pretty high.

P.S: unless you reload mid battle once things go south, you should wait a bit before starting the mission that gets you the robot. The final boss is pretty damn powerful.

Let me open this with a jab, just for fun.

This DLC almost gets a pass from me just because it's not Alien Rulers. lolololroflrfolrolf
Okay, with that out of the way and the offenses already made, let me actually get to the point of this :

It's XCOM2, giving us back out MECs. They're back with a silly name, but they're back - that alone is reason enough to play this. But that's not just it. The MECs, now dubbed "SPARKs," they come with a new class - a variant of the Specialist class, in a manner of speaking, complete with SMALLER robot friend for your robot friend! - and seperate tier trees for equipment (Already an improvement over our beloved MEC Troopers, who couldn't actually upgrade their armor).
They progress, but differ in two ways : they can be fielded when damaged, which is rad considering the second change. They require damage to be *repaired,* which limits their deployment a bit. They can be fitted with three seperate voice packs, which I lovingly refer to as "MildBot," "AngryBot," and "SpicyBot." (Bonus points if you mosey over to the Workshop and net the excellent 'Bob Ross' voice pack. You'll thank me later.)

The mission, without spoiling much, tied with acquiring your new robot overlords involves a quick forray into Shen JR's backstory and a slugging match with homocidal robots. Like the "Alien Rulers" introduction mission, it allows for a member of your crew to step up -- the aforementioned Lily Shen. You'll appreciate her.

At the end of the day, you want this pack if you don't already have it, and the reason is simple.
You dig reasonably-sized robots. I dig reasonably-sized robots. We dig reasonably-sized robots.

DLC rated : Nice/10

first true x-com 2 DLC, it have relevant content, x-com 2 is the first game that I ever pre ordered and it was a huge disappointment, this is the only DLC that worth something, I cannot understand why developers focus on do mods (because last DLC's weren't more than that) instead of good DLC like this

unlike the Alian Ruler DLC, This one is easier to prep for as it's like a dungeon assult, going up through several levels before escaping with the new SPARK unit. The story is very interesting, giving ideas as to what happened to Shen and gaining a new unit which you can either love or hate as they are much like the mechs from XCOM's Mech MELD unit where they cannot hide, but with upgrades can provide high-cover, cause massive damage and their weapons have an automatic shread ability.

Certainly worth ot as the enemies do scale up too, but I would warn you to do what is suggested i.e. run for the elevator and ignore the enemies.