When gamers reminisce about DLC, it’s usually the worst of the worst that they think about. Horse Armor, Godfather money, useless costumes, the Katamari debacle, etc. Don’t get me wrong, there is plenty of bad DLC to talk about, and I could rant about the issues of releasing a game’s multiplayer mode for DLC all day long, but that’s not what you’re here for. You’re reading this because the headline mentioned the top DLC for consoles. The best of the best, if you will.

So without further adieu, you can find my top picks for console DLC after the jump.

5. Flower (Playstation Network) – $10 is a little steep for a game like Flower. Were it priced at $5, I would be telling everyone I know to run out and get it immediately. That said, I really enjoyed the time I spent with Flower, and I feel that it was something well worth experiencing. It’s a beautiful game, controls well, and puts you into quite a relaxed mood. I felt I had to give this little gem props somewhere on this list, and most of the people who have played it will probably agree.

As for why it’s on this list? It’s content and it’s downloadable, hence Downloadable Content. I know the DLC term is usually reserved for add-on content, but we here at SG HQ like to go against the grain (plus I couldn’t think of anything better that I’ve actually played.)

4. Track Packs (Rock Band) – Alright, so this is a bit of a cop-out, but I had to include the Rock Band DLC in a top 5 list of DLC! Harmonix has been cranking out DLC for their baby since it was unleashed on the world, and they have yet to slow down or slack on good content. Heck, “Don’t Stop Believing” was released just a couple weeks ago, and that is one of the most requested songs in any game ever. I know some people are getting tired of hearing about Rock Band, but Harmonix has proved that it will be around for a long time (and seriously, the Guitar Hero name is being thrown around a lot more than Rock Band. Guitar Hero: Smash Hits, seriously? You guys saving Greatest Hits for 2010?)

3. Heroes / Villians Pack (Marvel: Ultimate Alliance) – The character add-on pack for Marvel: Ultimate Alliance is probably my favorite DLC of all time. It only got the #3 slot because it only added characters – not more maps or missions. The items higher on the list do more to extend the gameplay, but in terms of pure awesomeness and fun, the character pack is at the top of my list.

It added 8 characters to a game that already had a plethora of choices available. The price was a bit off, but if you considered how much playtime these characters could give you, it payed off in the end. You could buy just the villains or heroes for $6 each or put down a solid $10 for the whole pack. For someone like me that’s obsessed with dungeon crawlers, I easily got my $10 worth of the pack.

2. The Shivering Isles (Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion) – It was tough to choose just one DLC item for Oblivion, because otherwise the entire list would just be add-ons to this awesome game. I chose the Shivering Isles because it added the most content and gave you the biggest bang for your buck. In a game where you could literally spend hundreds of hours exploring the landscape and not touching the main quest, adding in a brand new landscape to explore and still making it interesting is quite a feat – and Bethesda pulled it off seamlessly in this expansion.

You can get the Shivering Isles expansion for $25, although now you’re probably better off buying the Game of the Year edition of Oblivion for $20, where you’ll get The Shivering Isles and Knights of the Nine.

1. Bogart, Cagney, Davis, Bikes, Trophies (Burnout Paradise) – You knew this would be number one. I do love me some Burnout. Plus, when you’re talking about DLC, Criterion Games hit the ball well out of the park with the insane amount of updating they’ve done to Burnout Paradise that cost the customers nothing. They’ve added new game modes, new vehicles, extra support that they never even had to bother with like PlayStation soundtracks and trophies. If players had any problems with the game, they took it into consideration and attempted to fix it.

Sure, adding in restarts took quite a while – but it happened, and it didn’t cost you a dime. I dare you to name one other company that does that. I don’t remember Infinity Ward ever fixing their spawn system in Call of Duty 4 – you still spawn looking away from enemies who watch you come back to life. But at least now you can restart your race in Burnout without driving all the way back to the same set of lights on the other end of the map.

That’s all for this week. If you have any suggestions for a Top Picks list for me, feel free to email me at animathias [at] sarcasticgamer [dot] com. And remember, this list is my opinion about games I have played. If you don’t see your favorite on here, it’s probably because I didn’t play it (like Lost and the Damned.) Instead of telling me how wrong I am, post your list below!

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