You can view each of the levels below to get a feel for the game -- I've included some of my thoughts pertaining to the expansion after these clips.

When paired up with DrGong and given a new game to play, I never know what sort of off-the-wall commentary we'll hear from our eccentric Chilean friend. Well, in this playthrough of Orcs Must Die! 2's Fire & Water expansion/DLC -- apart from being asked about my life as "a children" -- we had about an hour of fun with some of the new traps and mobs. And in that hour, we learned many new life skills, for instance: Jumping off of cliffs before the round starts is bad.

Orcs Must Die! 2 - Fire & Water: Traffic Jammed Playthrough



Orcs Must Die! 2 - Fire & Water: Double Decker Playthrough



Orcs Must Die! 2 - Fire & Water: The West Wing Playthrough

Is the Fire & Water Expansion for OMD2 Worth It?



For $5, you end up with three new story missions, three new traps, a few new enemies (fire and water elementals, each with uniquely painful abilities), and three added Endless Mode levels (The Library, The Crossing, and The West Wing). The Crossing is already available in Story mode for OMD2.

The new traps are sort of interesting -- we experimented briefly with each of the new additions in the playthrough videos and did have some fun with them, but largely found the Dart Spitter to be the most effective. There's something oddly satisfying about watching the Dart Spitter spread out and spray poisoned projectiles into all the nearby Orcs, though the Spinner trap and Portal trap definitely do have a place in the game. I feel like the Portal trap (which teleports enemies back to the beginning of the level) would be ideal for Endless mode defenses; the Spinner seems like it'd work well given the right trap combinations, but it isn't necessarily the best to use with the ol' fire + more fire technique (although some upgrades may make it worthwhile).

You get somewhere around an hour of new story mode, a few traps, and whatever amount of content you personally can siphon from Endless mode.

Personally? I like it. I also enjoyed the full game quite a bit, though, so more traps is always fun to me. Is it worth five bucks? Ehh, that's a tough call. Decide if an hour of fresh content is worth $5 to you and you've got your answer.

With friends, though, I'd say it's always worth it -- if only because you get to laugh at each others' expense.

- Steve "Lelldorianx" Burke.