With Cyberpunk 2077's first, last and only expansion just around the corner (I guess when CDPR were talking a big game about the amount of additional content in CP being larger than Witcher 3's, they were talking volume); I thought it'd be nice to to put the odd mixture of yearning and apprehension that has settled in the pit of my piggy stomach into words. I mean, I'm grateful there's more Cyberpunk coming, but – I can't say what I've seen so far is what I've been hoping for.

From the first trailer, came the "plot" – rescuing the president of NUSA from an aircraft crashed in Dogtown (the previously inaccessible area of Pacifica, next to the stadium; you know – the one with that couple standing next to one of the gates, who talk about raving lunatics appearing out of the smoke?); and while I'm as much of a sucker for an homage as the next pig, for one – Carpenter did that schtick twice already (and, okay, I loved 'em both); but – for another – V can't even do the whole "call me Snake/call me Plisken" line... 'Cause – they're just V.

So while I'm not that enthusiastic about an Escape From New York reboot 42 years on, the one glimmer of hope I cling to is that if anyone has the clout to undo Corp-level meddling, it'd be the President of the NUSA. Maybe winning favors at that level nets you some – I don't know – genetic recombination that clears the whole Relic "this ain't your body no more" dilemma... Then again, in Cyberpunk 2020, corporations were way more powerful than governments, so – probably – no dice.

Oh – did I not mention Idris Elba? I didn't, did I? Because – meh. I love him spinning tracks and I love him wrecking race cars, but – this is one place I could have done without him, thanks. What's the point of escaping to an alternate reality if real people follow you there?

The other thing that sorta put me on edge where the quality of the new content was concerned was all the recycled, re-upholstered assets. Asset originality is always a good indicator of how much work is being put into an expansion and I can't say seeing the same models with different skins exactly put me at ease. But maybe all that means is there was so much other work being done, they had to skimp on the basics? Time will tell, I guess...

So I wasn't exactly thrilled with the premise of the expansion and then – the other "trailer" dropped. The other "trailer" was meant to advertise "features." And, yes, I am over-using "air-quotes" intentionally. Let's go down the "feature" list, shall we?

• 1) New district, new quests, new gigs – more Stuff To Do; so far – so normal.

• 2) Vehicle combat and mounted weaponry – if they bothered to fix the wonky car handling – super; if not, though, I can't say that THIS is what I've been missing;

• 3) Revamped Police system – again, neat but — hardly essential;

• 4) Combat AI overhaul – ditto;

• 5) Endless dynamic events and missions – "dynamic events" are the little vignettes that happen around the city; more of them are sure to further stratify Just Walking Around Town, but not to the point of any significance; but I'll admit — the "dynamic missions" bit has me intrigued; it was the part of the unfortunate Battletech reboot I appreciated the most: a procedural system with a lot of moving components that could cobble together rote missions with enough variety to keep them relatively fresh and entertaining; done correctly, this could be (plot aside) the best addition to the game;

• 6) Redesigned cyberware and perks – ugh! Again!? Look – I'm giddy studios are keen to revise performance based on player feedback, but – could they not do it before they publish a game? Like, with design and stuff? I'm a Proper Pig, you know – not a guinea pig you can endlessly test your ideas on after I pay you; also – I have seven characters in-game (greedy, greedy – no surprise): that's seven characters I'll have to re-invent to fit brand new mechanics; I already have a job, thanks;

• 7) All new Relic skill tree and abilities – file under "more content" again;

• 8) Increased level cap – yawn; and

• 9) 100+ new items: weapons, cyberware and fashion – they say variety is the spice of life, but — come on! my closet(s) were already full of Stuff I Wasn't Using; is this some sneaky, circumspect way of re-wiring gamers into More Voracious Consumers, or something?

All in all, out of 9 "features," there are two – maybe three – that sound useful and one that will definitely be a pain... That's, what, 30%? Not that promising or great, statistically speaking.

The fact the second "trailer" played like an Adam West-era Batman episode ("wham! blam! zing! splat!") insterspersed with mechanical-sounding, stock V catch-phrases ("Fire 'till he drops!", V? Really? You're both sitting in cars); didn't exactly put my mind at ease. If trailers are best-used to highlight features, the second Phantom Liberty one made the expansion seem like a bro-tastic FPS...

So — yeah: I'd say my expectations are tempered. On the one trotter, I'm ecstatic more Cyberpunk is on the way. Bugs aside, I was very happy with the base game, so more of it is most welcome... On the other, though, this is hardly what I had imagined, envisioned or hoped for: to me, the most glaring shortcoming of the original (and the largest area for revision) was the tail-end of the plot. Everything else, while not ideal, worked more or less okay.

I'll still keep a trotter crossed for – if not a happy ending, as such – a happier one for every single V out there... But I don't think I'll be doing it and holding my breath.

...

That's how you get unconscious.

Pig Recommends:

• -Escape from New York (1981) and Escape from L.A. (1996) (films) – long before he was pulling special ops duty for Kojima, John Carpenter had Snake Plissken breaking out of prisons that used to be cities (Kojima and Carpenter are my favorite – and most heartwarming – "here's how I didn't get sued" story ever, by the way; see how far a little kindness can take you, Luc?); it's the same movie twice, basically, with different casts and production values, but instantly recognizable plot points; if you've never seen either, but enjoy Kurt Russel, anti-heroes or action – you're in for a treat; and if you've seen both, but it's been a while— Isn't it about time?