As the first wedge of downloadable content for the frankly gargantuan Skyrim, Dawnguard certainly faces a bit of a struggle. I'd wager most players of Bethesda's all-conquering epic still have plenty of objectives remaining in their quest log, so asking them to spend 1600MSP on a new chunk of the game, one that takes place across many pre-existing areas, might not immediately make it sound like a must-have proposition.

Maybe that's why the big attraction of Dawnguard is the ability to gang up with a troop of vampires, quickly learning the ability to transform into a Vampire Lord yourself. Unlike the frustrating and gently debilitating Sanguinare Vampiris disease you can contract in the main game, siding with the nosferatu in Dawnguard allows you to transform into a towering monster with just under a dozen dark new abilities to play with.

It's not as fun as it sounds. The third-person Vampire Lord form is the biggest disappointment about Dawnguard, and while you can transform back and forth at will you'll quickly realise that the world is simply not made for such massive stature. You can't pass though small doors (there's a surprising abundance of small doors in Skyrim, I have discovered), open chests or pick up loot, and you'll routinely find yourself bumping into scenery and getting snagged on tiny items. Also, vampires can't read maps. I have no idea why.

Opt-out of the nosferatu and you're left with a similarly distressing alternative: enlisting into the vampire-hunting Dawnguard faction, gaining access to some new werewolf abilities and the option to hire armoured trolls as temporary pets. Plus loads of crossbows. Much of Dawnguard's questline is the same regardless of what faction you're with, and whatever route you take you're looking at about 10 hours until you see off the main chunk missions.

If judged purely on hours invested, though, Skyrim's first chunk of DLC excels - I've quite happily sunk just under 13 hours into it so far, finishing off the main quest and ferreting around for some of the extra bonuses. There's also the matter of a bonus side-mission revolving around an ancient forge and some obscure ancient books to locate and flog off.

Whatever faction you side with, you'll get a whizzy new castle to call home, a trio of new shouts, a skeletal horse, plenty of decent new weaponry and my new favourite companion. You'll also get Auriel's Bow, a weapon so pleasant to use it made me regret that my character has roughly zero points in archery, and the ability to forge new, powerful Dragonborne weaponry, all of which might help you out if you bump into the new Legendary dragon when out and about.

Dawnguard, for better or worse, is very much Skyrim playing to the same tune in many of the same locations. There's nothing particularly wrong with that, of course; Skyrim is still a beautiful sight to behold, and I'm happy to jump back into its enchanting world of snow-dusted mountain peaks and slightly wonky facial animations for a few hours of new loot and cursory gameplay additions. Dawnguard is considerably better than most of Bethesda's recent Fallout 3 DLC, but you'll be sorely disappointed if you go in expecting to find Skyrim's version of Bloodmoon or The Shivering Isles.

Virgin Media verdict:

• Gameplay: 7
• Graphics: 9
• Sound: 9

• Lots of content for your money
• New gear goes down a treat
• Would be nice to see some more new areas
• Vampire Lord form is disappointing