As discussed in the thread about buying games at launch; games continue to get fragmented in order to maximize profit. While I don't necessarily think the prices asked for the given content are unfair - it varies greatly from game to game - I really dislike having a more or less incomplete game. When I start to play a new game, I need to know I have all the content needed to get a "full experience". Lately this has started be impossible in some games.
The Prince of Persia reboot (the colorful one) introduced a DLC pack cheekily called "Epilogue". They were essentially telling the gamers that they're missing the final piece of the game! Had it been a separate story not integral to the main story I wouldn't be so aggravated. But now it seems we have only gotten 90% of the game for our money. Another Ubisoft game, Assassins Creed 2, did something very similar. At some point in the game you skip past some sequences in the games' "mission list". This is actually addressed within in the game as some sort of malfunction. At the time I thought nothing of it, thinking it was intended for some purpose. But later, those missing sequences were available to buy. So you could pay extra money to fill in the missing pieces of your game. Cool...
Another game famous for its amount - and maybe even quality - of DLC is Mass Effect 2. I like the game, and would definitely want to play all the DLC. But while the original release has a self-contained story, I still have issues putting me off. In grand story driven games like these, I love to get sucked into its setting. This is best achieved when playing the game in the shortest window of time. If I spend some hours playing the game today, and continue playing it again four weeks later, I'm disconnected from the game world. Stepping into the shoes of Shepard when I don't remember what level and with what equipment I left him with is not the same thing. Therefore I really want all the game content available at the same time. Playing it in small bursts along the release of new DLC isn't really an option for me.
The latest example is Deus Ex. I have a high interest in this game as it looks very, very good. At the same time, it looks like the perfect candidate to get tons of DLC with varying degree of relevance to the main story. While I fully expect the game to have some sort of ending to most of it threads, I suspect the upcoming DLC to be very essential to the main story and the games universe. And like Mass Effect 2, I really want the entire experience in the same playthrough.
My solution? Waiting.
Again, this isn't about the price or the ethics around supporting the game publishers; it's about getting the complete game experience. And the only way to know I'm going to get it is by holding out and seeing what happens. Many great games like Batman Arkham Asylum never get any substantial story related DLC, but upon release, we have no way of knowing that. And while I fully expect Arkham City to get tons of substantial DLC (things have really changed these last two years), since that game isn't so reliant on story to be fun - as opposed to it's great core gameplay - I'll still pick it up on day one.
So I'm gonna make a list. A list of games I probably (willpower will diminish if exposed to awesome marketing shenanigans) won't buy before they seem more complete to me. A year after release seems to be a good time to buy, though the Platinum/Classics edition might be safer, I can't wait forever.
List in progress:
-Deus Ex Human Revolution
-Gears of War 3 (number 2 gave you all the extra maps, and two extra chapters for half the price around a year after release)
-Assassins Creed Revelations (fool me thrice, shame on me)
-Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (won't happen, I'll fold like a house of cards on day one...)
The Prince of Persia reboot (the colorful one) introduced a DLC pack cheekily called "Epilogue". They were essentially telling the gamers that they're missing the final piece of the game! Had it been a separate story not integral to the main story I wouldn't be so aggravated. But now it seems we have only gotten 90% of the game for our money. Another Ubisoft game, Assassins Creed 2, did something very similar. At some point in the game you skip past some sequences in the games' "mission list". This is actually addressed within in the game as some sort of malfunction. At the time I thought nothing of it, thinking it was intended for some purpose. But later, those missing sequences were available to buy. So you could pay extra money to fill in the missing pieces of your game. Cool...
Another game famous for its amount - and maybe even quality - of DLC is Mass Effect 2. I like the game, and would definitely want to play all the DLC. But while the original release has a self-contained story, I still have issues putting me off. In grand story driven games like these, I love to get sucked into its setting. This is best achieved when playing the game in the shortest window of time. If I spend some hours playing the game today, and continue playing it again four weeks later, I'm disconnected from the game world. Stepping into the shoes of Shepard when I don't remember what level and with what equipment I left him with is not the same thing. Therefore I really want all the game content available at the same time. Playing it in small bursts along the release of new DLC isn't really an option for me.
The latest example is Deus Ex. I have a high interest in this game as it looks very, very good. At the same time, it looks like the perfect candidate to get tons of DLC with varying degree of relevance to the main story. While I fully expect the game to have some sort of ending to most of it threads, I suspect the upcoming DLC to be very essential to the main story and the games universe. And like Mass Effect 2, I really want the entire experience in the same playthrough.
My solution? Waiting.
Again, this isn't about the price or the ethics around supporting the game publishers; it's about getting the complete game experience. And the only way to know I'm going to get it is by holding out and seeing what happens. Many great games like Batman Arkham Asylum never get any substantial story related DLC, but upon release, we have no way of knowing that. And while I fully expect Arkham City to get tons of substantial DLC (things have really changed these last two years), since that game isn't so reliant on story to be fun - as opposed to it's great core gameplay - I'll still pick it up on day one.
So I'm gonna make a list. A list of games I probably (willpower will diminish if exposed to awesome marketing shenanigans) won't buy before they seem more complete to me. A year after release seems to be a good time to buy, though the Platinum/Classics edition might be safer, I can't wait forever.
List in progress:
-Deus Ex Human Revolution
-Gears of War 3 (number 2 gave you all the extra maps, and two extra chapters for half the price around a year after release)
-Assassins Creed Revelations (fool me thrice, shame on me)
-Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (won't happen, I'll fold like a house of cards on day one...)
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