Why I Dislike Downloadable Content

Now I’m assuming you read the title of this post and thought to yourself “What?! How can no one like downloadable content?!” Well, I do and do not like DLC. I remember back at E3 2004 I believe it was, when Microsoft announced the Xbox Live Marketplace there were some people excited about it, but also worried. The exciting part was because game developers would be able to add more content to the game to prolong the life of games. But then the worried part was they would charge money for stuff that should be in the game to begin with, and would leave stuff out on purpose to make more money.

Just a few days ago, I raved about how awesome The Lost & Damned is. That is the downloadable content I like, where you can tell that it wasn’t left out just to make money. The Lost & Damned came out almost a year after Grand Theft Auto IV came out, so I have absolutely no problem with it because like I mentioned, they’re prolonging the life of a game along with adding a new story along with missions. I also like what Criterion Games is doing with Burnout Paradise, they have I believe three to four downloadable content which most is free. (just released the first DLC you had to pay for) That game has been out for a year, so that is another example of the type of DLC I have no problem with.

Now we get to the problem, which in my opinion someone needs to do something. Or else the games we all love will be less and less, and you will have to pay for more. One of the games that has bothered me with DLC lately is SKATE 2. Yes I enjoyed the game, but what they released is absolutely stupid in my opinion. The day (the absolute next day) the game came out, Blackbox (developer for Skate 2) released the first downloadable content which is called “Time is Money Pack” and is 400 Microsoft Points (right around $5). When you download the “Time is Money Pack”, guess what happens? It unlocks everything for you. Uhhhh….what? It unlocks everything? I’m sorry but did I mess the memo that says we don’t have to do anything in games anymore? Just simply pay $5 more and we’ll give you everything! The pack should have been called “What We Want is Money”. The very next week Blackbox released the second downloadable content for Skate 2, which is called “Filmer Pack” and you can get it for 600 MS Points, which is about $7.50. Mind you, that you can’t buy exactly 600 MS points. You have to spend $12.50 to buy 1,000 Microsoft Points, so they make you spend even more money. Guess what the “Filmer Pack” does….it adds more camera angles in “Skate.Reel”. WHAT?! You couldn’t add those into the original game? I’m sure that was so hard to take a few more minutes and put it into the game. Oh wait, then you wouldn’t be able to rip off gamers by charging for stupid stuff that should already be in the game.

Street Fighter IV has its first downloadable content, which is new costumes/outfits (whatever you want to call them) for the fighters. They’re releasing them in “packs”, a new one each week for $3.99. What is wrong with that you’re saying? Well, the first “pack” (brawler pack) was released the same exact day the game was. Like I said with Skate 2, they couldn’t spend a few more minutes to add these into the actual game? I doubt it takes long to add something simple like more outfits into a game. I just feel like this is another example of developers leaving stuff out because they want to make more money, which they will because it is Street Fighter and people love the Street Fighter series.

Those are just two examples of what I think is a problem in gaming these days (I can find many more examples). Developers are leaving stuff out on purpose in my opinion, and I fear that it will become worse. Soon games will only have the main menu and then you have to buy all the missions separate, if you want weapons in your first person shooter, you’ll have to pay for them, and so on. I think someone needs to mention this problem to developers and really ask them is it a thing that they don’t have time to put them in the game because of release date? If so, why don’t they release them for free? I hope this kind of downloadable content comes to an end soon, and more like the DLC for Burnout Paradise and Grand Theft Auto IV comes out (free DLC and/or adding a new story). I’m sure some people will say “well they aren’t forcing you to buy the stuff they release”. No, they aren’t. But it is cutting stuff out of the games that we spend are hard earned money on, and in this horrible time of the economy no company should be cheating their customers out of stuff that should be free.

If you read this and agree with me that this problem needs to be solved, please spread the word around. Show this to your friends, or people you know that are gamers and get their opinions on it. I really want this subject to become an avid topic, when talking about gaming.

Thank you for reading.

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The Lost & Damned Review (360)

It was not long after Grand Theft Auto IV came out, that Rockstar Games mentioned there would be some kind of downloadable content. Well that downloadble content is here, in “The Lost & Damned”. Does it ride away into the sunset, or should it go sleeping with the fishes?

When The Lost & Damned was revealed,  people were intrigued to see how it would be playing a guy in a biker gang. (Basically playing an episode of “Sons of Anarchy”) They added more than just a new story and twenty-three new missions, they also added new weapons, cars, multiplayer modes, and “gang wars”.

You play as Johnny Klebitz, who is the Vice President of “The Lost” biker gang. And into the first few missions, you can tell that he is getting tired of the biker life style of guns, women, murders, drugs, and the rest that come with being a biker gang. The President of the “The Lost” is Billy Grey, who you pick up from jail as he is talking to his probation officer saying how he is a changed man and is going to stay clean, well that doesn’t last long. This game resembles the TV show “Sons of Anarchy”, in both the characters and what they do.

As you expect, there are many fights in the biker gang about both small and big things. There are definitely some twist and turns in this game which I will not spoil for anyone, but lets just say it will be pretty shocking. You also meet people and do missions for them that you did with Niko in the original GTA IV game. They also made some missions in which, when you do them, and if you think about playing the original Grand Theft Auto IV, you realize you were the cause of some of Niko’s pain and trouble.

Some of the new stuff they added like weapons, cars, bikes, etc are awesome. There are six new weapons, which in my opinion are better than the GTA IV weapons. The new weapons are; Grenade Launcher, Assault Shotgun (Auto shotgun), Pool Cue, Pipe bomb, Automatic Pistol (which I LOVE), Sawed off shotgun. The assault shotgun is pretty insane, it can explode a car with one clip (about 8 shots) so it comes in handy, but the automatic pistol is amazing. You can shoot from a distance since it has awesome accuracy, and when you’re up close you can also hold the trigger down for fully automatic which is awesome. Then the new cars and motorcycles, I won’t list them because there are alot, 20 new motorcycles and cars to be exact. The new motorcycles are awesome, but I think it’s because they changed the physics of the motorcycles. It’s easier to turn and you won’t fall off your motorcycle by clipping a car like you use to. There are also motorcycle races in which you can use a bat to knock the other racers off their bike, which there is an achievement for. They also added “gang wars”, much like in San Andreas, you pull up to the icon and call up “brothers” from your biker gang and they meet you and then you track down a rival gang and take them out. You get kind of addicted to the gang wars because of the battle that ensues, it really is cool.

Let me just say this right now, I love this game. When I originally beat Grand Theft Auto IV, I started thinking about everything they left out of the game, like some of the stuff that was in San Andreas, but I started to realize that Niko was not that type of person. He wasn’t worried about working out (Like CJ in San Andreas), he was not worried about his looks, he just wanted the life his cousin Roman promised. The more I thought about that, the more I liked GTA IV. Why do I bring that up? Well, with The Lost & Damned I really think that you have to put Grand Theft Auto IV into the top 10 games of all time. Maybe it’s because it is the most recent game I’ve played, but just something about both GTA IV and TL&D I aboslutely love.

Now that I said how much I love this game, there are some negatives, one being the price. At 1600 Microsoft Points (which is $20, and it’s an Xbox 360 exclusive) it is a little overpriced. If the price was $10 or $15 then it would have been perfect, because the game seems a little short. I beat it in eight and a half hours, but I still loved the experience. Yes, some people might not think it is worth the $20, but to me it was because of how much I liked it. Then there are texture pop ins, it would not be a Grand Theft Auto game if there were not graphic problems like texture pop ins. It seems like they got worst in The Lost & Damned for some reason, it is annoying at times, but it is not a huge fault.

Like I said, I really think this put GTA IV over the top. In my opinion it has to be looked at as one of the best games of all time, fabulous gaming experience. I would DEFINITELY reccomend this to ANYONE who is remotely thinking about getting this. Go get yourself 1600 MS points and download it!

P.S. you will recognize one of the later missions in the game if you ever played Metal Gear Solid 4. And you will be pretty shocked by the last mission, that is all I will say about it.

My Score – 5 / 5