The Problem With The Maw

With The Maw’s “DLC” (two “bonus” levels), I went from thinking “that’s neat” to realizing the implications. I knew the maps were available and ready by the time the PC version released because they were available for purchase on my Xbox 360 before the game even came out. That means they were held back with the intent to sell them later as “bonus content”. This immediately diminished the value of the product that I had already purchased. I felt like I was not getting the full experience out of The Maw if I didn’t pay $2.50 for these extra levels. But I hadn’t even launched the game yet despite having pre-purchased it, knowing that if it’s good I’d be writing about it here at DoSu as a Cheap Game. But I hadn’t played it yet, so I was not attached to it. I found myself with no desire to play it. So I requested a refund. After jumping through some hoops, I received my refund. I no longer own The Maw — I probably never will again. Since that means I’ll never get to play it, The Maw will not be recommended by me here as a Cheap Game.

The Problem With Far Cry 2

Far Cry 2 is a bit of a different beast. It’s a “feature-length” game from a major publisher and developer. Since the Fortunes Pack (3 weapons, 2 vehicles & 5 multiplayer maps) didn’t come to any platform until November 21st, it’s reasonable to believe that it was not ready to go when the game first launched on October 21st. Maybe some of the content was cut out from the final game, but I’m willing to give the benefit of the doubt that a team could crank out some weapons and maps within a month. Maybe it was just some assets that could not be finished in time for their deadline.

I’ve owned Far Cry 2 on PC since it released. I’ve been playing it off-and-on for the last couple of months. It’s a very time-consuming open-world game. I absolutely love it. I was disappointed that the Fortunes Pack was not available for PC when it came out in November. I would have very much liked to use that Silent Shotgun; it sounded ridiculous. So I was considerably less offended when it was made available on PC today, but I also felt somewhat obligated to purchase it before I could continue playing. It’s a similar problem as with The Maw, but different because I had already invested so much of myself in the game. I couldn’t quit now, but continuing was a difficult thing to do.

On Perceived Value

I realized that I don’t just have a problem with “DLC” when it’s content that was held back from the game — I have a problem with it when it’s not free. Selfish of me, yes? More than a bit, yes, but I have good intentions. I want games to have value, and I believe that “DLC” that isn’t free diminishes the consumer’s perceived value of the base product. My reaction to the “DLC” for The Maw and Far Cry 2 are my testament to this belief; I no longer own The Maw and I’m having trouble wanting to launch Far Cry 2 today.

Valve has been a pioneer in building value in games via free content. They continually release free maps, game modes and unlocks for games like Counter-Strike, Day of Defeat, Team Fortress, and soon for Left 4 Dead. Because of this, and of course due to the quality of the content they produce, theirs are the best selling games on the PC today. Valve understands that a consumer’s perceived value of a product can earn you more money than simply having more items with price tags available on a virtual shelf.

DLC: A Step Forward For Consoles; Backward For PC

It’s puzzling to me, then, that Valve would support a thing such as “DLC” on the PC. There’s precedent for it on consoles, but that does not mean that it’s a good idea or that all platforms must follow suit. PC users are used to getting things for free. I wouldn’t say we’re selfish or unappreciative, we’re simply conditioned. Console users are okay with “DLC” because this is the first generation of consoles where it has been possible on a large scale. It’s all that they know. For instance, on my Xbox 360, I own Fable 2. I have not yet played it because I want the full experience, and there’s word that more “DLC” is being released for Fable beyond the Knothole Island content. This has caused me to wait. I’m okay with it because it’s a console… I expect that kind of ridiculousness from it.

But the introduction of “DLC” into the PC ecosystem has managed to impact my perception of Steam itself. I am now “afraid” to purchase new games on Steam because I don’t know if I’m going to be getting the complete package. This was not the case last week. Almost every game that I have recommended in the Cheap Gaming features have been available on Steam. I absolutely love the service; I think it’s the best thing that happened to PC gaming since the SDK. Normally, the first thing I do when I get on my computer every day is check the Steam news, new releases, and coming soon lists. In the days following The Maw’s “DLC”, I was considerably less enthused, and the Far Cry 2 Fortunes Pack today knocked me down a peg further.

It’s Not All Bad

I am willing to concede that this is not entirely a bad thing. “DLC” on PC will probably mean that we will get content packs that we’re normally denied, such as the Fortunes Pack for Far Cry 2 and the extra levels (real ending?) for Prince of Persia and Tomb Raider: Underworld. That’s not to say that “DLC” is the only way we could get it; we’ve had the technology on PC for over 15 years. I would have much preferred that publishers choose an alternate business model for their PC releases — that is, focus on value — but it would appear that the only way we’re going to get some content is if they can slap the “DLC” label on it and charge us. I just hope that others acknowledge that this “capability” can be easily exploited for the evil, as we’ve already seen with The Maw.

But It Mostly Is

Console players should be able to sympathize with this. There has been considerable amounts of outrage about Capcom’s releasing of Resident Evil 5′s “Versus Mode” as $5 “DLC” as well as their Street Fighter IV Costumes. You used to be able to get an alternate costume simply by pressing a different button at character select. Remember Beautiful Katamari? That content was already on the disc, but with revolutionary “DLC” capability, Namco Bandai was able to charge for the end of their game twice. And let us never forget Oblivion’s Horse Armor, the father of value-diminishing “DLC.”

Let’s revisit these in order, shall we?

Battlefield Heroes

Battlefield Heroes’ original release window was estimated to be some time in Summer of 2008. Unfortunately, summer came and went and aside from some Bad Company, Battlefield was nowhere to be seen. EA did, however, begin a closed beta test of the game. While I didn’t apply to the beta (I’d rather play the game in a “finished” state), it would appear that a good number of people did and have been accepted. Impressions coming from them as well as members of the games press that have written official previews have been generally positive. I remain optimistic and looking forward to playing.

Braid

While I’m not sure it was ever promised that Braid would be released on both XBLA and PC simultaneously, it wasn’t. Braid hit the Xbox Live Marketplace in August of this year as a part of Microsoft’s XBLA summer line-up and was met with both critical and consumer acclaim. Creator Jonathan Blow has been very outspoken and forthcoming with opinions, ideas and philosophies pertaining to game design and the industry as a whole following the release of Braid, much of which has done well to color him, in some people’s eyes, as a rather pretentious fellow. I can’t say I’m a much of a fan of Blow myself after reading and listening to several interviews with him, but it won’t stop me from enjoying Braid when it’s finally released on PC. Despite having a 360, I’ve abstained from doing little more than giving the trial a once-over. I wait because I am hopeful that the PC version will include extra content, or possibly even a level editor. Besides that, I generally prefer to experience games on this platform. The Braid website still says that a PC version will be released in 2008, but no word yet on a solid release date or through what channels it will be distributed. I am personally hoping it will be available on Steam with Steamworks integration.

Guild Wars 2

Move along, nothing to see here. Literally. I can’t recall a single new announcement on this game since posting my original article back in April, but I’m still looking forward to playing it in 20**.

Brutal Legend

Remember when Activsion and Vivendi announced their merger and everybody panicked? It seems that they had good reason to. Not only are we now seeing Guitar Hero paraphernalia in World of Warcraft (joke or not, be afraid!), but certain changes were made within the ranks of Vivendi and several studios and their projects were cut loose because of it. Sierra, a subsidiary of Vivendi, has been struggling over the years to reestablish some form of an identity and relevance since its adventure game glory days. Despite having several hotly anticipated games under its wing including Ghostbusters, World in Conflict: Soviet Assault, and, of course, Brutal Legend, Vivendi decided to nix the aging brand and some projects with minimal franchise potential along with it. Ghostbusters seems to have landed on its feet as Dan Aykroyd recently confirmed that it will be published by Atari. World in Conflict developers Massive Entertainment are going to be okay as well with the Ubisoft acquisition being announced just a day or two ago. Things aren’t looking so well for Brutal Legend, however.

Rumors of an EA acquisition of Double Fine have been blowing in the wind, with comments from EA CEO John Riccitiello expressing his interest, as well as his apprehension:

“I have seen it. I am well aware of what the game is. It’s a very significant creative risk. Sometimes significant creative risks end up being some of the world’s best products. Spore was also a significant creative risk. So was The Sims. Portal, BioShock. But so was Grim Fandango.”

We won’t be seeing Brutal Legend this year, unfortunately. Its future in general looks very bleak, but I am confident that Double Fine and their game will find a home.

Saints Row 2

Though THQ originally promised to have Saints Row 2 release simultaneously on three platforms, they’ve only been able to make good on two of them. Guess which two. I’ll give you a minute to think it over. Got it? No, silly, of course the PC wasn’t given priority. We don’t live in bizarro world. Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 owners have been hitting their switches and collecting from their bitches (the money that they make which serves to embiggen their riches) since October, but PC users are being made to wait until January of 2009 to get their hands on some big ass chains.

While I’m fine with waiting while developers ensure that we receive a quality product, having the PC players be the ones constantly left to twiddle their thumbs in anticipation of their multiplatform release is getting tiring. When Microsoft pays out truckloads of cash to have Rock Band be a delayed exclusive to the Xbox 360 over the Playstation 3, I can’t help but feel like a bit of an afterthought as a PC gamer when I’m left to wait for free. Though we only had to wait a week after the console release of Dead Space, many other multiplatform games are having their PC versions pushed to no sooner than December, but as late as Q1 2009. Aside from Saints Row 2, off the top of my head, we’ll also be waiting on Mirror’s Edge, Rise of The Argonauts, Prince of Persia, and Shaun White Snowboarding. This simply wouldn’t happen if there were a hitch with PS3 or Xbox 360 development; all versions would be held back.

Like I said, I’m fine with waiting for a quality product, but sometimes that isn’t all that matters. I’m willing to bet that there won’t be much of a second-wave marketing push, if any, when the PC version of these games hit the shelves. They’ll be an afterthought in the eyes of the games press, much as the recent port of Bully to the PC was. What, you didn’t know that Bully was on the PC now? Of course you didn’t. But I bet you heard all about it when it came to the 360 earlier this year. It’s on Steam for $30 now.

Ahem… excuse me. Frustrations aside, I am still looking forward to Saints Row 2 just as much as I was seven months ago. Perhaps we’ll be rewarded for our patience with some extra content. It’s already known that the PC version will only cost $40, considerably less than console gamers paid for theirs.

Left 4 Dead

Finally! A game that I’ve gotten to play. Well, sort of. It’s still just less than a week from release, but I have gotten to play the generous demo both on Xbox 360 and PC and can offer you my impressions of them both:

Xbox 360: Surprisingly, my initial hands-on with Left 4 Dead was on a console. I played this version of the demo first while I waited for PseudoKnight to finish his PC download. I also played it solo. I went with Normal settings, and I played as Zoey. The game looks and performs great on the Xbox despite some aliasing and low-res detail textures (things like labels, signs posted on walls etc). Though I did enjoy making use of the 180 degree turn button, I thought the controls were a bit floaty. I felt kind of like my legs were always a step or two ahead of me, depending on the direction I was moving. I didn’t find aiming to be too difficult despite using joysticks, but killing zombies also wasn’t very satisfying. I just couldn’t get into it. My lack of immersion may have also been affected by my inevitable scrutinization of the AI companions, likely brought on by the fact that I wasn’t playing with anyone. They’re definitely the same bots that I remember from games like Half-Life 2 or Counter-Strike: Source. They aren’t by any means incompetant, but they’re definitely not a suitable replacement for a real person.

PC: My experience on the PC version of the Left 4 Dead demo was a much more positive one. For starters, I found that sound is a very important part of the game. My 5.1 setup for my TV isn’t bad, but it’s no substitute for being right in front of a monitor with headphones on when it comes to games where atmosphere is everything. I was much more satisfied with controls on the PC, of course, and playing with a real person on Expert mode was infinitely more fun than with AI companions. Detail textures were also crystal clear on PC when set to high; there were some interesting markings, be sure to keep an eye out when and if you end up playing L4D.

LEGO Batman

We’re on a roll; I’ve played this game too, and I actually “finished” it! I even managed to find a glitch.

If you’ve played any of the LEGO Star Wars games or the Indiana Jones game, you pretty much know how LEGO Batman works. That doesn’t mean you should overlook it, however. Batman is the first in the series of Traveler’s Tales’ LEGO games that has the freedom to have an original story; it isn’t tied to a movie franchise or specific events in the comic books. Because of this you have the ability to play not only as a Who’s Who of the Bat family, but also as any villain you face. I didn’t know this upon purchasing the game, but it actually contains two full campaigns, each with three chapters. Once you complete the first chapter of the Hero campaign, you can use a computer in the Bat Cave to switch to Arkham Asylum where you play through the same episodes, but from the villain’s perspective. The levels are entirely different (there are 15 in total on each side, 5 per episode) and you’ll only see small sections of cutscenes repeated between the two campaigns to kind of tie things together and give you perspective as to when certain events are taking place.

I’ve heard many say that they only have fun with LEGO games when they play them co-op. I can see where they’re coming from, and even though I only stayed vigilant in my quest to get all unlocks for about two and a half episodes, I played through LEGO Batman in singleplayer and had a ton of fun. If you’re a Batman fan and generally enjoy the LEGO games, LEGO Batman won’t disappoint.

S.T.A.L.K.E.R: Clear Sky

Here we are at what, in April, was the game I was looking forward to most in 2008. While STALKER: Clear Sky never fell from its place, I still have not gotten around to playing it. As with my comic books each week, I have a habit of leaving the best for last. I want to be able to take my time with STALKER and I want the experience to be as smooth as possible. Though I purchased it through Steam on release day, had I begun playing that day I would have begun playing before several patches had been released which included bug fixes, balance tweaks and performance optimizations. I’m confident that when I’m ready for STALKER, it will be all the more ready for me as well.

Wrapping It Up

There are several games that were announced and/or released after making my list in April. I played and completed Crysis: Warhead; every bit as good as its predecessor, bring on more Crysis. Of course I played and enjoyed GTA IV, I’m looking forward to playing it again on PC. I also played and finished Lost Odyssey, a Sakaguchi JRPG that was released for the 360 back in January. It’s one of the most finely crafted traditional JRPGs I’ve ever played. Highly recommend it. Speaking of JRPGs, Persona 4 was announced for December, and I can’t wait to get my hands on the sequel to my favorite RPG of ’07.

It has been a very good year of game releases. Though I’ve been frustrated with the trends in PC delays that I ranted a bit about earlier, I am definitely happy to see increased support for the platform to begin with. Over the last year I can tell that the overall perception and attitude toward PC gaming is improving, but there are still people with loud voices spreading fallacies. Let’s work on squashing shit like this in 2009.

Mercenaries 2: World in Flames
In all fairness, Sokkratez was excited about this game long before I was. A recent gameplay demonstration video caught my attention, but it wasn’t until the words “coop” were uttered that I was hooked. This is a free-roaming action shooter not unlike that found in GTA or Just Cause. There just doesn’t seem like there are limits to this game. The character’s got a swiss army knife of abilities, weapons, and support. Everything in the world seems destructible. Apparently they wanted to give the player anything they’d ever think of and more. Obviously that’s not possible, but it still results in such a wide array of ways to approach the game situations that it’ll no doubt equal countless hours of fun times. Fun times, that is, with your buddies alongside for the battle. Cooperative is such a huge feature for me. Right there is enough information to get me excited, so I can’t wait to find out more and get my hands on this game when it comes out August 31st.

Quake Live
Everyone likes free, right? Last time we mentioned a free ad-supported web-integrated Battlefield game. This time you get the ultimate in deathmatch games, Quake 3, launched via your browser. So, what’s the difference between Quake 3 and Quake Live anyway? Well, I’m not really sure. Web integration is probably the biggest noteworthy difference, but this is easy access Quake 3. I’m not sure more needs to be said. Am I right, Sokk? I never really got into the game during its golden years, but I find it the most respectable of all deathmatch games in existence and I actually look forward to fragging people at blazing speeds. I’ll be able to do that this year.

Mirror’s Edge
If someone mentions “parkour” one more time in reference to this game I’m going to cry, but damn if I don’t want to play this first person courier game. Yes, you deliver messages… except you’re doing it across 30 story rooftops on foot… while being chased and shot at by cops who want to shut you down. Apparently this country’s government doesn’t respect free speech as much as others. You don’t start out with a weapon (no doubt banned), but you can pilfer them from cops you knock out with your wicked kicks. It’s said that you can go through the whole game without firing a shot, though it’s somewhat of a challenge. Oh, and did I mention the main character is a woman and the art style is unique? EA’s come a long way to fund a risky game like this. DICE has earned their due, apparently. November 11th is the date.

Project Origin
When I first heard Monolith was making another FEAR game, I thought it was a mistake. I’d have rather seen a No One Lives Forever sequel or something. I mean I liked the first one, but do I want more? Then the videos started coming. The more I see the more Monolith proves me wrong. The graphics engine actually does more than push pixels. Monolith put it to good use to create some of the most amazing and cool effects I’ve seen in a shooter, effects that actually enhance the gameplay. They seem to have improved on every aspect of FEAR so that it’s a more rich and varied experience. (time will tell) So, this game left off where the original game stopped, completely ignoring the expansions (that were not made by Monolith) to FEAR. They couldn’t use the title “FEAR” in the name, but still manage to use it in a slogan: “FEAR ALMA AGAIN”. Apparently the game’s set during that time of the month cause she’s even more freaky. Expect to wet your bed at night sometime in the fall of this year.

Natural-Selection 2
Little known fact: I’m a fanboy. Ohnoes, PK! Whatever for?! Well, once I stop talking to myself I’ll tell you. It’s for a little Half-Life mod called Natural Selection, a sci-fi FPS/RTS hybrid. You have marines. You have aliens. Both play uniquely and both hate each other, much to the benefit of gamer’s everywhere. Like any FPS game you have weapons (or pokey things, as it is with aliens) and you shoot (or bite, claw…) the other team. Like any RTS you have resources and structures to build to expand your area of control and eventually destroy the other race. Both in the same game, and done in excellent form. I have never experienced multiplayer like this since. I’m hoping its sequel will change that. Just recently they announced that they were moving from developing the sequel on the Source engine to their own proprietary engine, which is actually speeding up production. I’m still guessing that it’s going to be a 2009 game, but it’s going to be cheap… like $20 cheap. The development is mostly an open book, so check it out over yonder. You may have already seen the dynamic infestation tech video on the internets.

Beyond Good & Evil 2
BG&E has a certain charm I can’t shake. You can read more about that in my cheap games post about it. So it’s not hard to guess that when they recently announced BG&E2 with a certain trailer, I couldn’t contain my glee. The fans have been asking for it for a while now and we knew the designer was pushing to get it funded (considering the first one flopped financially… at first), but until now we didn’t know for sure it was being worked on. Right now we know practically nothing about the game other than what the teaser video hints at. So, this is probably the last game on my list to be released, no doubt somewhere in the latter half of 2009 (hopefully earlier, but it’s done when it’s done), but it’s worth including due to my enthusiasm. Hey, there’s no limit on the “future”. (maybe I should put up BG&E3 on the list for good measure.. heh) Ah yes… good one to end on.

This is a list of all of the cheap games we’ve featured in the blog. Every game is under $10 — many are even free! Here they are in order of price (low to high):

[Their audio is a bit loud, you may want to adjust your volume accordingly]

Braid: Braid is a game that I am not sure how to describe. I don’t think I’d be doing a description of it justice by calling it a “puzzle platformer”, but there you go. When the game is available (I haven’t seen an ETA) it will be on PC and Xbox Live Arcade. To tell you the truth, I don’t know much else about it. I just know that I want to play it and experience it. I felt this way after watching a segment on this game on the 1UP Show a few weeks ago. I’ll embed that here; it’s much more interesting to hear the developers talk about this game than me. Have a go, it’s a very interesting interview.

Guild Wars 2: Most people are probably familiar with the original Guild Wars. Your friend probably plays it. He probably really likes Diablo, too. I’m not knocking on Guild Wars; I love the game. I just can’t play it for very long stints. Maybe a week or so before I start to get sleepy while I play. If I were more into PVP, I am sure I’d enjoy it more, but the narrative just isn’t engaging enough for me to feel the need to finish it. I am really hoping that Guild Wars 2 changes my feelings about the franchise. Like its predecessor, it will have no monthly fee. It will also be open-world, rather than a series of instances that you and your party (or a group of NPCs) roll through, much more like a traditional MMORPG. I have played a ton of those, so why would I want to try Guild Wars 2? Well, for one, I’m a sucker for sequels. Two, no monthly fee basically makes this a must-buy. Innovative business plans are a huge selling point for me, as evidenced by my interest in Battlefield Heroes. That’s all there is to say on this one; we really don’t have much information, and that concept art is all that I could find in the way of screenshots.

Brutal Legend: Did you like Psychonauts? I did. Do you like Jack Black? I do. Are you ready to rock in a game by the creator of Psychonauts and influenced by Jack Black? I know I am. Brutal Legend is the next game from Psychonauts creator Tim Schafer. He shopped it around until he landed on a big pile of Sierra’s money. It’s a 3-D action/adventure game where you play as a roadie who wields an axe and an axe (that’s a guitar for those of you who don’t ROCK!). I’m not sure what exactly you’re fighting against; presumably demons as well as anything that does not rock. As can be seen in this trailer, you can also sprout devil wings. I am hoping that this game rocks so hard that my face melts.

Saints Row 2: Okay, I told a half-lie at the beginning of this post. I am about to mention Grand Theft Auto. But not the same one that I said I wouldn’t be talking about! See? Half-lie.

Anyway, it’s really hard to talk about Saints Row without also talking about GTA. It’s cut from the same tree, after all. Many labeled the original Saints Row as simply a “GTA clone” and held that against it. I tried my hardest not to. It’s simply a foray into a still-developing genre that GTA set the standard for. I enjoyed the first game a lot, despite its shortcomings (pimp missions are really hard later on), and I am always ready for a new game of this genre. What are they calling it these days, anyway? 3rd-person-open-world-action-adventure-driving-shooters? We need to get on that.

Left 4 Dead: Zombies. Lots and lots of F-ing zombies. That’s what you’ll find in Left 4 Dead. This game is being developed on the Source engine by the recently-acquired-by-Valve developer Turtle Rock Studios. This is the same developer of Counter-Strike: Condition Zero, the Counter-Strike port for the original Xbox, the A.I. controlled bots for Counter-Strike as well as various maps for Counter-Strike: Source. This, their current game, is a first-person cooperative survival-horror game for the PC and Xbox 360. My reasons for wanting to play this game are simple. I like what this developer has done in the past, I like zombies and I REALLY like cooperative games. Nothing more to tell you other than to check out some gameplay footage.

Lego Batman: If you’ve played either of the Lego Star Wars games, you’ll know as well as I do that it is impossible for Lego Batman to be a bad or not-fun game. Batman is awesome, Legos are awesome and the formula that Travellers’ Tales has developed for these games is most definitely awesome. I can’t wait to explode me some Lego penguins (please let there be Lego penguins!). You can view the trailer for the game here.

S.T.A.L.K.E.R: Clear Sky: The prequel to S.T.A.L.K.E.R. is what I am looking forward to the most this year. The previous game had so much untapped potential but it still turned out to be a fantastically immersive experience; I can’t see how the prequel will not deliver that and so much more. When I heard this game announced I was actually in the middle of playing the first one. I stopped right then and there so that I could play through the story building up to it before continuing on. My only worry is that the developers will end up having focused too much on the multiplayer side of the game and we may be left with an underdeveloped story mode again. Basis for my concerns can be found in this E3 interview with a developer.

The game is called Gish. Like De Blob, it has you rolling, jumping, sticking, swinging, squeezing and stomping around as an amorphous pile of goo. I think that it can fittingly be described as a physics-based puzzle game.

Gish, being the amorphous pile of goo that he is, has many forms that he can take on. In his normal form, he is a perfectly malleable pile of goo that can get around just fine on flat surfaces and minor inclines, and can also roll over most small obstacles. It’s when the more unique obstacles get in his way that he needs to do a little morphing. Want to make a steep ascent? Go into prickly sticky mode, get some momentum and you can crawl up walls, swing from ropes, even walk on the ceiling. If you need to fit into a tight spot or float to the top of some water, you can become super-liquified and, in turn, less dense, to accomplish these feats. You can also increase your density to increase your movement speed, topple down obstacles like breakable walls, sink to the bottom of a pool or even destroy some enemies.

You can read more about Gish as well as get ahold of a free demo at the developer’s website. It is only $10 if you purchase it through Steam.