Former BioWare Goon Calls-Out Gamers For Bitching About Day-1 DLC

Here's the deal: a character who worked for BioWare (now over at Riot Games), who goes by the name of Christina Norman, has given the middle-finger (Kotaku's words, shared by me) to gamers who believe that Day-1 DLC - or, rather, the "Industry's Mushroom Print" - is a complete sham/utter disgrace to the game it's for. Pulled from Kotaku, she spoke at GDC recently:

"There's no point in releasing DLC a year after your game has come out when most people have already sold your game back to GameStop three times. That means getting it out early; that means even day-one DLC. That is a terrible thing to some players. Players rant—they know nothing about this DLC that's coming out except its name. But then it's 'oh this game must be incomplete, the game must be ruined.' Game developers are not evil. (Some are evil.) But most are not evil. We just want to release awesome stuff. Players please, give us a chance. Judge our games based on what they are. Judge the DLC based on what it is. Stop thinking you're a producer and telling us when and where we should be building our content."

There's a problem with that, something that commenter Eight-Bit Generation put in such elegant words that I'm reposting it here, with permission (the entire thread can be viewed here):

[REVIEW] A Lot of Games, Volume 2, Part 5

Another entry into the long-standing fashion of reviewing games in a gigantic pile. Screw the formalities, just hit the break for some reviews.

Just Finished Da Vinci Disappearance; Thoughts on AC3

I just bought, played and finished Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood's The Da Vinci Disappearance DLC today, and I've got a few thoughts on the ending, as well as the inevitable Assassin's Creed III.

First off, that series of coordinates we see at the end in the Pythagorean Temple: 43 39 19 N, 75 27 42 W. These little bastards land out in Turin, New York on a gigantic hole, something that appeared sometime after 1998. From what I can gather, this hole is where Napolean Bonaparte supposedly hid out (side note: he died in 1506, the same year that the Da Vinci Disappearance DLC takes place). [Ed. Note: Yikes! My dyslexia kicked in while I was writing this post originally, and I - sadly - wrote Christopher Columbus for some strange, bewildering reason; he did die in 1506. That last little bit never made it's way out of the post. Whoops.]

If you gander south-west and south from the giant hole, you'll see two towns named Florence and Rome. Once you map these out and draw distances, you'll notice they form a near perfect Pythagorean Triangle. Shit's getting crazy now.

The giant hole, like said above, is location somewhere in Turin, NY. Turin - or "Torino" to locals - is also another city in Italy. This hole is in the Bonaparte's Cave State Forest, where there are "historical connections" to Napolean, whom we all know lived between 1769 and 1821. This is exactly 300 years after the events of Ezio's timeline (born 1459 with the last known appearance in 1506; spanning 47 years). "300" holds key significance because Ezio's reign takes place about 300 years after Altaïr's in the 1100s during the Third Crusades.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again: we're going to be going to the French Revolution in AC3, and roughly 250 years after that will be current day history, with a game - possibly AC4 - that could very well focus primarily on Desmond fighting the Templars in the 21st century.

Bring it, Ubisoft.

Fable III's New DLC: A dollar for dyes?!

Fable III's Sanctuary Shop was recently updated, and with it come some very questionable purchases, such as a tattoo set, a new dog bread, and, yes, dyes:

• Industrial Knight Outfit : 160 MSP : Always wanted to be an industrial age cyborg? Well, now you can at least look like one. The outfit comprises a helmet, gloves, boots, gauntlets and armor.
• Dye Pack : 80 MSP : Breathe new life into your hair and clothes with this collection of dyes, including the long-awaited black dye. Those preferring lighter colors will make good use of the cream, hot pink and turquoise dyes.
• Red Setter Dog Potion : 160 MSP : Transform your faithful collie into a red setter with this amazing potion. Just let your dog have a sip when he's lying in his basket in the Sanctuary.
• Highlander Tattoo Set : 80 MSP : Summon the spirit of the highlands with this new tattoo set, perfect for charging into battle with a rebellious roar.
• Male Highlander Outfit : 160 MSP : Summon the spirit of the highlands with this new outfit, perfect for charging into battle with a rebellious roar. The outfit comprises a bonnet, bracers, boots top and kilt.
• Female Highlander Outfit : 160 MSP : Summon the spirit of the highlands with this new outfit, perfect for charging into battle with a rebellious roar. The outfit comprises a bonnet, bracers, boots, bodice and kilt.

This list slightly varies from the DLC that leaked about 2-3 weeks ago. The Hair Pack (80 MSP), Understone Quest (400 MSP), and Five-Star Dog Potion (80 MSP) are not in the Store...yet. However, the Five-Star Dog Potion is the most absurd, as it fully maxes out all of your dog's stats to five-stars; pay to play win.

For those wondering, yes, the Industrial Knight is not Hal's Armor 2.0. It is, rather, a steampunk-esque Robocop attire.

First off, I can understand new outfits, however, the Highlander outfit is in the game. I'm looking at it in my Sanctuary right now. Second of all, dyes? Are you off your fucking rocker, Lionhead? I've been wondering why there are a few empty spots on my dye rack, but charging for dyes? The file size is 240MB, meaning it's not another "unlock-key", but rather intentionally left them out to charge you later down the road for them. Cream, hot pink and turquoise I can see never being used, but leaving out black in character customization is just absurd.

Leaving out colors in general is downright pathetic.

Left 4 Dead's New DLC: The Sacrifice

You didn't think I'd go on hiatus and not talk about the Left 4 Dead DLC that I've been clamoring about for ever, right?

Valve announced "The Sacrifice," which is the prequel to "The Passing," explaining how Zoey & Co. got down to Bon Temps New Orleans, Louisiana, is set to be released sometime in October. The bad thing about this is that the story canon in The Sacrifice does not follow The Passing's outcome; you choose who dies in the new DLC.

There is good news to be had with this announcement. The Sacrifice will work for both L4D and L4D2, so even if you don't have numero uno (and seriously, why not?), you can still experience what had happened.

Finally, Valve will be releasing, alongside The Sacrifice, a L4D2-compatible version of No Mercy, L4D's first chapter campaign (and easily the better of the bunch).

It seems that the entire story may not be fully revealed in The Sacrifice, as plans for a digital comic to be distributed next month is set to get players up to speed on the story of the new DLC.

If you have your zombie-shooter on a computer-type device, then you get The Sacrifice for free. If you have the 360, expect to pony up for it (no price was announced, but I'm expecting it to be $7 like it has always been).

[Via Kotaku]

Assassin's Creed II DLC on sale for Xbox Live

If you don't subscribe to Major Nelson's blog, then you haven't heard the news yet: the Assassin's Creed II DLC - Bonfire of the Vanities and Battle of Forli - is the hot new shit for Xbox Live's Deal of the Week.

Both Sequences are down from 320 points ($4) to 240 points ($3), while the "combo" is now 400 points ($5) rather than the usual 560 ($7). There's a couple of Avatar things discounted pretty steeply, but this good news for those who don't even have ACII yet, as GameStop has dropped the price down to $20. You get a broken game for $25 rather than $68 like most of us payed who bought the game when it came out and each DLC separately upon it's arrival.

Now would be a great time to get in on the DLC, as my own recommendation was to pass on it until it was on sale, like a DotW. Sure, it's only 25-30% off (depending on your flavor), but it's a nice little discount to DLC that should have been free.

It must feel good to be a cheap bastard, you...cheap bastard.

[Via Major Nelson's blog]

[REVIEW] A Lot of Games, Part 4

This the final part in a four-part series of multiple, micro reviews. Over the course of the past 5 months, there have been numerous games that have come out that I have not reviewed, save for Heavy Rain and Darksiders. I have sixteen games lined up for reviews, so get ready for a smorgasbord of reviews coming to your face-hole.

[REVIEW] A Lot of Games, Part 2

This the second part in a four-part series of multiple, micro reviews. Over the course of the past 5 months, there have been numerous games that have come out that I have not reviewed, save for Heavy Rain and Darksiders. I have sixteen games lined up for reviews, so get ready for a smorgasbord of reviews coming to your face-hole.

[REVIEW] A Lot of Games, Part 1

This the first part in a four-part series of multiple, micro reviews. Over the course of the past 5 months, there have been numerous games that have come out that I have not reviewed, save for Heavy Rain and Darksiders. I have sixteen games lined up for reviews, so get ready for a smorgasbord of reviews coming to your face-hole.

It's been a while since my last review, and I have honestly tried to write reviews for several games I've played recently (Splinter Cell: Conviction is one), but the reviews just didn't fit cohesively with my overall writing scheme (witty remark-serious undertone-joke at someones expense-build up-LOVE/HATE-go out with a bang). So, here's a bunch of games I've played recently, kind of like a micro review.

Alan Wake Limited Collector's Edition unveiled by Walmart, Best Buy

In the ongoing effort to completely destroy your wallets and shelf space, Alan Wake is getting the special edition treatment, in the image of a "Limited Collector's Edition," complete with the tag line "A Psychological Action Thriller." Honestly, I hate when a game that shows this much promise and awesome needs to have lines like this to entice otherwise uninterested buyers to even glance upon the game on a shelf when it's poised next to other, fantastically awesome games, and in Alan Wake's case, it's going to be right next to Assassin's Creed II.

On the Walmart listing for the game, you've got this sporty box shot for the game, as well as a list of your clichéd (L)CE contents (taken straight from the listing):

Hardbound in quality linen, the Limited Collector’s edition is designed to resemble a hardcover book. The Limited Collector's Edition will include:

• Game Disc in box with unique art
• Exclusive In-Game Audio Commentary and Hints by Remedy
• “The Alan Wake Files” – a 144pg book that includes a short story written by Alan Wake and compiles the FBI dossiers investigating the events in Bright Falls, WA
• Exclusive Audio Disc with Soundtrack and Score
• Game Add-on token redeemable on Xbox LIVE for the first Alan Wake add-on content pack
• Exclusive Xbox disc with special content: Alan Wake Xbox Live Theme and Alan Wake Avatar for Xbox LIVE

"Designed to resemble a hardcover book," huh? Sounds interesting.

Unique artwork for the box? Go on.

144-page short story as penned by a fictitious character with fake files from a real beauro? Color me intrigued.

Code redeeming the first DLC pack? Get the fuck over yourselves. You can't simply put that in the game? Why are you doing this? If you're releasing a DLC pack the day of release, then it should have been just included on the disc. That is, unless, you meet one of the two following criteria:

1. You've run out of space on the disc
2. Microsoft told you to

Release dates galore: Yakuza 4, Mega Man 10, Perfect Dark and Brütal DLC

In a day that probably won't be remember for jack shit, we are treated to four - count 'em, one-two-three-four - release dates spanning multiple consoles and regions.

First up, Yakuza 4. We - Yanks and Brits - were glad to learn that Yakuza 3 would finally get the localization treatment it deserved and would be coming our way March 2010 (my prediction date, again, is the 16). Today, Sega announces that Japan has mastered space-time travel and will be treated to the release of Yakuza 4. In the same month. On the 18th. Bump that. Next!

Nintendo Power has unveiled (I have yet to receive my issue) that Mega Man 10 will be coming to WiiWare sometime. No solid release date or other systems were made available, but you will be able to play as Proto Man right out of the box download, as well as a third, mystery character. And we're still getting the retro, NES-style artwork and 8-bit style graphics. Radical.

Resident Evil 5: Gold Edition Coming State-side

It was inevitable, as Capcom has announced Resident Evil 5: Gold Edition will be coming to both PS3 and 360 in a retail compilation on March 9 for $50.

The PS3 has a slight benefit over the 360, as everything is on a single disc. The 360 version has the extra content on a DVD with a voucher code.

The missions will be released separately before the Gold Edition hits. The first one, "Lost in Nightmares," will be coming February 17/18 (one hell of a birthday present, albeit a few days early for myself) with a costume pack, and the second, unnamed chapter and another costume pack will be March 3/4 for the 360/PS3, respectively.

As per my prediction, I was 3 weeks off. Okay, maybe that one sucked, but this announcement pegs it on the same day as my prediction for God of War III.

Oh, and that's the same day as Final Fantasy XIII. Good luck with that, Capcom.

[Via Joystiq]

Resident Evil 5: Alternative Edition is coming as DLC

In a move not surprising to anyone, Capcom's poll that had users decide between repackaging RE5 with the new content or release it as DLC has tallied all the votes - all 2,346 of them - and came back with the majority wanting DLC. Try 63% of voters.

Goes to show that paying for the same game twice doesn't pay off all the time.

The extra content will be coming to Japan in a repackaged special edition, whereas both platforms will be getting DLC in every other region. Expect the Japanese Alternative Edition's value to skyrocket.

Oh, and this seems to be my favorite quote from the blog post:

...just make sure to hold on to your RE5 disc and you’ll be ready to roll in Spring 2010 when we make available new Resident Evil adventures (and some other things we haven’t told you about yet) for you.

Yea, uhh, what other stuff? Leon Scottward Kennedy making an appearance, perhaps? What happened with him in that 8 year gap between RE3 and RE4?

[Via Capcom]