I will not buy any multiplayer map packs — it’s a matter of principle. So this “Stimulus Package” doesn’t really matter to me. Regardless, I still have an opinion on this.
Modern Warfare 2’s map pack will cost 1200 MS Points (or $15 for us normal folks). It will debut on Xbox Live! on March 30th, 2010 and remain exclusive for a whole 30 days before appearing on any other platform.
I paid $45.19 for Modern Warfare 2 which came with a single player campaign and a multiplayer component which consists of 16 maps. And for 33% of that cost, Activision and Infinity Ward are offering three brand new maps and two classic maps from Call of Duty 4, mp_overgrown and mp_crash.
That’s lunacy, but people will pay that. Until consumers learn to speak with their dollars, companies like Activision will continue to gouge us all. To Activision: “Bravo”. To anyone who buys this map pack: “You disgust me.”.
Did you know you could have watched the first hour of BioShock 2 and Mass Effect 2 before you were even allowed to buy game? That’s like watching the first 20 minutes of a full length movie. I know why they do it. They want to feed on the hype of the weak and lure them over to their websites. But it’s a trend that I’m not too pleased with.
GiantBomb’s Quick Looks operate in a similar fashion, but they tend to focus on less story centric games. It’s okay to watch the first twenty minutes of Sega All-Star Racing to see how it works out, but why spoil the first hour of a story heavy game like Mass Effect 2?
Even if it’s not story heavy, certain games thrive on creating spectacles and to have it ruined by 480p streaming video when you could have experienced it first hand on your 52″ 1080p HDTV is a travesty in my opinion.
But as difficult as it is to stay unspoiled pre-release, it is twice as difficult post-release. With websites, podcasts, forums, social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter, I’m finding it very difficult to stay pure. Just searching for possible technical issues on a game before buying can incredibly risky in forums. Even NeoGAF with its spoiler tags and dedicated spoiler zones can sometime slip up.
And that’s why I didn’t even bother with visiting the God of War III official thread on GAF. I don’t even bother visiting the Heavy Rain one either since I have yet to play it. I’m also skipping entire podcast episodes since they’re covering Final Fantasy XIII for the week.
I didn’t care much about these spoilers a few years ago, but since games have become a bit more interesting narratively, I’ve come to care about it more and more. But maybe I’m wrong. Maybe I shouldn’t be caring since developers and publishers are allowing sites like GameTrailers to post the opening acts to their games for all to see before release. If they don’t care, why should I?
That’s something to think about.
I started doing something similar to this with Modern Warfare 2’s multiplayer component, but now I’ve decided to go all out with it. Instead of a single “review”, I’m going to do a series of mini reviews or “reports”. I think it’s a much better way to convey my thoughts on the game.
Battlefield: Bad Company 2’s multiplayer demo (or beta as DICE labelled it) convinced me to buy a retail copy. Team play was commonplace and people were working towards the objectives. In the real world, that is not the case at all. Snipers are rampant, people ignore objectives and if you’re not used to treating Conquest and Rush modes like glorified Team Deathmatch modes, you’re going to get shot down repeatedly.
My first two hours with the game were less than ideal. I died often, I was ambushed from everywhere and I was even spawn camped. It was not the first impression I wanted and if I didn’t know any better, I would have sold the game right then and there.
Hardware
- Nintendo DS - 613, 200
- Xbox 360 - 422, 000
- Wii - 397, 900
- PlayStation 3 - 360, 100
- PSP – 133, 400
- PlayStation 2 - 101, 900
Software
- 360 – BIOSHOCK 2 - 562, 900
- Wii – NEW SUPER MARIO BROS. WII - 555, 600
- 360 – CALL OF DUTY: MODERN WARFARE 2 - 314, 300
- Wii – JUST DANCE - 275, 400
- WII SPORTS RESORT - 272, 500
- PS3 - CALL OF DUTY: MODERN WARFARE 2 - 252, 800
- 360 – MASS EFFECT 2 - 246, 500
- PS3 – DANTE’S INFERNO: DIVINE EDITION - 242, 500
- 360 – DANTE’S INFERNO - 224, 700
- PS3 – HEAVY RAIN PS3 SONY - 219, 300
It’s Hakan. He is tanned. He enjoys using oil and hurting people. I’m so confused by Hakan, so I’ll let this video do the talking.
I really don’t know what to think of him. I’ll have to try him out for myself.
One of the few ways draw me towards a game is an impressive game engine. A great looking (and running) console game speaks volume about the game as whole.
4A Games’ Metro 2033 definitely has the tech behind it, but what about the game? It’s a first person shooter with survival horror, stealth and role playing elements. An ambitious array of elements to say the least.
It’s a post apocalyptic game where the people now live underground in the subway systems. It’s also based off a book of the same name. And did I mention it was made by Ukranians?
It’s such an interesting title for me and one that I will be “Power Trading” for tomorrow. Metro 2033 will debut March 16, 2010 for the Xbox 360 and PC.
Of course, I’m being sarcastic.
That’s a whole lot of people for a project. The results speak for themselves though. If you don’t want to be spoiled, I wouldn’t check out this awesome interview by GiantBomb’s Brad Shoemaker.
Oh, how sweet it is. One of the many reasons why I wanted a PlayStation 3.
God of War III debuts March 16, 2010