Considering the horsearmor controversies of old, it’s fascinating to see how normalized downloadable content and microtransactions in games have become. It’s hard to name a single AAA release this year that launched without a ‘Season Pass’ of postrelease content and like anything, there are companies that handle these things well and companies that don’t.
It’s easy to imagine developers taking the lazier approach when it comes to developing content for a game after its launch and that’s why it’s worth highlighting and recognizes those that do DLC right. Those who don’t approaching DLC with the sole goal of making more money but see it as a chance to improve and expand on an already great game[divider] [/divider]
The two expansions saw players take control of Duad and experience the other side of the story they played in the main campaign, learning more about the titular assassin in the process. Arkane were careful to ensure the DLC content here met the same level of quality players found in the main campaign and it shows through the writing, visual, sound and level design. It’s one of those rare cases where a PR person promised more of what fans loved about the core game and the developers delivered precisely that.[divider] [/divider]
Outside of Broken Steel, w hich directly continued the story of the main game, the
expansions for Fallout 3 made the most of their modularity. They branched out and explored locations and aspects of Fallout setting that exist outside the game’s selfserious main narrative such as the hellish Pittsburgh or the Lovecraftinspired Point Lookout.[divider] [/divider]
Thus far, their solution seems to be wellreceived. The paid DLC for R ocket League is largely cosmetic whilst the free updates tend to contain more gameplayrelevant things like adding new maps and ‘mutator’ functionality to the game. Psyonix’s strategy of lifting new cars from other properties like Back to the Future and Halo to be a winningone and it’ll be interested to see what other cars hit the field in 2016.[divider] [/divider]
When it came to DLC, Bioware listened to their fans expanding the main story experience in major ways, addressing concerns about the game’s ending and adding bucket loads of free content to its multiplayer mode. There’s so much to dig into here that it still makes me mad that EA haven’t bundled together all the DLC into a proper combined edition for fans.[divider] [/divider]
Arrowhead pumped out DLC expansions for the game themed around everything from the Vietnam War to Star Trek. Their widereaching approach to postrelease content provided something for everyone, and never for more than a few dollars apiece.[divider] [/divider]
While plenty of games do skinpacks, Volition really outdid themselves with Saints Row IV. Alongside new weapons, characters and vehicles, they even added new powers. Even the standalone expansion G at Out Of Hell feels like a significant addition to an already pretty expansive title though the writing isn’t quite a sharp as that of the main game.[divider] [/divider]
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Borderlands 2 was a hit for me, destiny until the taken king was great.