The Season Pass: Scam or Genuine offering?

When something seems too good to be true it usually is and I remain a firm believer in that statement.  The latest craze in regards to DLC is the Season Pass.  For those of you unfamiliar with this booming concept I’ll give you the low down real quick.  The DLC Season Pass gives gamers the opportunity to purchase a collection of DLC packs at a discounted price.  The content from the Season Pass will slowly disseminate down to the gamer over a period of time and is usually specified in the pass’s details.  To some this concept is a great idea and has the potential to save them money, but then you have the speculative and slightly pessimistic people like me who will provide an oppositional view on the topic.  This brings me to the question; is the Season Pass a scam or a genuine offering from publishers/developers?

When I first started hearing about these passes I believe it was around the time of L.A. Noire’s release and Rockstar was putting forth a pass that gave the players all of the DLC for around $10.  This included suits, weapons, and additional cases and at the time I felt like I had hit the jackpot.  Well I stopped playing L.A. Noire after a less than satisfactory ending and didn’t feel like returning to play the additional content I had paid for.  Before any of you get ahead of yourself, I know it was my decision to stop playing the game and I could have easily downloaded and completed the additional cases, I just didn’t want to, I was jaded.  With that being said my situation wasn’t an isolated case; I had quite a few colleagues and friends not finish the supplementary content either, but let’s move on.

Pack 4 - 1920s Pickup Trucks...WTF!!

One of my biggest issues with the Season Pass isn’t the price or even having to wait a long time to get the content, it is what you are actually getting in the pass.  The vague descriptions and generalities are very misleading and will piss off more than a few.  For instance the Forza 4 season pass gives you 6 car packs for $30 (saving around $12), but you don’t have a choice as to what you get.  Good or bad you already paid for it and Microsoft has your $30 bucks.  One way to rectify this glaring issue could be to have a variety of packs and users get to choose from a selection of content.  Granted this would cause the developer (in this case Turn 10) to generate more content and might negate the discounted price, but I find it only fair to offer a choice.

My next gripe is completely circumstantial, but I feel it is worthy of discourse and it is, are you actually going to still be playing a game 6 months or a year down the road?  A lot of gamers have extremely short attention spans and some even have the propensity to trade in games prematurely to cash in on a trade bonus.  So what is to stop a major publisher from cashing in on that psychology?  Nothing really, it is an ingenious way to make a profit.  So say Gamer “X” buys Gears of War 3, scores the season pass at retail (up to about $90 now) and beats it, might redeem one of those packs, gets sick of it and trades it in.  Microsoft just made bank off of Gamer “X”.  A lot of things need to fall perfectly into place for that to be a problem against season passes, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it has happened a few times already.  This leads me into my next paranoid theory about the season pass, next paragraph please.

It is blatantly obvious that video game publishers don’t like retailers like GameStop selling their products pre-owned and reaping a sizeable profit from it.  The same game could be traded in and bought used multiple times and the publisher is only going to see that profit once.  So my next speculation is that the season pass is being used as another device (sometimes in conjunction with an online pass) to recover lost funds from the sale of used games.  Think about it, remember Gamer “X”?  If that scenario happened enough times publishers would not be complaining at all because they are still seeing some of that sweet dough.  They could call it the Attention Deficit Recuperation Model (I should copyright that, oh well).  I am probably just being super paranoid, but that is how my mind operates and I wouldn’t be surprised if some executive at Activision or EA or even Microsoft had the same train of thought.

Four New Releases, One Low Price, Won't hit a release date guaranteed

This trend is not one that is likely to subside anytime soon.  I personally have zero impetus to buy into a season pass even if it can save me money.  I do purchase DLC, but I purchase content that I want, not content that has been consolidated haphazardly into a pass.  Now that I am done ranting about this tell us what you think.  Do you think the season pass is well natured or a devious plot to suck consumers wallets dry?  Sound off in the comments section and give us your two cents on the matter.  Stay tuned for more opinion pieces like this and as always you can follow us on Twitter @GamersAbstract and like us on Facebook for more content.

Downloading and Batman don’t play nice

I don’t think I am the first person to discover this, but I will share it regardless.  Before playing Batman: Arkham City I choose to run some downloads in the background as to multitask and also give me something to look forward to after my Batman session had concluded.  Not a bad idea right, thinking ahead and trying to stream line my day’s events.  Lets just say that I was wrong, but not knowing I was going to be wrong (strange feeling).  Every time one of my random Indie Games finished downloading a prompt would show up on screen in Arkham City saying that new DLC was discovered and would return me to the main menu (which confused the hell out of me).  This happened to me on a combat challenge map where I was about to get a 3 star score and completely screwed up my run.  I was pretty pissed to say the least.  I figured it was just an isolated glitch, so I returned to the combat challenges in an effort to replicate my performance from the previous run.  BOOM!  It happens again, now I am beyond perturbed because I had that 3 star run going and was about to KO the last enemy.

So the moral of the story is until Rocksteady patches this problem do not download anything in the background because it will bring you back to the main menu without a choice thinking it is DLC for Arkham City.  Learn from my woes and do not repeat the same mistake because it will drive you insane too.

I will try and investigate this problem more and I will post something on Twitter when said problem is fixed.  As always follow us on Twitter @GamersAbstract and like us on Facebook.  Stay tuned for more news and enter our Batman Giveaway for a chance to win Batman: Gotham Knight in digital form.

[Note: This is on the Xbox 360 version of the game, unaware if the same problem exists on PS3]

Mass Effect 2: Arrival DLC Review

This review is slightly overdue and I apologize for the wait.  I wasn’t able to actually play Arrival until today, but I finished it and here is what I think.  Beware there are some spoilers if you haven’t beaten Mass Effect 2.

Arrival is the last piece of DLC Bioware will be releasing for Mass Effect 2 and rightfully so.  Arrival adds that much needed explanation to how the Reapers were actually planning their invasion of Earth and the surrounding systems.

Admiral Hackett of the Alliance sends Shepard on a solo mission to rescue a captured operative in the Viper System, who has found proof of an imminent Reaper invasion (approximately 2 days away).  So Shepard must travel to the edge of Batarian space to rescue this operative (will keep name anonymous) and obtain the evidence needed to prevent the Reaper invasion.

This DLC is very action oriented, but doesn’t skimp on the story.  I’d say it is a 60/40 blend of action to story.  Mass Effect is usually more about story, but for this DLC it works well.  The details divulged about the Reapers though is very telling of what we have to expect in Mass Effect 3; which makes me want the game immediately.  Arrival only clocks in at about 90 minutes or so of gameplay, but for only $7 (560 MSP) you really can’t go wrong.

Overall Arrival is fitting swan song for Mass Effect 2 and will have everyone wanting ME 3 that much sooner.  So if you have put your copy of ME 2 down this is a good reason to pick it back up for a short romp to bridge this and ME 3.

I purchased the Mass Effect 2: Arrival DLC for 560 MSP ($7) on the Xbox Live Marketplace.  It took me approximately 90 minutes to complete.

Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit New DLC Review

The new DLC for Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit has been out for a couple of weeks now, but I haven’t been able to get some real face-time with it until recently; hence the delay.  There are three new packs for Hot Pursuit and they are Porsche Unleashed, Lamborghini Untamed, and Arms Race/Most Wanted.

Porsche Unleashed

• This pack contains 5 new SCPD missions and 5 new Racer missions to complete.
• It contains 3 new vehicles, which include the 1982 Porsche 911 Turbo, the 1988 Porsche 959, and the 2011 Porsche 911 Speedster.  No new hyper class vehicles which was kind of disappointing, but all the cars are fun to drive nonetheless.  If I had to choose a favorite vehicle from this pack it would be the Porsche 959, because it really blends graceful handling with great speed.  This is something Porsche is really well known for and translates well into Hot Pursuit.
• The pack is 560 MSP ($6) and can be purchased through the Add-on blade on the Xbox Dashboard or purchased through the NFS Store in game.

Lamborghini Untamed

• This pack contains 5 new SCPD missions and 5 new Racer missions to complete.
• It contains 3 new vehicles, which include the Lamborghini Countach, Lamborghini Diablo SV, and the Lamborghini Sesto Element.  Just like the Porsche pack there are no new hyper class vehicles added to the line up, but I had more fun driving the new Lamborghini models.  Pound for pound they just seemed to handle better than the new Porsche models.  My favorite vehicle from this pack was definitely the Countach.  The Countach was a defining model for Lamborghini and its futuristic look and performance really made it stand out amongst the other vehicles in its class.
• The pack is 560 MSP ($6) and can be purchased through the Add-on blade on the Xbox Dashboard or purchased through the NFS Store in game.

Arms Race/Most Wanted

• Arms Race and Most Wanted are both new online only modes for Hot Pursuit.
• These descriptions will only make sense to those who have played Hot Pursuit, so I apologize in advance (you shouldn’t be reading this if you don’t have the game anyways, but I digress)
• Arms Race is a bizarre blend of the traditional Hot Pursuit mode and the conventional race mode.  In this game variant you are in a race to the finish with up to 7 other opponents and have access to all Racer weapons (EMP, Jammer, spikes, and turbo).  You are also dodging obstacles that are being thrown in from this Omni-present police force that puts up roadblocks and sends in Helicopters.  Arms Race isn’t really a blast to play and a race can end for you really quickly if you are not careful.  I didn’t enjoy but you might dig it so check it out regardless.
• Most Wanted on the other hand is a blast to play.  For those of you familiar with Hot Pursuit have played an Interceptor mission or two (or 20).  Most Wanted for all intensive purposes is team Interceptor.  The only difference is one person on the Racer Team is labeled as the “Most Wanted” and the race will end if they are taken down.  It is up to your teammates to protect the Most Wanted racer from the police and allow the MW racer to escape.  If they are able to escape the whole team wins and is rewarded with some bounty.  These races can either be really long or end really quickly, but regardless of the length they are enjoyable because it is completely un-linear.  You choose your destination and how you get there and that is what will keep this mode fresh for months to come.
• Arms Race and Most Wanted come together in a single package and is available for 560 MSP ($6) and can be purchased through the Add-on blade on the Xbox Dashboard or can be purchased through the NFS Store in game.

Different kind of Arms Race

Closing Comments:

The new Hot Pursuit DLC is a welcomed addition to an already solid game, but I would have liked to see more for the money and a raise in the level cap.  For those of us who have already destroyed the game are gaining nothing from the additional bounty received from the add-ons and it is pretty aggravating.  Most Wanted is a blast to play, but Arms Race leaves something to be desired and the 20 new missions between the Porsche and Lamborghini packs serve as an adequate distraction from reality for a couple of hours.  I hope they continue to support this game with new DLC, but the upcoming packs really need to bring something completely original to the table (like being able to pilot a helicopter, how fucking sweet would that be).  Anyways I hoped this equipped you with enough information on these add-ons to make an informed purchase decision and for my plug follow me on Twitter @gamersabstact and Facebook to see me blab about random video game related things.

I purchased the Porsche Unleashed, Lamborghini Untamed, and Arms Race/Most Wanted add-ons for a grand total of 1680 MSP ($21).  I invested about 10 hours cumulatively into all new add-ons.

Mass Effect 2 Arrival has arrived

Mass Effect 2 has had some of the best DLC to hit consoles ever and today marks the last piece of DLC that will be offered for ME2.  “Arrival” is the last DLC pack and will surely tie up any loose ends before Mass Effect 3 and will serve a perfect swan song for an incredible title.  I will be getting Arrival today, but I will not have a review/impressions up until the weekend.  So stay tuned for more coverage on Mass Effect 2 Arrival.