For quite some time now, I've been wanting to talk about something that I personally think is a great addition to the video games I play: Downloadable content (DLC). Since DLC was first created for online purposes, it has become an ever-expanding medium by which developers have added content, continued with the game's story, and provided new perspective to gamers around the world.
Rock Band/Guitar Hero - Both of these music giants, in addition to lesser known title, have used DLC to keep players interested in their products long after gamers have played through all the songs on the disc. However, it should be noted that Rock Band is much more likely to release new songs in the form of DLC than Guitar Hero. Personally, I think this is the wiser option. Guitar Hero loses customers everyday because of the constant flow of 60$ titles that don't offer anything new other than more songs. With DLC, Rock Band can release more songs at a cheaper price in the time it takes Guitar Hero to make a full-retail game. DLC allows for greater freedom when choosing music you want to play.
Fallout 3/Fable 2 - Both of these games have released DLC that really has been of a "hit and miss" calibur. Both have continued the main story of the respective game in some way, shape, or form, but nothing that is worth paying more for. While adding more content, such as new places to discover, new items to get, and some story to play through, most of the DLC released for both games doesn't really contribute to the story and really feels like an afterthought to score some more profit rather than expand on the game universe. The rare exceptions are "Broken Steel" for Fallout 3 (which actually serves as an epilogue to the main story) and the brief glimpse into what will become Fable 3 in Fable 2's "See the Future". Still, it would be nice if developers spent more time on crafting calibur DLC rather than something that should have shipped with the game or should have just been given away for free.
GTA 4 - This games receives a category all it's own, thanks in part to Rockstar's excellent work on "Grand Theft Auto 4: The Lost and Damned" (L&D). Rather than an epilogue to the storyline, L&D served as a different perspective on Liberty City through the eyes of a different character. It added new weapons, new physics, and new characters, as well as weaving the story of the new protagonist (Badass biker Johnny Klebitz) with that of Niko Bellic. It wraps up some loose ends in the main story and really creates a cool feeling of serendipity to the entire Liberty City universe. Though it's not as good as the main story itself, it's still a GTA IV quality work with a 20$ price tag, and that is brilliant. It sold like hotcakes, and it proves that a tried and true formula of story not being outshined by gameplay still works for the intelligent developer.
DLC has become a standard in the online community, and should remain so. More and more developers now want to have DLC announced even before the actual game is out (i.e., Heavy Rain) and if they take their time and create a DLC of merit rather than just an afterthought based on more gameplay with no story, they should have a successful online run (even if the game isn't that good). With games like Shadow Complex and Splosion Man leading the charge on the arcade front, hopefully more and more people will start taking DLC a little more serious.
DLC is a way developers can continue making a game, which is great. That being said, I would have to say Fallout 3 is actually the prime example of great DLC and constant updating. No game has had 5 DLC packs that add new story content. Reviews for all of the DLC packs have been good too. Also, I wouldn't consider Lost & Damned and Ballad of Gay Tony DLC in the traditional sense. Rockstar almost makes an entirely new game when they make these games. This is why they can package both of them as one game which can be played by itself, without GTA4.
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