I’ve been “following” the new Tomb Raider game to some extent, being a fan of the recent entries in the series and all. Out of pure carelessness and/or trust in the folks behind the series, I didn’t bother looking at any news or gameplay regarding “Guardian of Light”. Recently, a review of the game showed up in my youtube subscriptions box. It was a very positive review, but the reviewer mentioned that he never liked the series, and that Guardian of Light was nothing like previous entries. Lara Croft: Guardian of Light now sports an isometric perspective, and a larger focus on action. Now I don’t know what to think! On one hand, the Tomb Raider series is going more casual, which is great for people who don’t have as much gaming time as they once did (me). On the other hand, the signature gameplay of Tomb Raider is gone, bringing into question what makes Tomb Raider, well, Tomb Raider. Then it dawned upon me, this game is “Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light”. Tomb Raider is nowhere to be seen in the title! Clearly, this is a radical departure from Crystal Dynamics previous Lara games. I also noticed that Guardian of Light is being published by Square Enix. Square Enix?! They’re the Final Fantasy people! Wouldn’t a game become less action-oriented once an RPG publisher gets involved? It’s strange, strange industry.
But I have no problem with the gameplay changes in Guardian of Light. I don’t own Tomb Raider, I’m just a fan. Crystal Dynamics is free to do what they see fit with the series, even if it means introducing new characters, restructuring the gameplay, and possibly alienating longtime fans of the series. But I do have a problem with the way Guardian of Light is being sold, and it’s unforgivable; they’re abusing the medium. You know what I’m talking about, they’re taking the DLC marketing tool and using it to squeeze every digital penny out of gamers. Under regular circumstances, I love DLC; from map packs to complete expansion packs, DLC can improve the gaming experience. But there are exceptions, and Guardian of Light is one of them. Rather than releasing a full game and adding DLC that makes the game even better, they’re releasing a half-baked game and charging extra for a full-length product. It’s not like Guardian of Light is a mere demo with a price tag, but it isn’t exactly an Elder Scrolls game either. There is no excuse for releasing incomplete games; if a developer needs to meet a release date early, they should at least make a free patch with all the remaining pieces of the puzzle. Now, I’m not going to make the fool argument that “developers these days suck”, because this is not without precedent. Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic 2 was released incomplete, and it took a small homebrew team to create and update fixing the story. Yes, incomplete games have been an issue long before downloadable content went mainstream.
One game company that I would like to congratulate on quality is Insomniac, they don’t release a game until it’s perfect. I have never found a glitch in any of their titles, and Ratchet and Clank: Tools of Destruction (a launch title for the Playstation), hasn’t even had one patch. Is this because Insomniac is too lazy to fix the issues? No, RC: TOD was just a game that didn’t rush any stages of development. But so many other developers are using patches as an excuse to save money on beta-testing! I recently purchased the racing game “Burnout Paradise” for my Playstation 3, and was immediately greeted with fifteen patches. Yes, you read that right. There wasn’t anything incomplete about the gameplay, but EA decided to release the game before proper beta testing had been done, and relied on patches to clear up any issues in the code.
I could sit here and name-drop all day, and drift further and further away from the topic... I think I was talking about Lara Croft, I’m not sure. The point is, DLC is a great tool for developers to enhance an already great game. But DLC can easily be misused, as an excuse for publishers to rush out incomplete games with a full price tag. I guess that’s technology for you, if makes things easier for both consumers and content creators. While some may use the technology to enhance a product, others will use it to make their lives easier.
Will I buy Guardian of Light? Of course I will! Will I download the DLC? I very well might! As much as I am apposed to such misuse of the digital medium, I am still a gamer; I still appreciate a good game (even when my inner critic is telling me to object). I’m Natlinxz, and this has been my $0.02. Bye for now!
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