Downloadable Gaming Options Have Me By The Left Testicle
By jakob187 20 Comments
I caved, folks. I got Battlefield 1943 and A Kingdom for Keflings this week, as well as Demons of the Badlands for Red Faction: Guerrilla. How did all of this come to be? Well........
After buying a 4000 point card this week, I realized that I would be waiting until the 13th and the 19th in order to spend 2000 of those points. After all, how could I pass up Red Faction DLC and Shadow Complex? I've been holding off on Battlefield 1943 for two reasons:
- I didn't know if my boss was going to be buying the game for all the Xbox stations here at work or not
- I know how most people who play Battlefield actually PLAY Battlefield (insert plane ramming into singular player at the flag here)
Therefore, it was a tough choice. After perusing for at least a good three or four hours, I finally said "fuck it" and pushed that "Confirm Download" button. Without a doubt, I'm not disappointed by the game. It feels a lot like Bad Company in terms of controls, the updates to the three maps in the game give them a bit of freshness and increased strategic needs (since you can destroy the buildings and treelines), and it's a much more authentic style of BF game for the consoles. The fact that there are only three classes may piss some people off, but I have no issue with it. Having everything streamlined so I'm not sitting around forever trying to pick a class is nice, and all the weapons...dare I say it...feel much better than ANY of the previous BF games (aside from the pinpoint accuracy of amazingness that is an LMG-style gun on 2142). I've found myself akin to the Rifleman class more than anything, as the "iron sights" for the Infantry (short-range fully auto) class doesn't suit me well, and I'm a relatively shitty sniper, so Scout just isn't up my alley. The addition of Air Raids to the formula are a nice touch, as it gives you a strong reason to go for at least one of the bases on the map on a consistent basis. This ability will have you take control of three airplanes looking to drop a heavy load of mass destruction on some folks. The cooldown is so long on it that it doesn't make it overpowered. Nonetheless, I went 21/3 in one round of Wake because people were idiots and clumping up together. Overall, 1943 is totally worth the 1200 points, if not just for some easy achievements and an extra S rank.
Nonetheless, the frustrations of 1943 drove me out to the dashboard a few times, and the anger rising in me was reminding me why I quit playing BF2. I remembered someone saying that A Kingdom for Keflings was an incredible game for relaxing and getting rid of that anger, so I picked that up. Needless to say, that motherfucker was RIGHT! Talk about becoming the most peaceful dood on the planet!!! Within minutes, I had gone from "ZOMFG IDIOT TEAM IS IDIOTS" to "My building needs what? Whatever, man, I'ma go pound on these rocks and take 'em to the Stone Cutter". Very chilled out game. Watching the town grow was far more satisfying than most "God" games that I've played...if you can consider this a "God" game. Being able to play as myself was a nice touch also. If you're wondering what you do in the game, you build stuff for the Keflings. That's it. There's a simplified style of addiction that comes with the territory, and I found myself crawling off the Xbox around 6 in the morning. LOL If you're needing to vent some frustrations from all the noob tubers and assholes online, Keflings really hits the spot like a cold glass of tasty beverage on a hot summer day.
Now, we get to the creme-de-a-creme: Demons of the Badlands, the DLC add-on for Red Faction Guerrilla. I've been dying to play it, and now that I have, I feel a bit indifferent. This is some pretty thin DLC, as it is a prequel that plays out some many years before the events of Guerrilla. Be warned, there are ***SPOILERS*** ahead for anyone who has played the game. Then again, Demons of the Badlands itself is a spoiler, so eh. Anyways, in Guerrilla, you end up finding out that Samanya's sister, Vasha, is the leader of the Marauders. Well, this DLC puts you in the shoes of Samanya before the Red Faction started rising up against the EDF and trying to get rid of their tyranny. There are only three missions with span the course of maybe two hours maximum...if you keep dying. Otherwise, clock it down to about an hour. It basically shows that Samanya was a flat-out Marauder, but Vasha got bloodthirsty for revenge on the EDF and Red Faction, killing guilty and innocent folks. Samanya doesn't like it, so she ends up going to the Red Faction and Vasha all but disowns her. Frankly, this story could've played out over a MUCH larger scope, with at least 6 or 7 missions. Unfortunately, this 875MB add-on will have you scratching your head at what the Hell they used that 875MB for. Mariner Valley, the environment you explore, is a decent size, about as big as any given territory in the base game. Nonetheless, it's kind of boring to look at. The vehicles and weapons are pretty damn sweet, and they will have you begging for them in the base game. There are a handful of Marauder Actions (like Guerrilla Actions in the base game) for you to complete, but at least half of them are just Demolition Master missions and a couple of Transporter missions. There's a new walker that you don't really get to do much with outside of a mission and destroying a building (if you choose to get it and use it). Overall, when I look at the size of Battlefield 1943 (500+MB) and then look at this add-on, I just don't see where all the content is at. Does the GeoMod 2.0 engine use that much space?! I just don't get it!!! If you are an RFG die-hard, you'll want this for the ability to get 250 more achievement points as well as to see the narrow events of Samanya going to the Red Faction play out. Otherwise, I hate to say it...but you could spend 800 points somewhere else in a much more worthwhile manner.
Until next week, folks...
P.S. - No pictures in this blog this week, as I'm running a little behind on some things here and there. = / BIG WALL OF TEXT FTW!!!