Games that should be free

Features

August 3, 2014

There are games out there that are awesome to play, have great content, great visuals, and are great value for money.

Then you have games that should be free – they are not, but they should be.

If we look at free-to-play titles, they are free to download and play, but if you want to customise your look; get guns, maps, or new characters; and sometimes progress further, you need to cough up some cash.

I think this model should be applied to the following titles.

Every Call of Duty since Modern Warfare

There is no doubt that Call of Duty is one fat cash cow, with the publishers making millions each year from DLC alone.

Why not make the base title free to play, and then reap the rewards as more gamers queue up to buy Snoop Dogg voice packs?

The latest title in the series, Ghosts, had the usual gameplay and maps, but added some nifty extras through DLC – such as an Xmas gun, a space suit, the Dogg, and much more.

I would buy all this DLC if I had not spent R899 on the actual game.

Borderlands 2

The original Borderlands was a great game that had simple, yet rewarding DLC packs. Then came Borderlands 2 and the DLC mammoth of ridiculousness.

You could spend a fortune on level cap increases, minor story add-ons, festive head sets, and even more level caps.

All the DLC felt flat and extremely small for the prices they were sold at, and I asked myself why I should be spending money on this at all. Maybe if the game was not sold at full retail price it would not be so bad.

As a heads up, expect the same in Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel – they will milk you dry after you have bought the title.

Dynasty Warriors

As often as the sun rises, DLC for Dynasty Warriors goes on sale. Out of all the games on the list, this must have the most DLC by far.

Dynasty Warriors takes add-ons to a whole new level, a level where the game should become free and the title’s financial success can rest on people paying for additional content.

Train Simulator 2014

While chatting to friends about this list they told me I have to include Train Simulator. After a bit of research I found out why – the PC version of the game has R30,000 worth of DLC listed for it.

Keep in mind that this game is not free-to-play, and to make matters worse it is the same DLC that was available in Train Simulator 2013.

This game is just downright greedy, and all this time I thought train people were a nice bunch.