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Deadspace : a lesson in good game design

EA at its best?


So obviously as you can see from the previous post we here at Finish Them aren't the biggest fans of EA. I could go into further reasons why but I thought I'd talking about one thing EA did right, and why they need to keep doing this like this to help improve their image.
      The thing they did right? Making Deadspace. I don't mean the fact that they made the game, I mean the decisions they made in the design of Deadspace that resulted in perhaps the best survival horror game I've played in a long long time.

With great power...

So EA's got this new thing. Perhaps you've heard. Soon, in order to play their sports games online (as well as access downloadable content), you'll need to enter an access code that will come with the game. The CEO of EA, John Riccitiello, claims this is a "positive consumer experience", essentially because the consumer is getting more content they otherwise wouldn't get.

Personally, I wish these game companies would cut the crap. I've got a rant about downloadable content I'll save for another day, but as far as this goes, this is not an attempt to do something great for the consumer. It's an attempt to destroy the used game market, period. See, game companies get nothing off of used games. The theory is that anyone who buys a used game surely would have bought a brand new game if the used game wasn't there! Ignoring the problems with that idea, there are tons of potential problems with this business model. For starters, say goodbye to rentals! I know many people who have tried a game via rental or Gamefly and ended up buying them...I myself have. Not anymore, folks, because you won't be able to even try the online without paying extra! As for this extra content thing, the content would have been there anyway. There just would have been a fee specifically for it (as opposed to a fee for using the online at all). And there might still be; nothing guarantees the downloadable content will be free, simply available.

Plus, this is a slippery slope. Sure, NOW it's to use online for a sports game. What happens when it's online for every game? Then it's only a matter of time before you can't even play a game without a special access code included in the game. And what do you suppose happens when you have to replace your hard drive? Or how about when your system dies and needs to be replaced? You guys may have heard, that happens to the 360 every now and then. To which I suppose, they'll say you can tie it to your gamertag, but if you've ever tried to deal with X-Box downloadable content, it's shaky at best. And don't even think about borrowing a friends game. And hey, remember when you'd bring a game over to a friends house and play all night (and there's another rant for another time...)? No more!

These are serious problems. Companies are getting greedier. Don't get me wrong, it's always been about money to an extent, but it was also about the games. There are plenty of great games out there, but more and more we're seeing companies look for ways to take even more money from those who support them, figuring the bottom line of slightly increased short term revenue is more beneficial than a larger, more supportive customer base. That's sad to me, and to be honest, some of the practices coming into effect make me concerned for the future of video games. How long until games are only in the hands of the privileged few, rather than the masses? We've been seeing the signs for awhile. Games made for online (which require a high speed internet connection at the very least), $600 systems at launch, controllers that cost as much as a new game, very expensive downloadable content (I'm looking at you, Call of Duty). This is another step.

I digress, though. The bottom line is there are tons of problems with EA's new online system that are not being addressed. But hey, it's being done for the sake of the consumers, right? Give me a break.

3D Dot Game Heroes next week!

I'll let the video speak for iteself, but do not miss this game next week! Like most Atlus game it will probably be in short supply.