This is good.
After that came COD: World at War, which apparently forgot about the whole "breaking from WW2" thing and promptly returned to it, albeit with much more grit and gore than any of the previous entries. World at War also introduced the Nazi Zombies game mode, an incredibly creative and original addition which soon became the only reason anybody bothered to play World at War. Treyarch quickly realized the power of their Nazi Zombies mode and proceeded to whore out 3 DLC packs in rapid succession, each of them featuring another Zombies map. World at War was released in 2008, 1 year after COD 4, and sold for $60. The DLC packs sold for $15 each, bringing the total up to $105 for anybody wanting the "full experience."
This is good too.
COD: Modern Warfare 2 released in 2009, and it was at this point that Infinity Ward slowly began to lose their grip on reality. MW2 featured one of the most convoluted batshit storylines ever conceived in a videogame, and decided to drop the concept of reality in exchange for trying to cram as much extra crap as possible into the game. They apparently didn't cram enough, as they soon released 2 more DLC packs, bringing the "full package" to $90. Unfortunately, Modern Warfare 2 didn't possess Nazi Zombies, as that was Treyarch's territory, so they couldn't whore out quite as many DLC packs.
This is - wait, what are you doing? Stop that!
COD: Black Ops released in 2010 for the standard $60. As Black Ops was developed by Treyarch, the game featured Nazi Zombies. Treyarch released 4 DLC packs in rapid succession, bringing the full package to $120 dollars. Personally, I gave up playing Black Ops after awhile because I couldn't afford to keep up with all the DLC. When I finally managed to buy one of the packs, a new one was announced the very next day. My friends bought it shortly thereafter and I was left in the dark.
Stop it! Quit stealing my friends! Damnit, no!
Who's noticing a pattern? The Call of Duty franchise is much more than a series of games. It's a behemoth, a leviathanic monstrosity leaving nothing but destruction and unspeakable horrors in its wake. The money-sucking entities that are Infinity Ward and Treyarch have collectively released 5 games in the last 5 years, pimping out their wares to the poor bastards dumb enough to buy them and doing their best to drive the gaming industry as a whole into the dirt. Infinity Ward hasn't leeched out quite as much money because they don't have the appeal of Nazi Zombies. Treyarch does, and those people are soulless. Their abusive DLC makes it nearly impossible for the average gamer to stay up to date with the games. In addition to all of this, Call of Duty is one of the least innovative franchises in the history of ever. The only game mechanic they've added since COD 4 is the ability to dive, and they didn't do that until Black Ops...which was 3 games later. No change in the game engine, or gameplay, or formula, or...anything.
You twisted bastards...is nothing sacred?!
The effects of all this cannot be overstated. Batman: Arkham City comes with a similar hook designed to maximize profit. The narrative of Arkham City includes several segments where the player takes the role of Catwoman. While they aren't vital to the narrative, they're pretty important to a game as story driven as Arkham City. However, the Catwoman segments are only available as DLC. You can either get a code for the DLC by purchasing the game new, or you can shell out $10 for a copy online if you get the game used. The creators of Arkham City also released a DLC immediately after the game's debut. The only thing featured in this DLC was the ability to play as Nightwing, which is...a bit underwhelming. Admittedly, Arkham City is possibly one of the best games I've ever played, but keeping the Catwoman storyline as a separate DLC was a dick move.
The point is, COD is setting an example that is both extremely profitable and completely lacking in morals or the whole "caring for the consumer" thing, which sounds a lot like the cesspool we know as Hollywood. While this hasn't affected every single game studio (studios such as Epic Games, Bungie and Valve are prime examples of being badass with their customers), it's still a disturbing trend.
Because of this, I will not buy Modern Warfare 3, or the subsequent Call of Duty that will undoubtedly release next year. I consider Treyarch and Infinity Ward to be evil studios with no consideration for the fact that many of their consumers are feeling the financial pressure of our shitty economy and maybe can't afford all this random crap. Call of Duty is also a horrible franchise that has never heard of innovation, change, or really doing anything different or creative or good at all. Unfortunately, I can't blame either of the studios for wanting to maximize their profit, but I'm doing it anyway.
I awoke on November 8, stretched my arms, and opened the door to a beautiful new day. I went to school, yet something was different. Instead of the kids being open in class like usual, most people were huddled in little groups whispering. Curiosity got the best of me, so I forced myself to listen in on the groups. Every person was talking about Modern Warfare 3. This pissed me off beyond everything that happened this year. Not only had I wasted my life on those games, this one was likely to be the exact as the previous games that came before it, as the creativity died after World at War was released. Frustrated, I went home upset at the world. How can people be so blind? However, what awaited me as I walked in drove me mad. My father, who I believe is generally intelligent, was playing Modern Warfare 3. Upon inspection, I noticed nothing new about the game. The graphics were practically identical, just shinier. Yet my dad was enticed by the story, drawn in by the countless enemies he encountered. Like an extraordinary book, he could not pull his eyes from it. He finally handed me the remote and requested I play multiplayer, because he wanted to see the difference from the last game. Guess what? It turned out to be the same as Modern Warfare 2. I am not going to deny it, but I was caught up in these games. Modern Warfare 2 was appealing for a while because I never paid attention to what I was actually playing. All these game companies are trying to accomplish is a quick way to earn money by producing the SAME GAME.
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