Paid DLC: Service or a Scam?
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Well, if you ask a company like Bioware, DLC is good for both developer and consumer. For Bioware, it's an opportunity to leverage its hit franchises; for gamers, it's an opportunity to extend their immersion in worlds to which they've become extremely attached. Bioware's taken an interesting approach when it comes to add-on content, doing different things depending on the title. For instance, rather than creating a full-on expansion for Mass Effect 2 as they did for Dragon Age with Dragon Age: Awakening, they created the fictional Cerberus Network, wherein gamers so far have gotten free access to new missions, a new squad member, a new weapon and new armor. They even threw in a vehicle you can drive in missions designed just for it. Given this, the company's strategy to now ask gamers to pay $7 for one hour's worth of DLC Kasumi: Stolen Memory is pretty gutsy, and also begs the question is it worth it?
Kasumi: Stolen Memory tells the story of master thief, Kasumi Goto, a mysterious woman bent on avenging her dead partner who was murdered by big time criminal, Donovan Hock. Through the shadowy Cerberus organization, Kasumi teams up with Commander Shepard in order to pull off a heist that plays like a James Bond movie, complete with formal dress, a fancy party, and plenty of opportunity to gun down thuggish henchmen. True, Kasumi: Stolen Memory offers only a single hour of additional gameplay, but it also gives Mass Effect fans the opportunity to revisit what is, without question, an amazing game. It also provides further insight into the Mass Effect world and allows us to get acquainted with yet another compelling Mass Effect character. But is a single new character and a single new setting worth the $7 price tag? Ultimately, the answer to that question varies depending on the gamer, which brings us again full circle to whether or not DLC is good for both gamer and developer.
