Micro transactions…downloadable content…updates…expansions…whatever you call it, the gaming industry is leveraging online marketplaces to sell additional gaming goodness for less than the cost of a whole new game via your local brick-and-mortar location.

Expansion packs are nothing new with this generation of gaming, however there are a number of factors that are making this a more feasible option for many console players. Right now all of the current generation systems have the ability to store content locally. The Wii uses flash ram. The Xbox 360 has an optional harddrive. Even if you choose to buy the Xbox 360 Arcade without a harddrive, you can add one on later. And all PS3s come with a harddrive. This means that each system has a place to store downloaded content.

Add to this our current economy and finding cost-effective ways to re-vitalize gameplay of your favorite title seems far more frugal than buying a whole new game at full-price which you may or may not enjoy as much. This is an important concept for parents. How many times have you heard a child (yours or another) beg for a game only to realize later that it was a total dissappointment. (Anyone my age remember E.T.: The Extra Terrestrial for the Atari VCS?) The fact is that if you know your child likes a game and you can add new levels to it or add another character which changes the gameplay experience, you get more fun for less than buying another game.

The industry is leveraging this more than ever even to the point that some games are created with the expectation that people will invest more in downloadable enhancements to the game than the original investment in the game itself. Look at the Rock Band and Guitar Hero franchises. Every week Microsoft, Nintendo, and Sony push the latest song packs for these titles through their online marketplaces. Granted, there is logic to extending the value of something you enjoy as long as the original game is worth its initial investment freestanding. My biggest concern is that at some point the industry may choose to release Rock Band 7 with only one demo song per each of 5 genres because they expect you to fully customize the experience. Yet, they will charge the full amount for the title.

Perhaps it’s the cynic in me.

Anyway, for now there are some real interesting options available for all three current generation platforms. Those who have the Xbox 360 who enjoy GTA IV (M-rated – not for the kiddies) are probably excited that Microsoft has secured an exclusive expansion which has an entire new story and characters using the original engine. Burnout Paradise (E10+rated) has offered a number of enhancements on the PS3 and 360 and many were free! And Little Big Planet (E-rated) for the PS3 has a number of costumes and levels available online.

However, LIttle Big Planet offers something which I hope to see more frequently. It presents the ability for the community to create their own content and share it free of charge. This is nothing new to the mod scene for PC games, but it has been much less common on the consoles. I hope that we see more games with this ability because it not only creates additional content with which to enjoy the game, but it opens provides a whole different form of entertainment through the creative process and, thus, offers a whole different type of “play.”

Enjoy!

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I enjoyed completing Star Wars: Force Unleashed for the PSP this week. It was quite a treat! Having said that, I wouldn’t consider it a game for the young ones.

I remember my parents previewing the original Star Wars (known now as “Episode IV: A New Hope”) back in the summer of 1977 to see if they thought that it would be appropriate fare for my brother (9) and me (11). Ironically, we were at home hiding under the covers because we had been watching the 1953 War of the Worlds. (Man, those aliens were creepy!) As it is, the PG rating seems overprotective for what most see these days. Yet, my parents wanted to be sure.

Fast-forward 31 years and we are looking at a videogame that has gotten a unique George Lucas seal of approval. This title is the official bridge between Episode III and Episode IV. Granted, depending on your choice at the final battle, you can experience either the canon or non-canon ending. But my real question as I was playing it was, “What would my parents have thought?” Honestly, this title is much darker than any of the original trilogy. Episode IV-VI feel much more innocent as they tell the story of Luke Skywalker. Whereas the newer trilogy (especially Episode II-III) have a much more sinister quality in that they document the tragic fall of his father Anakin.

But Force Unleashed tells the story of a boy who Darth Vader turns to the dark side of the Force after killing his father. Even the premise begins darker. As you play this character, you are responsible for slaying Jedi Knights and, in one level, you are expected to kill virtually everyone with whom you come in contact (enemies and allies alike) to eliminate surviving witnesses. Now don’t get me wrong – I really enjoyed the game. However, it is not the story that my parents would have taken my brother and me to see back in the Summer of 1977.

I have had a chance to play the demo for the PlayStation 3 and it is gorgeous. The PSP version is very impressive considering the capabilities of the handheld in comparison. I’ve seen the Xbox 360 version and it appears to be every bit as beautiful as the PS3 version and the Nintendo DS iteration seems to be on par with the PSP. I hear that the Wii takes advantage of the Wiimote for lightsaber control (how cool is that?!?!). I have never played a Star Wars game in which I felt more like a Jedi (or a Sith) than in this title. Sure, the camera can get a little squirrelly and the targeting is less than perfect. However, the immersive experience and the sense of awe that you will have at the power of the dark side is downright intoxicating.

Yet, I must say that the ESRB Teen rating for this is appropriate. This rating expects the player to be at least 13 years of age and considering the lack of respect for human life and the protagonist’s questionable ethical foundation, I would not necessarily want this anti-hero to be a role model for a young child. His actions could be perceived as too exhilarating when, in fact, they are driven by evil and manipulative purposes.

In classic Lucas form, the opportunity for redemption becomes available in the end. However, by that point, I question whether or not the player can be redeemed. I know that after 15 or so hours of playing this character and using the Force Choke and the Force Lightning (both non-Jedi Force powers), I don’t know to what extent I would want to cease using the power of the Force as an offensive tool.

All in all, it’s an excellent story that reveals some interesting information about the time that passes between the two trilogies. I would not recommend it for the younger children. But for the teens and older in your household, it is quite a ride. I also believe that this could provide an excellent discussion tool for ethical decisions for those middle schoolers and high schoolers in your family.

May the Force be with you.

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This week the ESRB has announced a new campaign (press release). They are partnering with the Parent Teacher Association to help parents within the community to recognize and utilize the rating system in order to identify appropriate game content for children. The initiative includes a booklet (view the electronic version) that will be distributed throughout the 26,000 PTAs nationwide.

We at Game Apparent always encourage families to look for the ESRB ratings on games before purchasing them. It’s a simple way to help parents filter media for which their children aren’t prepared. It’s good to see the ESRB engaging in proactive initiatives like this and the Game Search Widget (see the yellow box in the upper left corner of our main page).

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Check this out! The ESRB has released a slick little widget that allows you to quickly find ratings on any video game! How cool is that?   They’ve partnered with a company called Clearspring Technologies to provide the widget in all sorts of flavors.  You can email it to people and embed it in tons of different social networking sites.

We’ve added it to the far right of the site so take it for a spin and let us know what you think.

The press release can be found here if you want all the juicy details.

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Those of you who have been visiting our site for a while may remember my joy when I received the demo of the PSP God of War title last October. Well, as of yesterday, I finished the full version of the game and I really enjoyed it!

First – this title is rated “M” by the ESRB and it recommended for players 17+ years of age. (For more information about the ratings system, feel free to read our article or visit their site.) Having said this, you may find that it’s acceptable for your teen, but you need to make that call. It is a violent action-adventure title with some interesting puzzle elements. The title begins in ancient Greece amidst the backdrop of the Persian war, but takes you into the underworld and has you battling gorgons, cyclops, basilisks, and others (without giving too much away). It is gory, but appropriately for a Spartan fighting foes in this context. There is some occasional female nudity (some of the goddesses are bare-chested). But I found nothing in the game that seemed out-of-place considering the subject matter.

Having said that, this game is a blast! In fact, I found its references to particular figures of Greek mythology inspiration to crack open an old college textbook to re-read a few of the myths. The game developers have modified the stories slightly to include the protagonist as a factor in these events. Using these familiar characters and events as the setting for their story grants a familiarity to the experience without spoiling anything.

From a presentation point, God of War: Chains of Olympus does an extraordinary job of conveying a sense of immenseness that I wasn’t expecting from a handheld screen. In many ways, this experience is every bit as impressive as the original two God of War titles for the PlayStation2. However, the one area in which this game is not immense is its length. This is the only criticism that I have for the game. It took me less than 10 hours to complete the story. But don’t let this stop you from considering this game.

I would much rather have a short game that feels complete, well constructed, and provides a unique experience than a longer game that includes a number of redundant tasks and repeated environments. I cannot emphasize how impressive the environments are in this game. And the sense of wonder when you witness the titans in chains is practically disarming.

Two of my favorite games of the last decade are Ico and Beyond Good and Evil. They both were critically acclaimed titles that many thought were too short. I would gladly put Chains of Olympus in their company – short but sweet. And oh so sweet it was. In fact, I’ll probably play it again at a higher difficulty before I put it back in the case for a while.

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So you would think that with all the hub-bub about mature video games that they would have to be the largest percentage or rated games. Or at least a high percentage. Cause it would be strange if all this noise was for a minority of rated games…

Yeah, well not exactly. Kotaku brings us a note about the games that were rated in 07. Guess what percentage OF ALL GAMES did mature titles encompass? 7%. Wow.

Kotaku puts it thusly:

“For as violent a reputation as has been bestowed upon the video game industry, ‘M’ rated games only make a small percentage of their total numbers and, according to the ESRB, this small percentage is actually down 50% since 2005. Back then, 12% of titles were rated M. And in 2006, that figure was already down to 8%. In 2007, a year in which the ESRB rated 1,563 games, ‘M’ rated games only accounted for 6% of the titles.”

So the number of mature games has decreased in the last 2 years. Yet the number of goobers who keep making a big deal of mature rated titles are neglecting to mention the content of the other 94% of ESRB rated games. This includes T rated games, which sometimes can contain rather mature content….Hmm…

Picture respectfully stolen from Drunken Moneky’s Flickr stream.

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