Please Don’t Go Marvel Vs. Capcom On Us

A new XCOM DLC? Great! Right? An announcement of this magnitude should be something I should be all excited about, and for the last week or so I actually was.

Keep in mind this all was going through while I tried to get my way through the "prequel" story that was The Bureau: XCOM Declassified. I could talk about that in more detail right now, but that will come in my eventual review. For now I will just say it is not the "betrayal" that Spoony claims it is, but it truly is no Enemy Unknown.

But getting back to Enemy Unknown. You all know my stance on it. The first announcement the night before MAGFest XI, the eventual wait for early October, the hours on end that I spent playing it. Beating the main campaign on both Normal and Classic difficulties. Going through it again several more times with the Slingshot missions, using my new Triad ally as the "chosen one" during the Temple Ship assault, and most recently, playing around with all the "Second Wave" mods. Even to this day I make sure to go back to playing Enemy Unknown whenever I get a chance.

Last week’s Gamescom event brought me the news I had been waiting for. The official expansion set, Enemy Within, was announced for a November 12th launch. From what I read about the expansion, I was ready to get another round of XCOM ready to go. The addition of both genetic and mech labs will allow me to alter my soldiers to either (or both) and take advantage of their special abilities, the quests to acquire the necessary "MELD" used to create these powers, and even face enemies that will be enhanced with the same abilities. The Mechtoid alone sounds like it would be a fun mess to deal with. Then of course there are the new maps available, including a return of the classic "farm" maps the 1994 classic did so well.

So yes, I was ready to say "shut up and take my money" and download the expansion when it comes out. But earlier today is when the bad news hit me.

Enemy Within will not be available on consoles as DLC. It will only be available in what will be released as the "Commander’s Edition," which includes Enemy Within, as well as the original game, the Elite Solider Pack, and the Slingshot expansion pack.

Why is Firaxis doing this? According to Joystiq, they are claiming that Enemy Within is too big and "if we wanted to deliver the same content to the console players, we had to do it this way as a standalone expansion on a disc. We couldn’t simply just patch it in." It was also mentioned that there were so many changes done to Enemy Unknown via the expansion that it "necessitated an entire re-issue of the game."

Does any of this sound familiar? Didn’t we go through this before with Marvel vs. Capcom 3? Release a first edition of the game at full price and then release ULTIMATE Marvel Vs. Capcom 3 at $40, without giving an opportunity to get the Ultimate part just as DLC (like what Super Street Fighter IV did with the Arcade Editions as well as the upcoming Ultra SF4?) The last thing I want to see if other companies, 2K included, follow into this greedy practice.

I’m sure I’m not the only XCOM fan who is not at all happy about this. And while some of you out there might cry "conspiracy theorist" about my views, consider that PC players will get their version of Enemy Within as DLC for $30. Why not provide a similar offer for console gamers as well? Allow a special bonus trade in credit for Enemy Unknown and offer the Commander’s Edition for $30 after the trade is complete. If you do this 2K, I might forgive you for this transgression, but in the meantime, consider yourselves warned!

Currently Playing: Madden 25, Saints Row IV (360)

Waiting For: NHL 14, GTA V (Heaven help you Rockstar if you fake claim this one as a PS3 exclusive!)