Seriously, BioWare?

Last night I was in the process of writing a huge blog about this, but had life interrupt my little rant. Let me start by saying I love Mass Effect. If Mass Effect were a woman, I would fight a bear riding a shark wielding a chainsaw to be with her; I love her that damn much. With that said, I have some real beef with BioWare’s decision on the leaked DLC. Which is spoilery and I won’t say what it is — specifically. The gist is that a character/ squadmate which plays a HUGE part in the Mass Effect universe is DLC in the Collector’s Edition or $10 bucks for anyone buying the standard edition. 

While I could write out a huge diatribe about it, the above video does a much better level headed approach of getting the same sentiment out. I’m all for DLC when done right. Adding content to a game you love and extending the universe you love to play in is a great thing. Back in the day it went by another name; an expansion pack. Granted we didn’t have the joys of broadband to be able to deliver all that content, so we had to get off our ass and trudge down to the store to get our game on - but the basic premise was the same. Expansion packs are a concept that BioWare is more than familiar with; what with such great expansions as Tales of the Sword Coast for Baldur’s Gate and Throne of Bhaal for Baldur’s Gate II — BioWare knows what a hefty expansion pack or DLC can and should be. The fantastic Lair of the Shadow Broker for Mass Effect 2 being a fine example of a DLC done right!

Removing or selling separately content that for all intents and purposes completes a game is not. Will I buy it? Begrudgingly yes, and I hate myself for it. It’s the price I pay for being a fan of the series, but no gamer should have to pay for a complete product that isn’t really complete. Boo-urns to this move BioWare.