I Am Reborn (in a World without DLC!)

The Early Days

Since always, I made sure I only played my games in their most complete versions, with all Expansion packs. If a collection was available, I would try to get it all at once. So:

• X-Wing: with B-Wing and Imperial Pursuit;
• Privateer: with Righteous Fire;
• Wing Commander with the Secret Missions; and Wing Commander II with Special Operations;
• Baldur's Gate with Tales of the Sword Coast; and Baldur's Gate 2 with Throne of Bhaal.

The expansions were rarely as good as the original game, but they did add to the story of the universe I was playing in, and did not detract from the main experience.

So you understand why I almost never entered giveaways just for base games -- I wanted it all, the FULL experience, not half of it.

The Age of DLC

But then, around 2005 or so... "Expansion Packs" started to become "DLC"...

• Oblivion GOTY: I would call "Shivering Isles" a real expansion pack, and it had a couple of great scenes... "Knights of the Nine" was nice, but interfered with the main game (equipment that I ended up using for the rest of the game). Other addons felt to me like busywork (I do not even remember what "The Vile Lair" or "Mehrune's Gift" were about, why did I spend time with them?).
• Borderlands GOTY: again, the addons were barely ok, and also interfered with the main game progression (I hated "Underdome").
• Mass Effect: "Bring Down the Sky" -- really, what for?
• Fallout 3 GOTY: again, addons dragged the main story and gave me equipment which affected the main game.
• Dungeon Defenders: do I really need all of that stuff?

Fair enough, most of these are RPGs, which already have padding in form of sidequests that added little to the story... but the DLC just aggravated the problem. I am sure you folks can think of non-RPG games with similar problems, where that extra gun or equipment you get from the DLC totally alters the balance and makes the game worse as a whole.

A Turning Point

So a while ago I bought Mass Effect 2 "Digital Deluxe Edition" from Steam, only realizing later that it did not include all the DLC, and that I could not get it from Steam at all. I was disappointed, but decided to play it anyway this past April. And you know what -- what a great experience, very streamlined, very little grinding or busywork (shame about mining asteroids, but that's about it).

So I entered a giveaway for Dragon Age Origins, just the base game... I won it, and decided to play it this past month.... again, a great experience! It dragged a bit as it was, so I can only imagine that DLC would make the "dragging" effect even stronger.

So now I am a changed man! Base games, you are welcome! Tomb Raider, L.A. Noire, Max Payne 3, come to me, without DLC! I do not need an extra gun, nor an extra fetch quest, nor a companion pet for my first 20 levels! Give me shorter experiences, with no padding! With so many excellent games out there, do we really need an extra 10 hours of things which are lower quality than the main game, or even diminish it? Let me play the game the way the original designers planned it!

End of Long Winding Rant

So... If you actually read this whole wall... What do you think?