Pokemon Sword and Shield Expansion, The Crown Tundra: Trading one grind for another.

Though I wasn't expecting the Sword and Shield Expansion Passes to fix the main issues I had with Sword and Shield, it has become clear in hindsight they've chosen to double down problems that feel like they've been plaguing Pokemon since Generation 6. While Isle of Armor was ok for what it was, it didn't make me excited for the second half of the Expansion Pass, the Crown Tundra. 

Pokemon Sword and Shield Expansion, Isle of Armor: How is SwSh 6 months later?

What was intended to be a short, simple review of a pretty short expansion turned out to be something a lot longer then I thought. Maybe I have been playing the series for too long... Well, before Min Min joins Smash and gives me another excuse to dump even more time into Smash's Spirits Mode (not that it needed more reasons to be the game I've put the most amount of time into on my Switch)

Splatoon 2 Octo Expansion: So that's what happened to that escaped Octoling...

When Marissa and I did that whole Human Reseach Lab joke from the Splatoon 2 review, I threw in the escaped Octoling thing as a joke cause I wasn't sure if we'd be able to bring it back for a Splatoon 3 review. I genuinely had no idea the expansion was happening, the review was only a few weeks after the game launched after all! But I'll take any chance at a joke I can get.

Alongside the tons of free updates the game has gotten, adding in new weapons, gear, stages and songs, it was surprising to see paid Splatoon 2 post-launch content to be considered at all, let alone an expansion based around something that Data Miners have been able to find in the games since Splatoon 1. However, here we are with the Splatoon 2 Octo Expansion, a roughly $30 addon for Splatoon 2 that adds playable Octolings, along with a bunch of Octo themed gear... oh and those roughly 80 extra levels. Shall we see how the expansion holds up?

 So does this mean Splatoon 8 will come out in 2028 or 2088?

DLC over Micro Transactions

So why do I hate Micro Transactions but like DLC? while I have explained my impressions on Micro Transactions in my post on iOS and Android games, I didn't cover DLC and here's why.

Downloadable content in games to me is a good thing... if done right. Costume packs: depends on the costumes within them that makes me want to purchase them. Added maps: Sure. Extra plot: YES PLEASE (but that depends on the game), but the one time I HATE DLC is if the developers have purposefully withheld content in the game just to have DLC, even if the content is still on the disk. I was at a JB-HiFi today and I saw a pamphlet for Call of Duty: Ghost's season pass, with 4 different DLC packs inside. Ghosts came out in November (exact date depends on system and country) and for there to be 4 different DLC's for the game tells me that they held back content for the game before releasing it (which is another reason why I hate the franchise (rant for another day)). If the content adds aspects to the game and is released after a decent duration of time has elapsed (like Harley Quinn's Revenge for Batman Arkham City), then I might pay for it. THOSE 4 PACKS SHOULD HAVE BEEN INCLUDED IN THE F*&!^$@ DISK!!! At the same time though, I want developers prioritize aspects of their projects, DLC should be a last aspect when the game is finished. WHY DID SONIC '06 GET DLC BUT WASN'T PATCHED?!?!?!

So what makes DLC better then Micro Transactions? There isn't anything forcing you to buy the DLC. Even if the reviews are good, the only one who can decide getting DLC is you. For Micro Transactions, to me it always feels like the developers are gently encouraging you to put money into this. "What's this, you want to keep playing for another 3 hours? Give us a bit of money and you can." "This character costs 2,000,000 points to unlock? Pay $2.50 and use them now". It really pisses me off to no end.