Game of the Year editions are a necessary evil when studios need one final cash grab after the last piece of downloadable content is squeaked out onto Live or the Playstation Network. They're the type of tool that whittles away on your bank account while providing a more immersive experience, or just a shiny new toy to show off in Multiplayer provided your teammates have the same DLC (which led to hilariously awkward moments in "Red Dead Redemption.")
So let's take a look at the latest additon to the GOTY world and see how they stack up now than if you were an early adopter.
"Dead Island"
Original retail $59.99
Current used: $29.99
Total DLC released: Ryder White Mission (800 MS Points/$10) and Bloodbath Arena (800 MS Points/$10)
Total original cost: $79.99
Game of the Year cost: $29.99
Announced earlier today and nearly nine months since it originally dropped, "Dead Island" became a cultural talking point due to its trailer that got the folks at Techland and Deep Silver so much attention a movie development deal followed.
The game worked through a lot of interesting concepts: weapons that'd need to be repaired over times, RPG skill trees, choosing when to run from zombies or when to kick them through walls. But as folks leveled up, the fun seemed to bleed from their joyless pseudo-corpses and it turned into just another zombie game albeit a first-person one.
For the cost, it's perfect to catch up on since it'll bring life back to the multiplayer for the Bloodbath Arena missions.
"Batman: Arkham City"
Original retail: $59.99 (Standard version)
Current used: $38.35-49.99
Total DLC released: Skins package (400 MS Points/$4), Robin Bundle (560 MS Points/$7), Nightwing Bundle (560 MS Points/$7), Catwoman Bundle (800 MS points/$10)**, Challenge Map (240 MS Points/$3), Harley Quinn's Revenge Bundle* (Price TBD).
Total Original Cost: $80.99-90.99**
Game of the Year retail: $49.99
*Harley Quinn's Revenge DLC, included with the Game of the Year edition, has yet to be priced for individual resale. So the cost could change.
**If purchased used to second hand, Catwoman was only accessable through DLC.
If the busiest cover in the world can't sell you on how great "Arkham City" is, maybe the fact that it's the best Batman game since "Arkham Asylum" could. From Challenge Rooms to pouring over every nook and cranny in Gotham to find a damned green question mark, "Arkham" is worthy of a GOTY title. It also did everything it could to milk us for cash, as it offered Catwoman as first-day DLC in case you were playing a used copy of the game and cut off nearly a third of the overall story. Again, the GOTY price is worth holding out over when most of the added content, like the Robin and Nightwing bundles, weren't accessible in the Story Mode.
"Fallout 3"
Original Retail: $59.99
Current Used: $17.99
Total DLC Released: Operation: Anchorage, The Pitt, Point Lookout, Mothership Zeta, Broken Steel (800 MS Points/$10 each)
Total Original Cost: $109.99
Game of the Year Cost: $19.99
Perhaps the most thanfkul for time is the "Fallout 3: Game of the Year," which has dropped so much in price over the last three years that it's almost silly not to buy it. Still, "Fallout 3" became one of the first RPGs that reveled in the staggering ammount of DLC it could bring out to people. Not that it's a surprise coming from Bethesda, who gave us the infamous Horse Armor DLC for "Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion."
But for the sheer amount of content "Fallout" boasted, it seems like a deal. Three years later, it's a great deal! Back in 2009, not at all. You were better off twidling your thumbs and practicing "Guitar Hero," when that bled folks out faster due to DLC tracks. And you know where that got us?
No where. But today, for the amount of content packed into something that's cheaper than all the content in Max Payne 3's DLC? An awesome deal.
"Red Dead Redemption"
Original Retail: $59.99
Current Used: $24.99
Total DLC released: Legends and Killers (800 MS points/$10), Golden Guns Weapon Pack (80 MS Points/$1.00),Undead Nightmare (800 Points/$10), Liars and Cheats Pack (800 Points/$10), Myths and Mavericks (Free), Hunting and Trading (Free), Outlaws to the End Co-Op Mission Pack (Free).T
Total Original Cost: $81.99
Game of the Year retail: $29.99
The Game of the year edition for "Red Dead Redemption" featured three games for the price of one: the narrative plot of "Red Dead," a multiplayer that could suck up time and one of the more interesting zombie add-ons from 2010.
"L.A. Noire"
Original Retail:$59.99
Current Used: $17.99
Total DLC Released: Four Cases (320 MS Points per/$4.00),The Consul's Case-PS3 Exclusive ($3.99), Sharpshooter Detective Suit (80 MS points/$1.00), Chicago Piano (free), Broderick Detective Suit (80 MS Points/$1.00), Badge Persuit Challenge/Button Man Suit (160 MS points/$2.00) or The Rockstar Pass* (960 MS Points/$8.16)
Complete Cost: $79.99 (360), $83.99 (PS3) or $68.15*
Complete Version Retail: $29.99
Technically not a "GOTY," but a "Complete Version," the police procedual that owed more to "Mad Men" that "Grand Theft Auto" in the previous Rockstar release line-up. An acquired taste if there ever was one, because "Noire" was the first game to use Rockstar's DLC Pass that's currently being used with current titles.
The fact "Max Payne 3" has a Rockstar Pass going for 2400 Microsoft Points ($30.00!) means that the complete game will cost somewhere between $80.99 and triple digits if you buy it and the Pass now. But there's no clue what'll show up next for "Payne," as the only DLC is a free gorilla mask for Multiplayer. Still, at the savings of $50.00, waiting for the Complete/-OTY editions for titles that are increasingly using DLC for content and sales insenitive, it almost doesn't pay to buy games on day one or pre-ordering.