14/06/2024
Decisions like this are a big part of why Helldivers 2 is one of the best live service games ever made, and just in general, one of the best video games ever made.
In a recent Major Order, Helldivers were given a choice to either save a planet which would yield a new anti-tank mine turret stratagem (which are things like weapons, mechs, orbital strikes, "eagle" jet strikes, etc.) that would be added to the ongoing list of "toys" players have to use. It's also a stratagem that Helldivers have failed at receiving after two failed Major Orders regarding said stratagem.
The other choice: to save children, and faculty, trapped in a Children's Hospital, with no known reward, other than saving virtual children.
At least players, like myself, thought that was the case. But, after fulfilling the Major Order of saving the children with flying colors, the developers at Arrowhead literally donated a very specific amount of money to a real Children's donation, making the in-game choses we made effect real-life children.
How many companies do s**t this cool? And how incentivizing is it to play a game that can sometimes lead to real-world actions?
Why doesn't Microsoft/Activision do this with their s**t Call of Duty series? Seriously gamers: if ya' still keep buying each installment from this series that's been dead for nearly a decade (or, at the very least, over five years): I'm afraid there might not be many brain cells left in that brain of yours.
So sorry COD fans, just speaking the truth. It's a dying franchise, with over 27 games already, horrific SBMM (skill based match making. Which essentially makes players feel a false sense of security, knowing that Kill/Death ratio is top-notch, right fellas? The ones that say "You just do the same thing over and over" in Helldivers 2? Ya' reall'y want to say that when, in COD, players don't even engage in objectives 'cause that kill/death ratio is all that matters? And Helldivers 2 is supposedly the repetitive one? Seriously? Oh, I forgot…the lack of brain cells…my bad!), insane MACRO-transactions (NOT micro-transactions), timed and temporary Battle Passes/Season Passes and other items, often using god-awful crossovers like Fortnite, found in the store? Enjoying that 90$ Donkey Punch thing or whatever? Who fu***ng buys an in-game weapon for more than the price of the goddamn game for god's sake?!
Then there's Helldivers 2: where the only money spent on the game is 40$. Yet it does have micro-transactions; it's possibly the only game that actually does them properly, and is truly a "MICRO" transaction.
For one thing, the currency that can be paid for with real money can easily be found just by playing the game. I have every war bond that has been released since the launch of the game, but haven't paid a penny for any of them. I, quite easily, accrued the 1K "super credits" needed for each one well before each war bond was even released.
Also, yes, there is a store as well…that also contains timed items. However, there's literally only four items per "refresh", and the store will add new content, then recycle through previous items, making it so the FOMO that drives people to play games like COD is entirely absent, as is the need for ever actually paying for anything since all war bonds are permanent.
So a person can join at anytime and take their dear-sweet-time with the game. Instead of playing it like it's a fu***ng job…that YOU pay for instead.
And with the most recent patch that has truly saved the game for a LOT of players, along with the best war bond the game currently has: now is a fantastic time to play Helldivers 2 for those who haven't. It truly feels like a AAA game, but made by a studio of only around 100 employees—not all developers—with a much smaller budget than a typical AAA game. Compare that to, oh let's say, Microsoft/Activision/Treyarch/Infinity Ward's Call of Duty games, which have 3K-4K developers, and generally exceed 100's of millions of dollars for each game, released yearly, so support and longevity for each installment is about the duration of a year.
And although there was a 40% decline in sales between Modern Warfare II (Roman Numeral II; not the original Modern Warfare 2, which was possibly the last great COD game. Aside from, perhaps, Black Ops III) and Modern Warfare III (which, little known fact to those that don't already know: Modern Warfare III was originally going to be DLC for Modern Warfare II. But the geniuses at the top decided to f**k over consumers by wrapping it up in its own little package—much like what most COD-players have…—and, instead of adding fresh, free content to their already existing game: chose to release it as an entirely new entry, complete with a 70$ price-tag. Great work, fellas!): there are still a lot of moronic gamers out there (apologies to those that are reading this that are one of said gamers, but I have to call a spade a spade when purchasing the same goddamn s**t yearly, instead of showing Activision to make better products by, ya' know…resisting the urge to buy their s**t COD games, regardless of reviews, reception, cost(s), horrible servers, etc. Try some new games out; X-Defiant is better than any recent COD, easily. And I don't even really like X-defiant…it's just better than COD) that buy COD yearly. It baffles me.
Microsoft/Xbox: Ya'll can have Call of Duty. Hell, I know ya'll thought it was a major win for COD to start releasing on Xbox Gamepass day and date (meaning: on the day it launches), mocking us "Sony Ponies" 'cause we still have to pay that 70$, instead of around 18$ monthly (although, I guarantee that price will go up again; mark my fu***ng words); drives me crazy when people call any game on Gamepass "free". Have ya' done the math, people? Is it understood how unsustainable Gamepass' model is? And how much it hurts the development of, ya' know: good games? For it to be sustainable, Gamepass would need, roughly, 100 million subscribers. And not off-and-on. Do the math, look at the average cost of game development, then come back to me and tell me how right I am. There's only around 34 million subscribers currently on Gamepass, and regardless of how popular COD is: it would take a fu***ng miracle to reach the amount of subscriptions needed for this huge risk to truly pay off.
So, please, by all means: keep COD on Gamepass. In fact: please take it off of Playstation systems altogether. It can be one of the few exclusives Xbox gamers will have, after Microsoft continues to port their games over to Playstation consoles and other platforms. But, I truly do not give a F**K if COD is exclusive to Xbox. It's a dying series, and I don't generally like PVP shooters that are unrealistic and fast-paced like COD anyway, unless they're Doom (which, yes: I know Bethesda owns id. I'd be more upset if Doom became an Xbox exclusive, though even with Doom: I still don't care that much. I just think it's ridiculous that Microsoft has been able to monopolize the gaming industry; it's the LAST company I'd want to have any sort of monopoly over gaming, but here we are: Microsoft owns, literally, 1/3 of the gaming industry. And what are they doing? Shutting down studios left and right. Microsoft is doing exactly what the FTC was worried about, and it's hurting the entire gaming industry). But even then: PVP FPS are notorious for having some of the most toxic gaming communities in gaming. And outside of gaming, for that matter.
At least those of us playing Helldivers 2 can now say: we've actually helped contribute to help real-world problems. So, thanks Arrowhead; both for making one of the best games ever, and especially for rewarding Helldivers by donating real money to Traumatized Children. This just makes more incentive for people like me to keep playing the game. I guarantee, this won't be the last time Arrowhead does something like this with Helldivers 2.
Anyway, good job Helldivers: we've positively impacted the world just by playing one of our favorite games, and making the morally correct decision, even when we had no idea the devs would actually do the noble gesture they ended up doing.
Now: back to Helldiving!
—Nicholas, Malefikous, Tyler, LiSbeth
via Maleficus Visificus Entertainment ™©® in collaboration with: Clumsy Gamer Gaming 'N Sons©™®
