2014/12/21: Xbox One: Killer Instinct

[VideoGameCritic]

Here's another disappointing Xbox One title.  It is worth noting however, that the disc is worth the $20.

[Rev1]

Well I think I'll end up buying this right off the bat whenever I finally get around to buying an Xbox One (it will be a while though). I was curious though, does the game pester you with pop ups and such asking if you want to buy the extra content or is it relegated to only on a certain page? The reason I ask is that I've noticed some games will have a screen dedicated to news, which I tend to ignore anyway, while others will do the advertising in certain modes. Just trying to gauge how much the game's push for microtransactions would bother me.

[VideoGameCritic]

Rev,
In addition to that "news" screen, I noticed there are options that are "grayed out" because you need to buy them.  What you select some of these you might get dropped into the "store" screen.  The game really blurs the line between what you own and what you need to buy, which makes it extra annoying.
VGC

[ActRaiser1]

I bought the $40 season when I first got it.  That gives you everything in the game.  The other stuff that's there, such as, different colors for characters you unlock.  There is a currency that you use to unlock stuff, but the more you play the more you can unlock stuff.

It does blend the model quite a bit.  The news screen you can skip/by pass completely once you're in the game.  It advertises other Microsoft published games.

My only quibble with the game is that it's balls out hard.  I can't make much progress in the arcade side of things (but that's because I stink).

[rdreynolds1]

Tactics such as this are why I've not even bothered to pick up an XB1 or PS4.  Too much good stuff from the past that doesn't require this type of nonsense.

[Sut1]

It sounds like a mobile phone game rather than a console title.

[Gilly1]

If anyone is interested, the complete season 1 & 2 bundle with everything unlocked (normally $80) is $53.59. Today is actually the last day of this sale as tomorrow starts a new week on the xbox year end countdown sale.

[Verm1]

In some ways, I think the critic comes across as a bit hard on the game itself. The review implies that the game is great and all the needed content (i.e there is enough characters, all the game modes he wanted are there etc) isn't locked as DLC.

Many modern games have 'DLC' main menu options, which aren't much different from a greyed out option if your not online. Another example would be a games multiplayer if it's all online based and ones console isn't. Usually in a fighting game, you never have to return to the main menu once your playing the Arcade mode or friends, so is a greyed out main menu option really that bad or that exclusive to Killer Instinct?

Similarly, does the news screen also inform one of tournaments and patches (i.e balance etc)? How intrusive is the news screen; for instance, Diablo 3 on PC displays a news feed in the corner of the game menu. Again, if it's only on the main menu, be it an additional screen to skip through or a feed in the corner...

?

[VideoGameCritic]

The other day my friends were excited to see that one of the characters had a "holiday outfit".  But it was locked of course.  Really, they couldn't give us that crappy holiday outfit for free?  Obviously the content was already there because we could preview the character wearing it!

It's really hard to describe in detail how annoying the game is.  It's just the general overall experience.  My friends had the same reaction and agreed with the C grade.

[Astrosmasher1]

I got the game free from MS.  I gave it away.  That is how excited I was.