This new style of games have just started it and will potentielly grow in the next couple of years! The first episodic release was Bone (i think), followed by SIN and next Episode 1 for halflife! Next up we will have Sam and Max and Episode 2 for Halflife!

I think its a great way for smaller companies, like Tell tale, to release their adventure games, and also a great way for companies to keep titles alive while they create sequels! (as Bioware and Silicon Knights promised on Mass Effect and Too Human respectedly)

Now what worries me, is that when the smaller companies make episodes like this, and not enough buys into them! We wont get to see the end of the tales we are following.

Also the wait can be long, but ofcourse its longer when games like Halo 2 ends like it does, and takes it 2-3 years for the sequel release!

Hmmm...

If a next gen game has to end in the middle,end it with small cahpters then.
Like in HLF2,but i dont want episode 4-5-6-7.
I want HL3 after episode 3.

Well i think Valve will continue with their episodes and not make a full game for awhile, maybe never a new full HL gamé (i wonder if they can do other stuff than HL?)

And i think a lot of companies will follow suit! I wont go as far as to say its the beginning of the end of standard games, but it might happen, and even more so when its taken into effect on the next gen consoles, Ritual Entertainments chief talked about bringing SIN to XBLA, saying it was a perfect match!

yepp.

Btw im gonna go down soon and buy BMFE2,well it only has 705 GPi saw.
However yesterday the web was full of rumours about some EA employ accidently leaked that a expansion is coming to 360/pc called the rising of the witch king.

That would explain the lack of points...

bad or good?
That they take out some GP for expansions?

its bad, they should rather add another 500 hundred GP to be awarded in the expansion!

yepp!

Mark Rein said it best on Gameindustry.biz - for some games this just won' t work and forcing this kind of bussiness model onto those games, could end up in low profits.

using it wisely can bring the pure positive aspect of it.

If the downloads are of high quality like GRAW Chapter 2 or the PGR3 Speed/Style Packs then i fully support them and the entire idea.

If we' re talking maps like those dowloadable for CoD2 or the Horse Armour download for Oblivion then i don' t support them.



The Half Life Episode' s haven' t pissed anybody off yet have they?!

Majik i asked for the Gamerpoints in the store.
All was sold out
No,i swear,they were sold out.

I' ll handle it but it' ll probably be tomorrow as i' m working in the morning. I' ll pick you up 2100 and send you the code tomorrow afternoon.

Chapter 2 doesn' t have any achievements though which is a little annoying. Still, the maps are fucking awesome! I' m going to " review" it later in the Clancy thread.

Scratch that, i' m nipping into work now so i' ll pick them up while i' m down there and send you the code when i get back.

Shenmue was originally supposed to be " episodic" but then rather than release a new chapter every 3 months they decided to make it a full game. Bastids!

Episodic content is definately a good thing for action/adventure titles, as there is always room for cliffhangers to keep people occupied. But truth be told, I haven' t played anything from the half life 2 episodes, so I can' t really comment on shooters.

Some people I know swear by the whole episodic shooter thing, other friends of mine say they feel too much like demo levels to be gratifying. It doesn' t affect me much because If i had anything that' d run most stuff coming out episodically, I' d probably wait till all the episodes to release before getting them anyway. (That' s not counting Sam & Max, I' ve been waiting for that for years)

Majik just bought me 2100 GP

Im in his debt forever

Eldorado Gate (2D jRPG for DC) was episodic.

Well say for example sam and max as a point and click adventure, its not bound to be on top of sales, what happens when there isnt anymore money to develop on but only half the episodes done (hypethaticly, sam and max might just do well)

there are good and bad sides of this whole episodic thing.

Good:
1.you don' t have to wait 5 years for a sequel - you' re playing games of said series with 3-6 month breaks
2.Your feedback after first episode makes another one a better game and this goes on with next episodes
3.you can check one 20$ episode and if you don' t like it, you don' t have to shell out aditional 40 bucks for 2 more.
4.For PC another nice feature is bringing new visual treats in each episode (as time goes by and technology evolves)

Bad:
1.The story ends and you' re left wanting more - the soap opera syndrome
2.20$ for 4-6 h of gaming?
3.

what happens when there isnt anymore money to develop on but only half the episodes done

4.you end up paying <number of episodes> x 20$ = a lot, for the full experience - and you can have great gaming experience for 50$ (with full story and fully featured)

Check out my take on the GRAW DLC (which costs 1200 Microsoft points - about $15) in the other thread HERE