10 Annoying Things That Are Ruining Video Games

5. Putting Once-Unlockable Content Behind Paywalls

Where games used to reward our hard work with new characters, game modes and irreverent cheats like big-head mode and paintball (I do miss Goldeneye...), today we get arbitrary virtual 'achievements' for accomplishing all kinds of godly in-game feats. Much of the same content that used to be unlocked through playing games is now done so behind paywalls. The best cases in point are fighting games like Tekken 6, Street Fighter V and Mortal Kombat X, all of which currently do (or inevitably will) feature more paid downloadable characters than unlockable ones. Compare that to Tekken 3, when each playthrough of the game would unlock extra characters up to a grand total of 11, and you may just break down in tears.

Not only has paid DLC largely replaced the video game unlockable, but some games even insist on reminding us constantly that the version of the game we're playing isn't the full one. You can hardly go through a single menu in Black Ops III without it touting you to buy some extra content or DLC, while Mortal Kombat X teases you with greyed out characters in the selection screen, only to reveal that you need to cough up extra cash when you highlight them.

Even when we've spent $60 on a game, publishers still turn in-game menus into advertising boards for more in-game content, revealing a terrible lack of respect to long-suffering gamers, who should be entitled to play their game without such invasive measures.