If the wallets of gamers have been feeling a little lighter than usual this year, it isnt thanks to the usual hardware upgrades or swathe of DLC packs released just in time for the holidays. No, its because it seems like the industry as a whole is out to bleed its audience dry even more so than usual; the Oculus thing was a bit of a grey area. Dungeon Keeper, less so. The long-awaited remake of the classic strategy game originally developed by the iconic Bullfrog Studios under the infamous Peter Molyneux, the original put you on the other side of the usual equation by making you play as a demonic villain attempting to build a lair in a classic fantasy setting, repelling the attacks of knights in shining armour. The mobile game had all that, too. It was also free! Well, sort of. In fact the new Dungeon Keeper was a free-to-play title, which meant technically it didnt cost anything, but youll have trouble advancing through the game unless you spend a load on in-app purchases. Bringing back the shambling corpse of an old game and demanding money to see it dance wasnt well received by players, nor the Trading Standards Agency, who demanded EA stop advertising the game as free at all.
Tom Baker is the Comics Editor at WhatCulture! He's heard all the Doctor Who jokes, but not many about Randall and Hopkirk. He also blogs at http://communibearsilostate.wordpress.com/
