Where do I find value?

I remember days of years past, pre-ordering a game and rushing home to complete the story mode as soon as possible so when the conversations came up at school I was able to contribute. New guns, state of the art graphics, the smartest current AI and the continuation of a story I have been following for years wrapped in a perfect showcase you can enjoy with you friends. Sometimes those hours can be repeated with friends through co-op campaign many times on every difficulty. These are the strongest memories I have of playing games.

Multiplyer Only Games

There are many people who play the Counter Strike series of first-person shooter games. The first one being released in 2000 started what is now to be an extremely strong competitive community that is still growing today. Built off of creating MODs for Half Life, fast gameplay and very precise mechanics, it is clear why it is so popular even today. In 2012, Valve add on to the historic franchise with Counter Strike: Global Offensive. This installment brought it forward to the modern era of FPS games to the likes of Call of Duty and Battlefield. What was the price of a fresh version of a legendary game that has grown stronger every year for 12 years? $15.

The Value of $60

Star Wars Battlefront is a $60 retail game with a $50 season pass, no campaign and only a hand full of co-op levels. When the current Call of Duty game has the same price points but comes a campaign with local and online co-op, updated zombies, freerun challenges and one of the most relevant FPS multiplayer experiences it is difficult to even compare the value of the two.

Final Thoughts

Battlefront looks amazing, sounds wonderful and I would love to play. The problem is the points that it hits are available and within more specialized titles that I already own. The beta was a good taste but I feel it did more to push me away from making the purchase where I know I would have just received more of the same. Battlefield did not give me the amazing single player experience I wanted. EA did report that many more Battlefield titles are to come. The response to the first single player entry to the aeries should be very interesting to see the change in opinion on.