Modern Warfare 3 is suspected to have been DLC for Modern Warfare 2. It has been one of the worst games of the year. One can even argue that it was the biggest AAA disappointment of the year, dethroning Redfall.
The game was released in just one year, which is one-third of the period between Modern Warfare and Modern Warfare 2. It is worth noting that there is no concrete proof that the game was intended to be a DLC. Bloomberg also reported that it was a rushed release. Activision, however, continues to maintain that these reports are untrue and the game was always meant to be a premium release
In our campaign and multiplayer reviews, we mentioned the good, the bad, and the ugly regarding Modern Warfare 3 and also mentioned why it should have been delayed. With Modern Warfare 3, being the lowest-rated game in the franchise, one might think that all games with a similar life cycle turn out to be disasters. However, that is far from the truth.
There are a lot of successful games that were initially conceived as DLC for their predecessors. Some of the games mentioned here were also titles that turned out to be some of the most entries in the franchise. Also, it is uncertain if the titles would have had the same effect had they been released as DLC.
Assassin’s Creed Mirage (Was Originally DLC forAssassin’s Creed Valhalla)
Assassin’s Creed Mirage was initially planned to be a DLC to the game’s predecessor, Assassin’s Creed Valhalla. The game’s protagonist Basim Ibn Ishaq, was one of the assassins who made an appearance in the last game. In Assassin’s Creed Mirage, we see Basim’s prologue as an Assassin.
The series with the first game, Assassin’s Creed, followed Altaïr Ibn-LaʼAhad’s story. The first title established a game that belonged to the action-adventure genre. The game also prioritized being discreet and stealthy. There were mechanics in the game that also allowed wielding swords and engaging in melee combat which is a lot more overt than stealthier options. Elements like eavesdropping, tailing, blending in groups, and silently eliminating enemies were the heart and soul of the genre.
Ever since then, there was no looking back for the franchise, entries that followed innovated and built upon the core formula established by the first game. However, all of it changed ten years later when Assassin’s Creed Origins was released. The game saw a shift in gameplay strategy for the series and the incorporation of RPG elements.
This continued with the next two titles in the series as well, Assassin’s Creed Odyssey and Valhalla. Then came Mirage, which, as opposed to a reformist mindset opted for a revivalist one. The return of core gameplay elements that the fans used to associate with what the series stood for. The game saw a return to the series’ basic formula of prioritizing stealth. Regardless, if initial plans of releasing Mirage as a DLC had succeeded, the level of freedom would have been drastically less.
All that being said, Assassin’s Creed Mirage, while being much better than previous games, is by no means spectacular. The game was rated 8/10 by us and you can check out the review for yourself here.
Grand Theft Auto Vice City (Was Originally DLC for Grand Theft Auto III)
Vice City, was released back in 2002. The game was the successor to Grand Theft Auto III. The game, as revealed by Obbe Vermeij in his blog, was initially supposed to be a mission pack / DLC for Grand Theft Auto III. Vermeij was the technical director of Rockstar North at the time of the game’s release and development.
In Obbe Vermeij’s own words from his blog, he stated that:
After the release [of Grand Theft Auto 3], we started on Vice City. It was Rockstar New York’s idea to set the game in the 80s in Miami. Originally it was supposed to be a mission pack to gta3.
Obbe Vermeij also stated that it was only after Grand Theft Auto III’s tremendous success that the team decided to shift gears and convert Grand Theft Auto Vice City to a standalone game. His blog also states that the strategic detour taken by the company didn’t happen until 6 months had already passed since the project’s development began. Vice City is indubitably one of the franchise’s most iconic games. The game also saw Tommy Vercetti, the franchise’s first protagonist who had any dialogue in the game.
Ever since the game’s beginning, the narrative of Grand Theft Auto Vice City follows a drug deal going south. What follows is one of the best plots ever written in an open-world action adventure. The game had a charm about it that was reminiscent of Vintage Hollywood movies.
Everything from the game’s soundtrack, gameplay mechanics, and the characters seemed as polished as they could be at the time. The game initially planned as DLC for Grand Theft Auto 3 surpassed the latter in terms of sales to clock 17.5 million sales. Rockstar included the game Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy – The Definitive Edition which included III, Vice City, and San Andreas.
The trilogy was supposed to rebuild the games from the ground up in a newer engine but failed to deliver. The trilogy however failed to impress users and reviewers. If anything, the quality of the product somehow seemed less polished than the original games which were almost 20 years old.
Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales (Was Originally DLC for Marvel’s Spider-Man)
After Marvel’s Spider-Man blew up in 2018, Insomniac found itself in a very convenient spot. The game’s post-credit sequences left numerous avenues for sequels and DLC. Then in 2020, Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales was released as a launch title for Sony PlayStation 5.
It was released as a standalone title, which was set one year after the events previous game. The game saw Miles Morales, another individual who was bitten by a similar radioactive spider that bit Peter Parker. The entire story of Miles being bitten by the Radioactive spider was also shown in Marvel’s Spider-Man. The game was set in Manhattan during the festive season. The snow-covered setting of the game looked exceptionally stunning as the game utilized the full firepower that was offered by PlayStation 5.
The game was called “an expansion and an enhancement to the previous game” by Simon Rutter, Former Executive Vice President at PlayStation. After that Insomniac confirmed that the game was a standalone game in a Twitter Post.
The game while having a smaller size and a smaller campaign was undoubtedly just as polished as Insomniac’s first attempt at making gamers feel like Spiderman in 2018. While some characters were shared between Marvel’s Spider-Man and Miles Morales, a lot of the gameplay elements were entirely different. This includes Miles’ superpowers which, while being similar to Peter’s also extend beyond his. Miles has special Venom powers which Peter does not possess.
The game’s narrative is also entirely different from the first game with the inclusion of new characters and villains. The game was very well received and while, wasn’t a full-fledged sequel tied into the original game very well.
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