COST-

Sometimes a special edition may only be an extra $40, but I have seen some pretty pricey collectors editions. Some games even come with different levels of bonuses, for different prices. When it comes down to it, it's the game which will ultimately persuade you to pre-order or not.

BONUSES - 

For me, the best pre-orders are the ones where you get the bang for your buck. Large detailed statues, in-depth art books, the soundtrack of the game, additional content and a cool box it comes in. If a pre-order offers me all that it's a done deal. But more often than not, you'll see maybe only a statue or a coin. It's really personal preference, but there are plenty of people willing to pay $150 for a nice statue. Honestly more pre-orders should offer a copy of the soundtrack, it's not difficult and takes up limited space. I'm sure the game's composer would appreciate more people hearing his work too. Right now 

WHAT ABOUT YOU?-

You need to decide whether or not you're over-hyped. For me, I pre-ordered Assassin's Creed 3 because I was super hyped for the game, I got the game and enjoyed it but don't think I would have paid as much for it as I did. Especially since i didn't get much in the way of bonuses. You need to think rationally. Look at the bonuses and decide whether you really want to pay nearly double for the game for the bonuses.  

FINAL WORDS-

In my opinion, most of the time it's not worth pre-ordering. You can pick up the game on the day it comes out, if you wan't to get it. If you the pre-order is too good to be true: Well priced, Full of neat stuff and you know enough about the game to know you'll like it, then go for it. If you feel at all hesitant, that feeling won't go away. Buyers regret is a pain in the ass.

Also I'm real sorry if none of this applies to anyone, I'm Australian and our video games are really weird . . .

HOW IT LOOKS-

The game uses a much more realistic and dark style, and while Majora's Mask had dark themes mixed with playful imagery, Twilight Princess incorporates melancholy themes with dark visuals. The world is open, not necessarily big, but open to explore at your own pace, and as the story progresses it changes around you. The enemies all have similar dark looks, with twisted physiques and human like qualities, it only draws you deeper into the world. Graphically the game looks excellent, and playing it on the Wii helped to refine it. 

HOW IT FEELS-

Themes are important in video games. If The Last Of Us had inconsistent themes then it would be much harder to take it seriously. Twilight Princess incorporates Majora's Mask's time element in a much more subtle way. From the time you're introduced to Hyrule Castle you can see it off in the distance surrounded by a barrier. Having it there, since you start the game, is an excellent way to have it in the players minds while playing. The game keeps the strange characters that have become a staple of the series and makes them feel fresh and exciting. I mentioned that the world changes around you and I fully believe that. Although you may not see physical differences, the way you perceive the world changes while you play. You feel like you're making progress and the story drives you forward.     

The game feels like a combination of Majora's Mask and Ocarina of Time, (Ocarina's exploration and Majora's dark world).

HOW IT PLAYS-

As I am filth and don't own a GameCube I played the Wii version of the game. This was back when Skyward Sword's precise cutting wasn't around, so frantically swinging the Wiimote was just like mashing the attack button (although this became troublesome later). Moving and exploring is easy and fun. Combat is beautiful. Each enemy has it's own style of fighting and you have to adapt to fight that enemy. For example, there's this one enemy that, at certain points in the story, will surround you in a barrier and you'll be forced to fight it. If you don't know when this is going to happen it can be quite nerve racking. The only way to beat them is to transform into Link's wolf form. 

Every temple is fun. Yes, there is a water temple. No, it doesn't suck. Every temple in the game will make you think, and puzzle you. You'll need to go back and think hard about the puzzles. Every boss is unique and requires a special way to beat it. Even the "shoot it in the big glowing eye" boss still felt like a challenge, and added another level. I would recommend not touching a walk through for anything, because you will feel like you'll want it.

LINK'S WOLF FORM-

I honestly think this needs it's own sub-heading because it sounds really silly at first. Link is transformed into a wolf whenever he enters a Twilight Zone (haha). This restricts his access to items and forces you to solve puzzles, in a way that is unique to Wolf Link's ability's. I felt like this was a really cool part of the game, and once you're able to transform whenever you want the game felt like it had really taken it up a notch. Wolf Link's combat feels unique and he is necessary to complete most temples. 

FINAL THOUGHTS-

The game looks great and feels great. I remember getting really frustrated with Ocarina even though I love that game. I got frustrated while playing Twilight Princess but only because I was frustrated with myself. The game gives you everything, you never get confused unless the game wants you confused and it does this consistently. The world is so varied and interesting. Going to the desert for the first time is incredible and filled me with the kind of wonder that I don't really get any more. 

If you haven't checked out this game yet, please do. For your sake.

DRM, or Digital Rights Management, is a “systematic approach to copyright protection for digital media“ and a way to “prevent unauthorized redistribution of digital media and restrict the ways consumers can copy content they've purchased“.

So basically, due to all the nasty, poor, disgusting people who illegally pirate games and other digital media, a new system had to be created to protect the copyright holders’ content.

Now, I know you’re thinking, “But DRM sucks, especially always online DRM. I’m sometimes unable to play games because of it“. Or “Passive DRM programs like Steam, Origin and uPlay (which all double as digital store fronts) ruin games, and end up being another program running in the background“. But I’m here today to prove to you why DRM is great and how it will revolutionize the gaming industry.

1. It makes sure game developers get paid for their work

Now I don’t know about you, but we live in a capitalist society, where if you make something worthwhile you should get paid for your time and effort.

Pirates, on the other hand, want to unrestrainedly eradicate our capitalist society and believe we should be living in a socialist society where everything should be free, and you know what the next step from socialism is? COMMUNISM. And in a Communistic society, Developers wouldn’t be able to receive a fair pay for a fair day’s work.

2. It makes you feel safe

When you buy a game you should feel safe that no one will be able to steal your game key. DRM makes sure that once your key has been activated, it will stay linked to your account and that it won’t be stolen by criminals.

3. C’mon, it’s 2016

Why would you want to torrent or illegally download a game in 2016? What? Are you a criminal? (As well as sexist?)

4. Pro tip, you can’t anymore

Due to the huge rise of pirating in the gaming industry, a software firm had enough and reached into their code and made Denuvo. Denuvo is literally the greatest thing ever to happen in the gaming industry since pong. It BTFO’s pirates and protects games from being illegally distributed.

5. Quit being poor!

Yes I know, “this isn’t why DRM is great, you’re just reinforcing a sad truth I’m trying to forget about“. But it needs to be said, it’s simple. If people weren’t poor, DRM wouldn’t be a thing!

Remember what I said earlier, that due to poor people pirating digital media like video games, DRM had to be created to protect digital media. Wellif you weren’t so poor, we wouldn’t be having this conversation, now would we? So quit being so lazy! Get off your lazy arse and go find a job! Go to college if you have to! Just do something! You’re hurting the gaming industry!

6. Valve's Gabe Newell has died for your sins!

As it reads in John 14:6, “I am the way, the truth, and the life, No one gets good deals and amazing service except through me“. Gabe Newell died for the sin of illegally downloading games and yet we continue! Was his death for nothing!? We all demand better in the gaming industry, but maybe it’s not DRM that should be blamed but us!

7. I shouldn’t be the one who has to educate you

Seriously you lazy bastards, why do I have to teach you this? You should just know that pirating is bad and you shouldn’t illegally download digital content! What? Do you hate F R E E D O M ?

8. C’mon! It’s 2016!!!

I can’t believe I need to say this again, but I will! Why pirate games when you can just spend your money and buy them! You do realise illegally downloading games is against the law right? You could even go to jail!

9. DRM is paving the way for the future

I’ve already mentioned that DRM programs like Denuvo is already Rekin’ pirates and because of it, it is paving the way for a pirate free gaming industry. Developers will one day be able to put out games whenever they think the game is complete, and at whatever price they believe is reasonable.

10. Listen and Believe

What I have written in this article is THE TRUTH. DRM is great and will revolutionise the gaming industry and digital media. If you follow the reasons listed above, game developers will be paid in full for their honest work and not feel like they need to worry about job security.

And one day, we might live in a world free of pirates trying to turn our great capitalist society into a communist one.

Thank you for reading my informative and objective article on DRM. If you wish to join me in my fight to DE_Stroy DRM, then follow me on twitter “@MrED_What“. And why not read some of our other articles on our profile.

Sources: http://searchcio.techtarget.com/definition/digital...

Please note, this is satire

This is what ED does when he doesn't have access to his computer...
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As I hope you can tell from that lengthy introduction, Life is Strange: Before the Storm centers around Chloe Price, as well as her unlikely friendship with Rachel Amber. All is not right in Chloe and Rachel's worlds, though. With Chloe still dealing with the death of her father and Rachel discovering a devastating secret about her family, the two must confide in each other and face their demons together. Immediately I found the premise to be much more enthralling than the original, but after completing Episode 1: Awake, I knew with absolute certainty that developer Deck Nine were the right choice to create this prequel.

Anyone that experienced the original is familiar with Chloe's rebellious personality, but Before the Storm allows the player to understand why Chloe has this attitude. This is mainly due to Chloe's friendship with Rachel. We see much more sensitive side of Chloe that is brought out by her feelings for Rachel. While the interactions between Chloe and Rachel feel genuine, the speed at which their friendship progresses seems unnaturally hasty. By the end of this episode, their friendship has only lasted for about a day, and they're already much closer with one another than I've ever been with my any of my friends. Surely Chloe and Rachel's friendship will have its ups and downs over the course of these next few episodes, but it would have been nice to see a more realistic path from strangers to best friends.

The scenic little town of Arcadia Bay returns in Before the Storm and is either paradise or perdition depending on whether or not you're a student at Blackwell Academy. The stylized graphics and modern point and click gameplay popularized by Telltale's The Walking Dead also make their return from the original Life is Strange. And while Before the Storm doesn't add anything new to this recent sub-genre of games, it never really had to. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. Everything you've come to expect from this type of game is here: explore an environment, examine and interact with objects, then speak to a character or exit said environment to continue the story. It's understandable that some people have become fatigued by this style of gameplay, but they're missing out on an exceptional story with Before the Storm.

Player choice was a major narrative and gameplay mechanic in the original that makes a return in Before the Storm. Whether it's something seemingly minor or something blatantly obvious, the choices you make in Life is Strange: Before the Storm all have consequences. Of course, since this a prequel, Max Caulfield is not in the picture and there are no time altering powers for the player to utilize, but Chloe has a power of her own; her attitude. 'Backtalk' allows the player to turn Chloe into the rudest 16 year old imaginable to verbally force her way through specific encounters.

Backtalk is used as both a narrative and gameplay mechanic. In a narrative sense, Backtalk plays a large role in player choice and consequence. And in terms of gameplay, you can use Backtalk to easily bypass potentially longer sections of the episode. You may find that someone you were rude to in order to get through a section of the episode easier is someone you really shouldn't have been rude to later on. There's only a few moments in Episode 1 that allow you to use Backtalk, but it's clear that there will be repercussions in the following episodes for using it. The exclusion of time altering abilities elevates the feeling of needing to face reality and consequences to heights not seen in the original Life is Strange, and that's crucial for any "coming of age" story.

Perhaps it's just me, but I found a large amount of the dialogue in Before the Storm to be painfully cringeworthy. I like to think that I'm 'hip' and 'with it,' but I've never met another human being in my life that spoke even remotely similar to how characters in Before the Storm speak to one another, and I live in California; the birthplace of all popular slang words. To blame Deck Nine for this would be misguided. Lest we forget that the original Life is Strange developers, DONTNOD Entertainment, sewed these cringe seeds hella deep.

On top of well written characters, Deck Nine also did an incredible job with Before the Storm's soundtrack. Had they gone with only melancholic tunes to match the depressing tone of Chloe and Rachel's stories, it would completely negate their punk, rebellious personalities, and if they had gone completely with a punk rock soundtrack, it would take away from many of the somber moments found in just this one episode alone. Luckily Before the Storm has a perfect combination of chilling melodies and rocking tracks to properly convey the appropriate emotions for each scene.

Returning to Arcadia Bay with a 16 year old Chloe Price as our hero was a great idea, and if the quality of this first episode is any indication, Deck Nine were the perfect choice to take the reigns of the Life is Strange series. Working in tandem with a beautiful location and a properly utilized soundtrack, Life is Strange: Before the Storm is perfectly capable of eliciting the emotions applicable to any given situation. While the unnatural speed at which Chloe and Rachel's friendship progressed at was a tad bit off putting, I'm still very much excited to see how their relationship will play out, and how they both deal with the curveballs life threw at them. If you've played through the original Life is Strange, you know where both of these characters end up, but it's not about the destination, it's about the journey.