In a move that I’m certain will shock absolutely no one in the gaming world, EA has announced that Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning will be shipped with an online pass that unlocks the “House of Valor” faction quest line, which is comprised of seven in-game quests.
Destructoid caught wind of this when their review copy showed up with nothing more then the disk and the slip, which apparently doesn’t work yet. No surprise since the game doesn’t ship until February 7, 2012 in North America and February 10, 2012 in Europe. While the notion of online passes irks the life out of me, I can’t really see this as an “Online Pass” in the traditional sense. Normally they allow access to some form of multiplayer mode, but this just adds some quests and the previously unlocked Mass Effect 3 armor variations assuming you finished the demo of course. EA’s retort to this wasn’t exactly earth shattering, as it simply restated the obvious
The House of Valor quest line is free bonus content available to those who purchase a new copy of Kingdom of Amalur: Reckoning for the Xbox 360 and PS3 by entering the Online Pass included with the game.
PC players who purchase Reckoning at one of the many digital retailers online including Origin, Steam and more, will also receive the House of Valor quest line at no cost.
Which brings me to my question in this article: If EA wants to really push this “BUY OUR STUFF NEW” premise with adding online passes to everything under the sun, then why not add a co-op mode for KoA that actually utilizes an online pass functionality? I’m not saying give us a full blown MMO, which they have been working on for five years, just 2-4 player co-op. In a world as expansive and in-depth as Amalur is reported to be, it doesn’t it make sense to limit the player to solo adventures.
What say ye my fellow Comicbookites?
Tags: EA, Electronic Arts, Kingdoms of Amalur, KoA, MMO, online pass
About the Author
Written by Joshua Otis
I once had wealth, power, and the love of a beautiful woman. Now I only have two things: my friends, and... uh... my thermos. Huh? My story? Okay. It was never easy for me. I was born a poor black child. I remember the days, sittin' on the porch with my family, singin' and dancin' down in Mississippi... Ok so I actually live in Baltimore, MD and have been playing video games as long as I can remember. It all started with my mom giving me $5 to play the old Afterburner arcade game and the rest is history. Aside from gaming I'm an avid cinephile(as you can tell from the quote from "The Jerk") and "urban explorer".
What a shock…
Just as an aside – I bought Dragon Age new the other day for PS3 for this very reason – I wanted access to the DLC.
Yeah. The dates had expired on the codes anyway, and I could have saved myself $20 by buying a preowned version.
Also, note that I said “DLC”, not “online pass”.
Exactly. It’s DLC not an online pass.
@Kyle: Did you see that ludicrous display EA put on last night?
Whoo IT Crowd
How about instead of having the DLC come free with new copies of the game, they actually PUT the DLC into the game? I mean, I know this is a radical idea, but why not actually GIVE US THE WHOLE GAME WHEN WE BUY IT?
Agreed 100% Alex
I may have to try this game out too…
…God my list of games is getting long…Should probably beat the ones I’ve bought first.