Atmospheric shooter Metro 2033’s sequel, Last Light, is set to launch amidst controversy. While the PC will offer the hardcore difficulty “Ranger Mode” intact, console gamers will have to pre-order Last Light or spend $5 to access the mode later.
Advertisements proclaim Ranger as, “the way the game is meant to be played,” making the cut as a bonus rather baffling. PC Gamer was able to pull some information from Metro’s brand manager Huw Beynon:
“Game makers and publishers now live in a world where offering game content as a pre-order exclusive is a requirement by retail, and Ranger Mode seemed like the best choice since it was a mode for hardcore fans who would most likely pre-order the game, or purchase it at launch in any case…”
What Beynon never explains is why this mode in particular was chosen. Why not another in-game item? A bonus pack of ammunition is also part of this pack, so why not stop there? Have pre-order bonuses and DLC finally “jumped the shark?”
