I’m going to come clean about it, I love Xbox Live. Yes, I pay every single year for the privilege to enjoy the multiplayer components of my games. But there is substantially more to it than just being able to play games with other people. Live offers several features that are available to silver members, however gold sets itself apart far and wide in comparison. The simple ability for multiplayer gives way to features that work so seamlessly, more often than not, I forget that I have paid for the service. Add to that the ability to watch movies, among other content as well as have access to content early just for being a gold member and the cost for a year breaks down to an almost negligible monthly cost. But, I don’t want to negotiate numbers; I want to remind everyone why gold is a service that is actually worth spending your hard earned money on since it ties the entire Xbox experience together in a way that I’m yet to see other services do so as fluidly. So sit back as I explain to you why Xbox Live holds true to the old saying about you getting what you pay for.
The vast library of titles that you can play on Live is pretty big as it is and the support therein is pretty incredible. I woke up this morning and wondered what I was going to do, after going for a bike ride I was still at a loss, so I booted up Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare for the first time in months. To give you a rough idea, I was about level 9 in multiplayer and I was pulled back in like an anchor dragging me to the bottom of the ocean. I didn’t even notice what time it was until about six hours had passed and I had to hope I had enough time to run to the bathroom before the next round. Thankfully, there was and I played a few more rounds before finally quitting for a few hours. But, that’s the power of Xbox Live. Call of Duty 4 is just one title among many. Halo 3, Call of Duty: World at War, Madden, Left 4 Dead, Gears of War 2, and this doesn’t even take into account the XBLA titles that can played or the titles coming out this holiday season such as Modern Warfare 2, Left 4 Dead 2 or Halo 3: ODST.
Each week, you can check out Major Nelson’s blog for the top ten titles that are being actively populated so you will always have an idea of what is hot on Live. Additionally the utter amount of downloadable content enables any title to be viable in regards to Xbox Live. The best part is, gold members have the ability to log on and play whenever they want. Can’t sleep? Bored? There’s Xbox Live. It just may be the greatest solution for monotony since the ball was invented. But be it single or multiplayer, gold still comes in handy whether you want to play people online or just want a crack at some new downloadable content. After all, back when I was a kid and we had beaten a game that was it as far as the gameplay experience was concerned. Now, DLC has given game developers the opportunity to extend the longevity of a title by adding new characters, items, weapons, maps or even entire new sections to a game that may have been shelved due to completion and that is one of the finest advents of Xbox Live.
For instance, if you’ve beaten Mass Effect, there is new content available for it in the form of Bring Down the Sky, and more recently Pinnacle Station. Moreover, should you have become bored with the single player experience of Gears of War 2 and Horde mode isn’t quite up to snuff anymore, you can download the All Fronts Collection, which will give you access to all the multiplayer maps as well as additional single player content. Most of all, the amount of DLC available for Fallout 3 will keep you playing that game for freakin’ ever if done so correctly, since there are people who have easily put 100+ hours into the game. But then there are additional capacities to both retail as well as Xbox Live Arcade titles. The ability to have access to the additional features offered is perhaps one of the greatest driving factors for many players on Xbox Live solely because it is an extension of the multiplayer experience. Substantially, the fun one can have in a map on Call of Duty 4 differs from the enjoyment one gets from playing Geometry Wars 2 over and over just so they can see themselves at the top of the leaderboard for a certain game type.
