by NorseGamer, HSM Editor-in-Chief

So here’s an interesting question: does every single game in Home have to be freemium?

Yes, I know that freemium is sweeping the industry at large. The Old Republic, which is the most expensive video game ever produced, just went free to play. Dust 514 is free to play. The whole damned industry is tilting towards critical mass with so much content shouting at you to try out for free.

Maybe I’m a contrarian, but I like things that stand out from the crowd. And VEEMEE’s new Total Recall content pack for No Man’s Land is certainly a good example of going against the populist grain in Home.

Seriously, I can’t recall a Home game ever being more vilified on the Sony forum. And for what? Daring to try to sell you stuff? Okay, I admit the game lacks elements that a lot of major Home games have, but seriously — the vitriol has been taken to frankly hysterical levels. Personally, I think it’s a damn good game, and contrary to what the naysayers are trying to convince people to believe, I’d say it looks like it’s doing quite well financially.

The big question, of course, was what was going to come next. And I don’t think any of us were expecting what emerged.

Total Recall.

Seriously, how crazy is that? “Hi, we’re VEEMEE, here’s our game, and oh, by the way, our next level is a collaboration with Sony Pictures Entertainment to bring you something straight out of a Hollywood blockbuster.”

Say what?

That’s certainly not something you expect in PlayStation Home. And this is a huge coup for VEEMEE. But, more interestingly, because of how they’ve structured it, it’s also quite an opportunity for the consumer.

First off, let’s talk about the level itself. Courtesy of VEEMEE, here’s a bird’s-eye view of the map:

Compared to the first battle map, this one — called New Asia — is much more claustrophobic. Instead of the long, open roads, you’ve got back alleys, bridges, staircases and landings. It feels like a much smaller level with shorter sight-lines, lending itself to close-quarters battle and a faster pace of combat. Depending on your play style, you might prefer this map to the original. There’s one notable choke point which, with at least three people, is practically impregnable.

The real story, though, isn’t the game level. It’s the way VEEMEE’s offering it.

First off: you have to pay to access it. Total Recall is an outside IP from Sony Pictures, which means you can’t use your normal gear in it; you have to purchase, at minimum, the starter pack for two dollars. This gives you access to the level, a weapon, and basic clothing.

I like this. People can experience the basic No Man’s Land tutorial for free — as well as the regular game for free — so they already know what the controls are like before they step into Total Recall. And it’s entirely logical to purchase a new map if you want to play it. Plus, it allows VEEMEE and Sony to very accurately measure how many unique visitors, contrasted to the total active user base for No Man’s Land, opted to try out Total Recall. Logically, that data would be quite important to any discussions of future such media tie-ins.

Now, here’s where it gets interesting: the regular version of No Man’s Land confers a significant advantage to those completionists who plunked down the fifty dollars to buy everything the game had to offer, because they end up with the Reaver armor and weaponry. Although it’s certainly not necessary to own this equipment in order to have a good score — you can fully outfit yourself with some serious armor and firepower for less than fifteen dollars — the Reaver bundle has been a source of constant ire and frustration to those who see it as a blatant pay-to-win scheme.

The Total Recall level, however, has no such egregious pricing. The ultimate bundle you can own for No Man’s Land — because your regular equipment doesn’t carry over — is only fifteen dollars. There’s no super-armor or superweapons up for grabs with a huge price tag.

If you think about it, this means that the Total Recall area of No Man’s Land is one hell of a value. If you love the game but hate the way it was commercially structured, VEEMEE’s put together a fantastic alternative for you. The buy-in to maximize absolutely everything in Total Recall is considerably less than what it was for the main game, and thanks to the map’s claustrophobic design, even players in default loadout have a much higher chance of surviving and thriving.

How much time will I personally spend in the Total Recall stage? Hard to say. It’s sort of like a speedball course at a paintball range: you either love it or it doesn’t do much for you. I’ll admit my preference is still for the regular No Man’s Land experience. However, I’ve found that I end up doing better if I warm up in Total Recall first, so it definitely has some value to me.

Beyond that, though: you can now go into PlayStation Home and immerse yourself inside a gaming experience that feels like it came straight from a major Hollywood blockbuster — because it did. This is a major coup for VEEMEE and for Home, and if you haven’t tried out No Man’s Land yet, this really is the time to jump in, while everyone’s still learning and memorizing the new map. It’s as level a playing field as this game has provided yet, and it’s been done in a very smart way.

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2 Responses to “Review of No Man’s Land Total Recall”

1. KLCgame says:

   August 10, 2012 at 12:08 am

   Well as a fan of No Man’s Land as a whole I bought the recall pack & I most say HOLY CARP SO AWESOME, but honestly so glad about the actual game improvements, the controls menu with L2 & the ease of communication with using r2 without the need of setting up a group chat is a welcomed sight. Great job VeeMee.

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2. Gary160974 says:

   August 10, 2012 at 12:57 am

   Its certainly daring on Veemees part, but No Mans Land is still putting itself in a market place it wont win in, and now its shouting about a movie tie in. I can still buy far better older ps3 games for the price of playing no mans land with basic upgrades, and shouting about a movie tie is something I wouldnt do if i wanted gamers to play my game. As nearly all movie tied in games have same issues, they are poor games that rely on the movie license to shift copies, have no real long term value and rarely are remembered as a classic game. Feel sorry in a way that its getting torn apart but they cant change something if they dont know what we like and dislike

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