A common feature of newer games, especially games that feature "optional content" that needs to be explored, is the concept of the unlockable. In the Soul Calibur games (as well as many other fighting games), they take the form of new weapons and costumes for the characters as well as a few new characters. The EA Lord of the Rings games lets you unlock cinematics, concept art and other such trivia as you progress through the game. Sometimes, entire games can be unlockable—Metroid: Zero Mission for instance, has the original Metroid available after you finish the game.

It's a pretty neat idea. It rewards players for taking the time to explore. Even if you know in the back of your head that pretty much everyone finds the stuff anyway, there's that special feeling right when you find a new unlockable which I think is desirable. As much as I like the concept, though, there's a dark side to it all, which we shall now probe with gusto.

Akumajou Dracula X: Chi no Rondo, also known as Rondo of Blood, is a game in the Castlevania franchise, preceding Symphony of the Night in the in-universe chronology. Sadly, it was never released outside of Japan until recently, when it was remade in 2.5D, bundled with Symphony of the Night, and marketed as Dracula X Chronicles for the Playstation Portable. Or, at least, ostensibly that's the case.

As it turns out, it's not quite that simple. As A Link to the Future has pointed out, Symphony of the Night is in fact an unlockable, rather than being immediately available. If that wasn't bad enough, the process you have to go through to unlock it is counter-intuitive at best:

In Stage 2, while the minotaur is chasing Richter, immediately fall into the first hole in the ground. You will not die, but instead be taken into the sewers. Play the level out normally and defeat the boss. Afterwards, you will be taken to Stage 3′ (this is different from the normal Stage 3!).

In Stage 3′, whenever the path branches, taken the upper route. Make sure you obtain the “axe” subweapon sometime during the stage. Eventually, you will meet a skeletal snake that is attached to a wall. Nearby is a vine-like cage; use the axe to cut it. It now serves as a platform for Richter to jump to the upper ledges. Continue along the upper ledges until you see a breakable tombstone. Inside is the item that unlocks Symphony of the Night. Return to the main menu to play it.

I hope I'm not alone in thinking that this is utterly ridiculous. Having abandoned the idea of giving customers what they've paid for (remember, Dracula X Chronicles is marketed with the phrase "Together at last!", referring to the pairing of Rondo of Blood and Symphony of the Night), Konami now expects you to pull off a series of completely counter-intuitive and convoluted steps, such as jumping down a hole that would certainly kill you in a normal situation, just to give you access to what essentially amounts to half the promised, advertised content.

This isn't the only issue with unlockables. A broken memory card quickly leads to a bitter experience as you find yourself having to play through Super Smash Bros. or your favorite fighting game once more to unlock all the characters, stages or game variants, for instance. Perhaps, having gathered with friends for a night of gaming, you find to your dismay that most of the subgames or characters have yet to be unlocked at all (and it's always your favorite character that's missing, isn't it?), stranding you with the bare minimum.

One might ask whether we really should have to put up with this. We paid for the content in the first place, after all, and it only makes sense that we should be allowed to do what we want with it instead of having our experience artifically restricted. However, I do think there is a way for us to eat our cake and have it too: unlock codes.

Several people caught on to this long ago: Include, somewhere in the game menu, a chance to enter a code that will unlock all the unlockable content in the game, should the player choose to. Those who wish to play through the game and find all the unlockables can do so, while those less inclined (or those who have already unlocked them once elsewhere) can simply use the code. The code can then be offered up either upfront, or perhaps after beating the game, or as a free promotional a month or so after the game's release (when the initial excitement over the unlockables will have faded anyway).

Of course, if you're going to do this, it helps to not be an utter dickwad. When Electronic Arts tried to implement this system for Tiger Woods PGA Tour 07, they added a code to unlock all the courses and players in addition to letting you do it the normal way, by beating the game. It sounds fine at first glance, until you realize they decided to charge people for it.

Unlocking all the content that you could otherwise get for free (and have already paid for—you bought the disc in the first place, remember?) costs Xbox 360 customers about $15 worth of Live points, just for the privilege of enjoying content they already own. What's worse, owners of the regular Xbox version of the game, or any of the other console ports, don't have to pay squat—all they have to do is enter the code ("ELDRICK") and they're set.

I'm still convinced that unlockables are a great idea for a game, provided you don't screw it up by being incompetent or a greedy bastard. It's quite simple: Make the unlockables actually be extras (as opposed to literally half of your product) and make them available to everyone, including those who don't want to go chasing after them, and those who have already unlocked them once. That's it.