As I was thinking about writing a review for the new Grand Theft Auto expansion, The Lost and Damned, I realized how much it must suck to be a video game critic. What a lousy job? I didn’t buy the latest addictive incarnation of a game that hasn’t changed much since its first 3D incarnation to play it as fast as possible. Do you really want me to relay to you how average the dialogue is? I’m not saying the game is bad, in fact it’s maddeningly difficult and that’s what I’ve come to expect and therefore love. No, I won’t talk specifics. I’ve got something else on my mind: the serialization of video games and our pocketbooks.

Whether it is blogging, the latest season of Lost or the plethora of recent psuedo-sequels that have crowded the video game marketplace, it’s clear that the partitioning of our free time will come in small, succinct, entertaining nuggets.

It’s nothing new really. A little guy named Mario has seen himself packaged, repackaged and then recycled one more time ever since he showed up in the 1981 smash hit Donkey Kong as a blob of red, blue and peach pixels. A winning franchise has always been the key to the industry and now with easier methods of delivery it’s becoming easier to squeeze a few more dollars out of every consumer.

The advent of Xbox Live has created a steady stream of revenue for Microsoft and game developers by delivering their products, old and new, directly to customers. From Beautiful Katamari’s myriad of bonus levels to extra multiplayer maps for Call of Duty 4 the business model sucks every cent out of our shrinking pockets. Then on top of this the user is confronted with movie rentals, music videos and customizable characters that you can buy virtual Lost and Damned clothing for.

Arguably these products are worth every penny, or should I say Microsoft Point, that they are being sold for. If consumers demand the products then go ahead and sell it to the malleable masses. It’s a perfect experiment in free market capitalism. What I’m afraid of is that the industry will catch onto to the fact that it can release a substandard product and then add-on this and that until you’re paying close to $100 for what should have been included in the original game.

But not all is bad. The Lost and Damned thus far lives up to my expectations. The thrill of living a new virtual New York City is gone, but because the game’s story is concurrent to Grand Theft Auto IV, I continue to play to see where Johnny met up with Niko Belic in the original story. There’s also something quite bad ass about riding in a motorcycle gang listening to The Doors “Five to One” or Styx “Renegade” in surround-sound. Call me a sucker for now, but when it’s a good product, I’ll shell out $20 for 10 hours of pure entertainment and a dose of aggravation.