http://insomnia.ac/commentary/on_value_for_money/
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. People talking sense on this subject is a very rare thing. I absolutely despise the whole obsession with games having to be a certain number of hours long for you to be getting your moneys worth.
It's like saying a perfect pop song isn't worth the money because it's only 2 and a half minutes, whereas a shit one is because it's 4 minutes long. Every arcade game in the past 10 years that gets reviewed in mainstream media has the same bullshit in it. Yes, it's good but you'll have finished it in 30 minutes. Who gives a shit? If it was a good 30 minutes then you'll play it again. And again. Most music albums are maybe 35 to 50 minutes long and nobody complains. In fact, they usually slate double albums for being full of needless filler you need to skip past.
At least with a CD you have the track selector, or you can burn yourself another copy with the tracks you enjoy most. With games you have no such option. You've got to play through all the fat to get at the meat of the game. They're all filler no killer.
Stuart Campbell goes into this subject in his excellent Gran Tourismo 4 review. Talking about what he calls 'empty calories'. Everytime I read this sort of thing I just want to punch the air and say "Fuck yes." Finally something I can relate to.
Gaming has been going downhill ever since the memory card took off.