The Plea

As a gamer in the "next generation", I have only one question for developers: Where has the multiplayer gone? It would appear to reside all around us, in the very fabric; at the innermost core of the games we play, such as Halo and Gears of War. We have Xbox Live, uniting gamers the world over to engage in frag fests in the name of Clan of Sandwich, or <A$$> or <D!K> or any number of other immature, vaguely inappropriate variations. Then my question is, where has the other multiplayer gone? I'm talking about a time in gaming history when shooters weren't the only option for co-op story mode, when more than one person was capable of occupying the TV in any one household, when we used multitaps instead of Wi-Fi. There was a time when people played together, now it seems we only play with one another. Please, developers, bring back the joy of sharing space with humans to my life.

The Past



Hearken back to your SNES days; if you ever had them, or maybe just remember yesterday, if you've been using emulators or an exquisitely preserved system. Remember Secret of Mana? How about Final Fantasy 3? Both monumental games of their time, both still existing franchises (albeit one more successful than the other), and both multiplayer. Now, it would be silly of me to say that the success of these games is based squarely (pun intended) around their multiplayer aspects, but nevertheless each game is made that much more appealing by the inclusion of multiplayer capability. And to think, they did it without requiring an internet connection, two systems, two games, two wireless adapters, and two televisions... genius!

The Good

Seeing as how this article is supposed to fall in to the "Good Idea, Bad Idea" category, that immediately goes to say that I feel there is something good about the current state of multiplayer. Take for example Champions of Norrath, and its sequel, Champions: Return to Arms, for the PS2, both arguably not very much fun after one single-player playthrough (unless you're numb to repetition and want to play all of the classes) but plug in a multi-tap, and coerce three friends and/or relatives to devote their time, and you have a simply kick-ass modern gaming experience. Why? Because it's multi-player done right: you're sharing the same physical and virtual space; laughing, yelling, fighting over loot, and there is something intrinsically more amazing about slaying monsters with friends who are feet away instead of miles. The same can be said of Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles for Gamecube, except that multi-play requires that everyone have a GBA and also that one person constantly be responsible for the crystal (both extremely FAIL aspects of this multi-play experience), but it's "The Good" not "The Perfect.

You'll notice that both of those examples fall in to the last generation of consoles, and that's a clear definition of my point; thus far in the boom of next-gen gaming, multi-play is left to folks isolated in Computer/Living rooms on MMOs and Xbox Live shooters. Before your brain explodes (provided I've kept your interest) I'm not saying that Online gaming is all bad. It's kickass that while I'm at college I can still log on and shred some guitar with friends or even people I don't know, and I would hate to have to meet some of the heathens I've played Live with in person just to play some Call of Duty, I'm simply saying that the capability for offline multi-play or online multi-play from the same console should NEVER be sacrificed.

Halo 3 vs. Perfect Dark Zero vs. Call of Duty 4

Let's look, for example, at these three next-gen shooters. Each, in my opinion, does some things right while simultaneously doing some things wrong (in varying degress from slightly to horribly; to the point of blasphemy). Perfect Dark does what seemingly every other next-gen shooter has forgotten how to do, and that's add Bots to the mix. Every so often you feel that urge to just throw some proximity mines and let some haphazard AI dash right in to them, Perfect Dark allows you to do this; and while it is by no means any competition for Halo 3 or COD, it at least has that to say for itself. Call of Duty 4 is in my humble opinion the best shooter available, with its RPG-esque customization and viscerally realistic gameplay. So, what the hell, I'll invite some of my buddies to enjoy the online experience with me. Oh, wait, guys, we can't go Live unless we're all on different systems. And this is the only area where Halo 3 still has a chance of redeeming itself in a COD world, it allows for other Live players to join in split-screen, or even guests in non-ranked matches. Not to mention 2 player co-op on one system, and up to 4 on Live.



The Future? and What If?
In such an isolationist multiplayer world, it makes me feel all warm and fuzzy when I see great group experience games like Rock Band being released. But so far it seems 2008 might be the next-gen year of my dreams. If I can get my hands on a Wii, Smash Bros. Brawl should be a consummate multiplayer experience, and who knows maybe Molyneux will have an epiphany and realize that a game like Fable 2 would be kickass multiplayer (yes, I can dream), but lastly I'd just like to leave you with a few distant possibilities of what games could be if they were multiplayer, online and off.

Imagine, Assassin's Creed meets Tenchu's multiplayer capabilities; team stealth kills and double the free-running goodness, without having to pass the controller. Or how about Mass Effect: rather than being immersed as a spectator, your friend or significant other could join in, play alongside Commander Shepherd. And finally, Oblivion, I don't even need to begin wading through the possibilities.