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battlefeild 2 was the first time I jumped into multiplayer first and after it I felt kinda dirty lol
I'd totally watch this but all I have access to is YouTube which you put the videos up a few days after you've posted these. Makes me sad but I guess I'll have to wait.
Yes! Agree with everything here. I think this is a big issue today.
I don't even like most multiplayer games, because if I play online I want to dedicate myself to it and learn the ins and outs of it. So I don't have time or motivation to play every multiplayer game out there, I always prefer single player. So this trend is worrying me quite a lot.
I don't even like most multiplayer games, because if I play online I want to dedicate myself to it and learn the ins and outs of it. So I don't have time or motivation to play every multiplayer game out there, I always prefer single player. So this trend is worrying me quite a lot.
Out of all the issues gaming has these days this is the one I have the most problem with. People seem to forget that single-player is where the real innovation in gaming comes from.
I feel the "problem" that people put against the developers is value for their money. In a vast majority of those cases, value comes in how many hours can I get out of the game. So when two games are pitted against each other, the person who only values how many hours they can get out of the game will blindly go for the one that has multiplayer, even if that multiplayer is completely shit.
If you think about it, Singleplayer gameplay is an evolution of multiplayer gameply in video games
A truly wonderful singleplayer experience can never be mirrored in multiplayer. and Vice versa.
A truly wonderful singleplayer experience can never be mirrored in multiplayer. and Vice versa.
I agree. Every bloody game does NOT need a multiplayer mode. Especially when it ends up hurting the single player experience. Also, do you work Bioshock 1 into every Jimquisition? :-p
Valve is a great example of developers doing it right. They have their single player focused games like the Half-Life series and Portal series and are able to separate that with multiplayer focused games like Team Fortress 2 and CounterStrike. Even Left 4 Dead has been successful despite having both of those modes because they were able to make it good.
Absolutely. As someone who has almost never really enjoyed online multiplayer (drastic skill gaps, excessive immaturity, connectivity problems, etc), I really hate seeing developers waste time and energy on it when their games don't need it and especially when you can tell they don't want to do it. Arkham City is one example which looks like it'll probably be shoe-horning in some sort of multiplayer/co-op experience with Catwoman.
I whole heartedly agree. My most of my favorite games this gen are single player games: Valkyria Chronicles, Bioshock, Mass Effect 1/2, Super Mario Galaxy 1/2, Fallout 3, etc.
Not to say that I don't like multiplayer games, as TF2 and Left 4 Dead are fantastic games to play with others, but it pains me to see multiplayer shoehorned into so many titles these days that don't need it to the detriment of the single player experience(Resistance 2 I'm looking at you).
Has it been announced if Bioshock:Infinite will have one? I'm hoping they repudiate Bioshock 2 and leave it out, and just craft another brilliant single player experience.
Not to say that I don't like multiplayer games, as TF2 and Left 4 Dead are fantastic games to play with others, but it pains me to see multiplayer shoehorned into so many titles these days that don't need it to the detriment of the single player experience(Resistance 2 I'm looking at you).
Has it been announced if Bioshock:Infinite will have one? I'm hoping they repudiate Bioshock 2 and leave it out, and just craft another brilliant single player experience.
I play online a bit and co-op some stuff but in my heart of hearts, I buy games for the single player experience. Brass tacks, that's what it comes down to for me. That's where I am happiest gaming and that's where I learned and continue to love video games. It is a damn shame that developers feel they have to include some multi-player because its not necessary.
As for people who won't buy a game because it lack multiplayer....well, stupidity is nothing new in the video game world.
Another fine Jimquisition. I'm happy to see this is a thing now.
As for people who won't buy a game because it lack multiplayer....well, stupidity is nothing new in the video game world.
Another fine Jimquisition. I'm happy to see this is a thing now.
I agree I like multiplayer and I like single player, but somethings don't need it. Did Punch-out really need multiplayer? That was probably the best case example of a game that didn't need multiplayer but it just got shoehorned in there. I remember Metroid Prime 2 got a multiplayer game and we didn't see that return in MP3 did we?
I agree 100%. I think games should either choose to be single or choose to be multiplayer, and then focus on making the best single or multi game that they can, that way we'll have better single player games, and better multiplayer games. At the moment games by and large seem to be Jack of all trades, Master of none.
Oh dear, what happened to Mic? Did he finally run off with Banana?
But seriously, I am with you 100% Jim. I'm quickly growing very tired of multiplayer this and multiplayer that. But then again, I'm 32, and grew up with single player gaming. The first time I ever played a multiplayer game on a console was the PS3.
But seriously, I am with you 100% Jim. I'm quickly growing very tired of multiplayer this and multiplayer that. But then again, I'm 32, and grew up with single player gaming. The first time I ever played a multiplayer game on a console was the PS3.
Bravo, Jim! I'm sick to fucking death of games having "will this do" single player campaigns. And that guy from atari you mentioned can fucking do one!
Totally right on, I take issue with reviews having to note "eh, there was no multiplayer" like it needs to be standard. I personally hate it and think it defeats the purpose of gaming in a traditional sense. (to the extent I'd rather play a bot opponent in Company of Heroes) Multiplayer is fine in a shooter or sports game but this necessity to throw it in everywhere and count it against devs who don't do it is bullshit. I feel should this become the norm, I'd be getting shortchanged if 50-70 percent of the game was devoted to multiplayer with a super short single-player section with the dev rather covering all bases instead of devoting their time to one shining component of the game. The same goes for exclusive multiplayer games. (I think army of two is a game such as this? I'm not sure personally) COD:MW1&2 comes to mind...why not make a single player title and a multiplayer one separatley instead of being greedy fuckers clearly catering to one type of on-line centered gamer? Remember COD1 or even the expansion pack (United Offensive) with super long campaigns that were the best of the series with multiplayer as amazing bonuses that were great games within themselves. The Orange Box still is the holy grail of this concept.
So true. Single player experiences are on the way out in the same way that 2D games are on the way out: they aren't, but businessmen will say anything because there's no consequence for being wrong.
It really does come down to the talent of the individual developer, though. I remember the dev in charge of Wanted: Weapons of Fate saying that he didn't include any multiplayer because he didn't want to compromise the single player portion, but then the single player game was crappy and short anyway.
It really does come down to the talent of the individual developer, though. I remember the dev in charge of Wanted: Weapons of Fate saying that he didn't include any multiplayer because he didn't want to compromise the single player portion, but then the single player game was crappy and short anyway.
"Oh dear, what happened to Mic? Did he finally run off with Banana? "
Mic if fine. Amusingly, it was the camera that was suffering from the mic tosses, not the microphone. I ended up managing to twist the microphone port on the camera so badly it was unusable.
In future I'll remember to leave me enough slack on Mic's cord.
Mic if fine. Amusingly, it was the camera that was suffering from the mic tosses, not the microphone. I ended up managing to twist the microphone port on the camera so badly it was unusable.
In future I'll remember to leave me enough slack on Mic's cord.
Jim... You need the microphone back! And then you have to drop it at the end. As for the video's message you are bang on.
There are things I wish were mandatory for every game:
Such as pictures and recordable video from within the games. Rather than have to come up with some fancy voodoo setup to record video and take screengrabs. We live in a blogging, social-networking generation.
I don't want to just talk about my Monster Hunter or Phantasy Star character, I want to show it off in a post or something. Right now, I have to do some voodoo just to get my SSBB picks off my Wii, I still haven't figured out how to grab my pics from Metroid Prime Trilogy.
There aee games that don't need multiplayer and aren't improved by them. Metroid, Castlevania and Bioshock each tried, but it felt like a waste of space and effort.
Such as pictures and recordable video from within the games. Rather than have to come up with some fancy voodoo setup to record video and take screengrabs. We live in a blogging, social-networking generation.
I don't want to just talk about my Monster Hunter or Phantasy Star character, I want to show it off in a post or something. Right now, I have to do some voodoo just to get my SSBB picks off my Wii, I still haven't figured out how to grab my pics from Metroid Prime Trilogy.
There aee games that don't need multiplayer and aren't improved by them. Metroid, Castlevania and Bioshock each tried, but it felt like a waste of space and effort.
"Jim... You need the microphone back!"
The mic will be back. This was a practicality issue not a style issue, since the camera is busted and won't accept microphones. The new camera is shipping to me right now so it ought to be business as usual next week.
The mic will be back. This was a practicality issue not a style issue, since the camera is busted and won't accept microphones. The new camera is shipping to me right now so it ought to be business as usual next week.
Excellent; I almost never touch a game's multiplayer component unless it's Halo. Nothing else does it nearly as well because it usually is just an extra bs features tacked on for no real reason.
Agreed I see too much (and for the record one is too much) in the way of games these days that either have a tacked on singleplayer/multiplayer portion.
Pick what it is that you want to do and stick with it....
Some games really Need to be single player while other games don't really benefit from single player and should stick to multiplayer. I will give you there is the occasional game that does both well and benefits from both experiences but those are few and far between.
What gamers want is an awesome game experience not some watered down, run of the mill, vanilla blah and that is exactly what you get when someone from the marketing department pops in and says they want multiplayer for X game by last Tuesday..... then the next five months wondering why their game got blah reviews and sold poorly.
Pick what it is that you want to do and stick with it....
Some games really Need to be single player while other games don't really benefit from single player and should stick to multiplayer. I will give you there is the occasional game that does both well and benefits from both experiences but those are few and far between.
What gamers want is an awesome game experience not some watered down, run of the mill, vanilla blah and that is exactly what you get when someone from the marketing department pops in and says they want multiplayer for X game by last Tuesday..... then the next five months wondering why their game got blah reviews and sold poorly.
Agreed. For example I doubt anyone is going to be playing Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood’s multiplayer after about two months of its release, AC’s mechanics where built from the ground up for a single player experience, porting it over to multiplayer will not work, or at least not be fun.
But what really irks me is when it diverts funds and attention from the main game, that time could be spent adding the final layers of polish and smoothing everything out. Sometimes it turns out ok, Uncharted 2 wasn’t any worse off for having multiplayer , but most of the time the main game suffers for a bullet point on the back of the box that nobody bothers with after the first months of its release. Come to think of it I didn’t even touch Bioshock 2’s multiplayer.
But what really irks me is when it diverts funds and attention from the main game, that time could be spent adding the final layers of polish and smoothing everything out. Sometimes it turns out ok, Uncharted 2 wasn’t any worse off for having multiplayer , but most of the time the main game suffers for a bullet point on the back of the box that nobody bothers with after the first months of its release. Come to think of it I didn’t even touch Bioshock 2’s multiplayer.
Completely agreed, although perceived value is still an important point. While developers shouldn't feel compelled to tack on a ham-handed unnecessary multiplayer component, giving me reasons to play through the game multiple times, either via unlocks (weapons, armor, costumes, etc.), different endings, or multiple skill/ability choices, will greatly increase my chances of purchasing their product.
Truer words have never been spoken. Kinda.
But I totally agree. I tend to skip multiplayer mode most of the times because I feel that most multiplayer features have a rather sloppy standard.
But I totally agree. I tend to skip multiplayer mode most of the times because I feel that most multiplayer features have a rather sloppy standard.
The way I see it, putting multiplayer in games really just comes down to if it feels necessary. Certain games just don't need it and it feels forced and awkward. However, it shouldn't be forgotten that some games serve just as well if not better as a primarily multiplayer experience. Co-op can be brilliant if executed well. I'm not talking about the obligatory FPS co-op mode. I mean things like beat em ups that offer partner moves and encourages teamwork. Developers should stop basing their development entirely on demand of the public and just look at what enhances the game experience.
I had this problem back with XIII on the Gamecube. I loved that game, I think it's highly underrated. But the multiplayer was abysmal and even back then I knew that it was unnecessary, and the single player experience, which I already highly enjoyed, could have been even better had they not tried to tack on a multiplayer mode.
The Mafia Devs apparently agree as well. They thought about adding multiplayer to Mafia II but when they couldn't come up with anything that they felt would match the singleplayer in quality, they just let it be. Let's just hope that decision doesn't result in bad sales like it did with Alan Wake. Because if it's an actual trend that having no multiplayer equals less copies sold, I can definitely not fault any dev for just tacking on the things that customers apparently demand - even if nobody ends up playing it anyway.
I couldn't agree more.
I already have games that I play when I want multiplayer. I have Team Fortress 2, I have Left 4 Dead, I have Mario Kart, I have Modern Warfare 2, I have Super Smash Bros. Brawl. These are all games that I think do what they do the best and until something really great comes along, I'll continue to play them.
I barely touched Uncharted 2 and Red Dead Redemption's multiplayer modes because I felt that their single-player experiences were more than enough for me and that I got my money's worth out of them. The multiplayer modes, as polished as they were, didn't seem necessary to me because I felt that the multiplayer games I was already playing were much funner.
I already have games that I play when I want multiplayer. I have Team Fortress 2, I have Left 4 Dead, I have Mario Kart, I have Modern Warfare 2, I have Super Smash Bros. Brawl. These are all games that I think do what they do the best and until something really great comes along, I'll continue to play them.
I barely touched Uncharted 2 and Red Dead Redemption's multiplayer modes because I felt that their single-player experiences were more than enough for me and that I got my money's worth out of them. The multiplayer modes, as polished as they were, didn't seem necessary to me because I felt that the multiplayer games I was already playing were much funner.
How about we have two types of games on the market. Single player or multiplayer. Multiplayer games could cost half as much because they would be easier to make.
I agree with you wholeheartedly. While MP is a nice diversion or way to continue the "fun" you have with a title, it isn't always necessary, as you say. Especially when it seems to be the exact same thing as countless other games.
The single-player experience is where I tend to devote most of my time, as I did with games in the past. This is why I am really looking forward to "Vanquish." I think it's great that Platinum Games is devoting all of their efforts on the title into making a (hopefully) meaty SP campaign. While I'm not too fond of Shinji Mikami's penchant for cheesy characters & dialogue (*shudder* RE4 & Godhand), I want to support his game and his willingness to skip over on a feature many gamers seem to want every title to have.
I'm not against MP - I have had fun with friends playing MP modes in games, but the SP experience has always been my favorite part of gaming. A game I really liked was RE5, but I wish it could have been 1-player only in the main story (especially since the sidekick felt tacked on, and the computer AI - when you weren't playing with a friend - was absolutely terrible). MP worked fine in Mercenaries & Versus, but it was NOT needed in the main story (which suffered because of it) IMO.
The single-player experience is where I tend to devote most of my time, as I did with games in the past. This is why I am really looking forward to "Vanquish." I think it's great that Platinum Games is devoting all of their efforts on the title into making a (hopefully) meaty SP campaign. While I'm not too fond of Shinji Mikami's penchant for cheesy characters & dialogue (*shudder* RE4 & Godhand), I want to support his game and his willingness to skip over on a feature many gamers seem to want every title to have.
I'm not against MP - I have had fun with friends playing MP modes in games, but the SP experience has always been my favorite part of gaming. A game I really liked was RE5, but I wish it could have been 1-player only in the main story (especially since the sidekick felt tacked on, and the computer AI - when you weren't playing with a friend - was absolutely terrible). MP worked fine in Mercenaries & Versus, but it was NOT needed in the main story (which suffered because of it) IMO.
Half-agree. Half-don't. As long as multiplayer is part of the design from the start, any game can have a good multiplayer aspect to it. However, tacked-on multiplayer modes are just stupid and useless.
I do agree, not every game needs multiplayer, especially ones that don't really seem to have that kind of a vibe to it. But if some shooter game comes out with some cool new mechanic, and they want to make a multiplayer mode for it on top of having a good story, I have no qualms with it. This is how we got Transformers: War for Cybertron, which I've heard is quite good in the multiplayer area.
So, it's a two way street.
I do agree, not every game needs multiplayer, especially ones that don't really seem to have that kind of a vibe to it. But if some shooter game comes out with some cool new mechanic, and they want to make a multiplayer mode for it on top of having a good story, I have no qualms with it. This is how we got Transformers: War for Cybertron, which I've heard is quite good in the multiplayer area.
So, it's a two way street.
100% agreed. I usually avoid multiplayer like the plague because, frankly, a lot of online gamers are arrogant twats who think they have something to prove (beyond the fact that they're 13 years old).
Like most working parents I don't have a lot of time during the week to game, so I'm naturally going to drift towards games where I can go at my own pace with an immersive single-player experience -- Okami, GTA IV, The Saboteur, and Red Dead Redemption being prime examples. EACH of those games me at least 40 hours of an immersive and fun single-player experience.
You're spot on with this one, Jim.
Like most working parents I don't have a lot of time during the week to game, so I'm naturally going to drift towards games where I can go at my own pace with an immersive single-player experience -- Okami, GTA IV, The Saboteur, and Red Dead Redemption being prime examples. EACH of those games me at least 40 hours of an immersive and fun single-player experience.
You're spot on with this one, Jim.
BioWare and Nintendo are the kings of single player experiences. Mass Effect, Dragon Age, Super Mario Galaxy, the Legend of Zelda. 'Nuff said.
The part towards the end, "You don't want what you say you want" is so brilliant. I have to remember to use that argument next time I can.
Loved this video as always!
Loved this video as always!
Did Assassin's Creed needed a multiplayer? I think that's just the excuse Ubisoft created to do another game on that series. Red dead redemption did a nice MP because they gave you the choice to play competitive or just goof around with some friends. I think that was well thought unlike MW2 which I played a lot but had so many bug it became unplayable at some point.
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