Do All Mordern Games Need Multi-Player to be good?

[Tzekelkan]

Games don't need multiplayer to be good, no.

However, Wii games do desperately need multiplayer, every last one of them. I only bought a Wii so my girlfriend and I can play and even though I'm interested in Red Steel 2 I probably won't buy it because my girlfriend can't enjoy it in any other way than looking at me play. And that gets old. How hard would it have been to slap on a mode where we whack each other with the wiimotes?

If I wanted comeplling single-player experiences, I would play games on the PC or the other consoles.

 

[macuKAT]

I'm afraid your friend is clueless what the word 'gaming' is.... don't worry, I have plenty of mindless idiot friends, and im okay with it... because I know they don't know any better... because their casual gamers (ignorant, in other words)

 

[asgardmothership]

It seems "multiplayer" has become a buzz word to rope in many gamers. With the promise of multiplayer and the repetitive slay and be slayed mentality the developer does not have to worry about difficult curves, storylines, or competant AI companions. It works fine in theory, Valve headquarters where L4D is played with groups of people in the same room and all competant...
The reality is as many know is not that simple.
thought there is an exquisite pleasure in killing the avatars you know are controlled by those holding a gamepad like yourself, it cannot compare to a game where you have a reason to fight, beyond "The enemy has A".

That's why some of the best games out there (getting rarer and rarer) are single player only.
Dead Space
Alan Wake
Bioshock
Bayonetta

That said, the single player portion of dual multiplayer and single player games can be equally as good:
Call of Duty 4
Battlefield Bad Company 2
and so on.

By all means have a multiplayer portion, knock yourselves out developers, just dont have a throwaway storyline designed only as a watered down version of the 'real' multiplayer game.
I'm looking at you Frontlines: Fuel of War and Unreal Tournament 3!

 

[Zhukov]

No. And give your friend a slap for me.

Sure, multiplayer can be good fun. But there are times when I want to take a break from being verbally abused by 14 year old boys from Sydney.

 

[Tharwen]

I have a friend who hates Mass Effect 2 because "you can't use first-person".

Different people prefer different aspects of anything, but to say it's crap is a bit far.

 

[DazZ.]

I generally only play multiplayer and he's an idiot.

Bioshock doesn't (didn't) need multiplayer, I think Dragons Age could have done with it though.

 

[Doctor Panda]

As someone who's been around a bit longer than some of you... but not all of you. So as someone who is completely average in age I can say that there have been people around saying this sort of thing for over a decade, and I'll wager considerably longer. I've even encountered major reviewers who feel this way. Maybe for some people the competetive play is the only thing that enjoy about games. Shame for them, but that's their problem. At least it beats people who never try games at all, right? Regardless, it's not a new phenomenon, and I wouldn't be too concerned. Developers certainly haven't been abandoning single player in any great way. Hell, only thing I miss is the non-existence of 2D platformers Mischeif makers anyone?

 

[SimuLord]

I leave the last word on multiplayer to M'Aiq the Liar:

"M'Aiq does not know this word. You wish others to help you in your quest? Coward! If you must, search for the Argonian Im-Leet, or perhaps the big Nord, Rolf the Uber. They will certainly wish to join you."

 

[Jesus Phish]

No, games do not need any form of multiplayer to be good.It can be a good addition, but really I like my games to be single player. Main reason being I don't want to have to put up with the crap you get on XBL. The other 7 people I have to play with could make or break my gaming experience for that game.

Co-op modes with friends can be fun, but really as long as a game has solid single player its fine. As Yahtzee said about Halo 3, it should not be excused for having a bad single player mode due to it's online content. And neither should any other game.

 

[DoctorObviously]

A couple of million years have passed but somebody on this planet still realizes a game doesn't need Multiplayer. Miracles still happen, I guess.

 

[exarkunsith]

no see Fable

 

[vodkainferno]

While I'm not an expert if Mass Effect 2 was good or not, so you may be safe from a verbal tongue lashing...
Your so called "friend" on the other hands.... Is one of those.. those who ego solely is there because he is more efficient in killing in multiplayer then the actual game... (or maybe not, idk)...
But, no, If a games single player mode can't stand up on its own, then its a bad game right there and then...

 

[fix-the-spade]

"No, it's crap, it does't even have multi-player.'

Does he take Modern Warfare 2 deadly seriously by any chance?

Well.... Bioshock, Fallout 3, Mas Effect 1/2, No More Heroes, Mario Galaxy all beg to differ with his opinion. Although he will never have played any of them because he can't pwn teh noobz.

 

[kingcom]

So today I was in ancient history and some friends and I were haveing a little chat about the games we had been playing recently. Somewhere in this coversation I made the statement "Mass Effect 2 is heaps good!", to which one of my friends responded "No, it's crap, it does't even have multi-player.'

It was only a minor thing but it realy bugged me. Do you think all morden games need multi-player or is my friend an idiot?

I hope your friend is swiftly removed from the gene pool.

 

[ethaninja]

I'm more of a single player dude. So not for me. But I do like it if it has coop or if it has bots. Humans only multiplayer is out of the picture.

 

[Legion]

No, every game should have only have the option of multiplayer to be any good (Multiplayer only games being the exception of course). To clarify: No game should come with it as standard, it should be an optional extra. Why? People without the option or desire to play online should not be forced to pay the same price for a game as someone who does.

The only thing putting me off Halo Reach is knowing that I can't get it without the damn multiplayer.

Your friend is an idiot.