On Multiplayer

[JeanLuc761]

Behold the truth in all its shining glory! Games whose major selling point is the multiplayer can go die in a ditch!

But then we wouldn't have games like Unreal Tournament, Battlefield, Borderlands, Team Fortress 2 and Left 4 Dead, all of which are remarkably well designed and deliver fantastic experiences across the board.

Granted, most of my experience has been on the PC versions of all those as I've found the PC community to be more mature than on consoles.

 

[Elesar]

I would say that with this article you're doing the Lord's work Mr. Croshaw, but neither you nor I believe in him so I'll just cut it down to thank you.

 

[orangeapples]

Well truth but it's kind of obvious...I mean who doesn't know that...anyway I would like to see an assassin's creed 2 review

I think its funny how after reading this, I though, "hmmm... AC2 online multiplayer..."

 

[Angel Emfrbl]

I was just saying earlier today, its more fun to play single player. I grew tired of the internet a few years ago, and multiplayer was one that helped that along. Everyone has their goals and their goals might not be the same as YOURS.

*Guild Wars; picking up teams to go on quests either happened or... Didn't. When you did, you had one mission together and you'd part never to see each other again. One of you got ahead in chapters or the other quit.

*Savage; my teammates didn't understand I'm only good at being a healer so while they had the big guns out and not a care to get the healers going I was useless. They get the healers going and suddenly, bingo, everyone's a healer and no one's a fighter. As for why I was the best, I was the only one who'd actaully go into the fight and TRY to heal the fighters that decided to stay fighters. I was also a good stragiest, not anyone ever listened to me. I sat there and worked out that things like "Oh look, the back doors wide open, why are we attacking the frotn again?" Why? Because they only wanted to listen to the fighters and not the healers.

*Diablo 2: BAck to mr. "I've got my own goals who cares on yours", couldn't get a team that flowed well. Beat Baal and scramble for the loot. Necromancers take all and barbarians cry if they don't get their own WAY.

And the others I played. It all came down to the same problems.

 

[Caliostro]

Before anyone bothers, yeah, I'm aware he won't read or care, but these are online forums. It's all ultimately a waste of time anyways.

Article

Let me open by saying you're wrong.

OH SHI-... "My opinion can't be wrong!". Yes it can. If it's your opinion water in it's liquid natural state is dry, then you're wrong.

You're not ENTIRELY wrong however, mostly just the 4th point... Ok, mostly half of the 4th point.

The point you're wrong in is that EVERY game MUST necessarily have a single player or whatnot. You're wrong, as evidenced (for instances) by a game you claimed to be quite the good experience, Left4Dead. Saying every game MUST necessarily have a single player mode that MUST stand by itself is like saying every movie needs to end with the good guy smiling happily into the sunset. Different games are marketed towards different gamers.

This is equally the part where you're only half-wrong. Games that are marketed on their single player experience NEED a single player campaign that can stand by itself, and it's ultimately the reason games like Halo, Gears of War or CoD shouldn't get the "free ride" they expect.

As for online games ultimately being circumstantial or accomplishing nothing... Like any other game? Even by completing a beautifully tailored story mode what do you accomplish?

Yes, online games rely on more variables than single player games, but they're a different bread entirely. For instances every time you play the game, with a different set of people, the game itself changes. Behaviors change, skill levels change, things change, for you to adapt. Online gaming is not perfect by any means, not necessarily better or worse than single player gaming, it's different. Different people look for different things in different games.

As for your last point, I entirely agree, generally speaking people are absolute idiots. I wonder how most of them manage to do basic functions and breath at the same time. Which raises the question: Why do you care what they think? You often put a lot of emphasis in not being mocked, which quite honestly leads me to think the whole thing just scares you. Guessing you were bullied a lot when you were younger or something. This is a personal recommendation more than anything, but, it doesn't really matter what other people think.

And yes, I would say this to your face.

 

[GonzoGamer]

I'm glad someone else is saying this too.
Developers (for years) have been relying too much on online multiplayer to extend the life of a game. I too like a game that has a strong single player option.

That said, the games I usually play online are games that were made to be played online: UT, Warhawk and the like. However my absolute favorite games of all time don't usually have multiplayer at all: San Andreas, Fallout 3, Katamari Damacy.

 

[qbanknight]

The biggest problem i have with online multiplayer is the people I'm playing against. When i'm playing split-screen multiplayer with buddies were always cussing and poking fun at each other. It's part of the experience. but then you go online, the cusses and insults aren't made in a jovial matter, but with an intent to send you to hell. I have been called every racial epithet on the planet (despite being latino) and i have seen many instances were the insults have gotten to the point were someone quits (including me). I agree with your wish in your Modern Warfare 2 review, the ability to reach over the screen and smack someone for their stupidity. May I also recommend a good strangling?

 

[The Big Eye]

And was it just me or was the article conspicuously lacking in any discussion of non-online multiplayer?

Just you.

And if you try to get your friends around to play LAN or splitscreen, you have to make sure everyone's schedules sync up, and there's a strong possibility that most of your guests will vote to switch over to Tekken half an hour in.

I find most of Yahtzee's reasons quite understandable myself, although truthfully none of them have ever stopped me from wanting to play multiplayer for an extended period of time. If I like a game enough, I will eventually find myself testing my mettle online. At the moment, my game of choice is Halo 2 for Vista (trying to conserve money, slow computer, far away from civilization, don't judge me), which actually has a fairly strong single-player mode - stronger than its sequel, I should think; but I still enjoy playing online now that the entertainment value of the story has worn thin. Yes, the online gaming community has more than its share of fuckwads; but I find that all you really need to do is find the dipwads, morons, jackasses, and actually quite okay ordinary people in the game (which seems to be easier to do when playing PC), and hang out with them to the exclusion of aforementioned fuckwads. Once you do that, there can be a lot of fun to be had.

Yahtzee doesn't seem to like most of the games that actually do have a solid multiplayer experience, though (TF2 being a possible exception), so personally I wouldn't be too miffed if he ignored the multiplayer mode on games unless they happen to do something exceptionally innovative and interesting.

Which - MW2 didn't. So I think it's understandable.

 

[Woodsey]

Multiplayer lasts for fun for a few days if that. CS:S is the only thing I return to often.

CoD 4 was nothing special in terms of Multiplayer, and the stupid price, short campaign and total "fuck you" attitude to my platform is why it's a no purchase.

Single player is still king to me.

 

[Abedeus]

The last point smells a bit misanthropic.

But what if the game is 100% multiplayer? It should be good, then. For instance, judging Neverwinter Nights by single-player, without the multiplayer, the editor, the mods... it would get 6.5/10 at most. But add multiplayer and it gets a high 9, 9.5.

...Also, because Modern Warfare 2 lasts for 6 or 7 hours?

 

[Mr.Pandah]

Ah, the wonders of an opinion. And the wonders of being able to disagree completely with them.

I'm going to have to turn away on this one and say that you really shouldn't play certain games since you're really expecting something quite different. I see this almost all the time in your reviews about games where its obvious that the multiplayer is the most imporant part of the game.

I really can't bother with this though, since it won't be read anyway. This post is kind of like all of your single player games...nobody is going to know, or care that you've spent a lot of time on a certain game. At least in the online part of it, people know that you've wasted a lot of time with ranks/gear.

 

[Sonicron]

Behold the truth in all its shining glory! Games whose major selling point is the multiplayer can go die in a ditch!

But then we wouldn't have games like Unreal Tournament, Battlefield, Borderlands, Team Fortress 2 and Left 4 Dead, all of which are remarkably well designed and deliver fantastic experiences across the board.

Granted, most of my experience has been on the PC versions of all those as I've found the PC community to be more mature than on consoles.

Well, UT was fun and Borderlands was ok, but I don't give a toss about the rest of those. Don't get me wrong, all those games have the potential for tons of fun, but the premise is let down by what Yahtzee mentions in his final point. The notion that other players are paradoxically the factor that most detracts from the fun in multiplayer games is one I grasped years ago and as such can't be bothered to give games whose major selling point is the multiplayer a chance. I blame the developers - not because of the way the multiplayer is designed (in many cases, as stated, it is excellently put together) but because they didn't make the singleplayer their priority.

 

[Mantonio]

"You didn't try the online multiplayer portion of modern warfare 2????? Seriously????? THAT'S LIKE TRYING ORANGE BOX AND SKIPPING OVER THE SILLY PORTAL GAME."
-Matt, via email

Give me this mans address.

I don't care how many times I have to do something unspeakable to Yahtzee to get it, I just want to choke the stupid out of this guy.

 

[TheEnglishman]

Thankyou for confirming my dislike of online gamers and their general insanity, deluded nature and racism.

 

[MiracleOfSound]

This article is more a list of reasons why he doesn't like multiplayer, as opposed to a list of reasons why it should not have been in the review.

The fact remains (and I said it in the original thread) that reviewing COD without doing the multiplayer part is like reviewing a Big Mac and not mentioning the meat.

 

[M4rsch]

LAN is the only way to MP.

Either that or you need some way to disembowel your comrades and enemies in such rage-inducing ways that fuckwadism may be abolished. Confer CS:S Kifferstübchen.

 

[Supernovajake]

No. People are not shit. I was hoping Yahtzee wouldn't repeat that little emo statement after he made it in one of his video reveiws. I know it's partly what makes him funny, taking his own opinion as gospel, but when he writes things like this instead of vocalising them he just comes across to me as a real nasty piece of work.

There are plenty of nice people in the world. Just because Mr Croshaw does not beleive he is one of them does not make it any less true.

 

[hermes]

I want to point out another reason why multiplayer should be included as a plus, and not as the main reason of the game:

- Because multiplayer has an expiration date. Unless you count some very particular exceptions (Counter-Strike, Starcraft), the audience will get tired of the multiplayer and move to the next best thing... always. That means game experiences which should be timeless are ofter left half empty because I get late into the party, and therefore all I have is the leftovers. Try to get to an online game of Ghostbusters or Brutal Legend now... Single player mode don't have that problem, since I can have the same experience with God of War now as the day it was released. That situation is even worst when the game only has dedicated servers and don't support LAN, because then you are definitely going to hit the expiration date eventually.

This is related to point 2. Try to get into a deathmatch of Call of Duty 5 now, and you are signing in for a world of pain, and remain more time in to respawn screen than actually playing it.