Multiplayer Ramble

I haven't posted anything in a fair while, due to lack of having played or seen anything interesting in games for some time (or at least, anything I can think of a lot to write about). I've been thinking about multiplayer gaming though; I tend to have a love/hate relationship with muiltiplayer. While I do find the social side of gaming fun, I sometimes dislike having to interact with others during play. I think it has something to do with that fact that while I am of course an avid and enthusiastic gamer, I'm just not very good at games sometimes. The ratio of games I've completed to games I own is rather low, and I often end up playing at lower dificulty settings because I find it hard stepping up to the challenge (not that I don't like a challenge, but there's a limit).

The inherent fact of multiplayer is that, well...people can see me fail. I like my failures to remain a secret, so when I've got several people (some of which I may actually know) watching me suck at the game, it's a bit of a downer.

Let it be known: I do like co-op. The thing that attracts me to things like D&D, and which prompted my short spell as a World of Warcraft player, is that it involves peaceful and friendly co-ordiantion between yourself and your mates. My favourite example of this recently: Magicka. I was going to write a full post on this game, but it doesn't work with my new laptop (something about integrated graphics cards), so that went out the window. Quick run-down: Magicka is an RPG that puts you in the role of a wizard, and has you using and combining different elemental spells to combat enemies. There' a big emphasis on experimenting with the different types of spells: eg the Fire spell sprays fire in a short arc, but you can combine it with the Arcane beam spell to make a Fire Beam. The system for selecting spells is a little fiddly for the PC; I found myself continuously staring at the little diagram in the corner before pressing the buttons, by which time I was usually dead. I've been told that it gets easier as you go on, but still no points for intuitiveness.

Anyways, I had a go on the co-op with some guys at university. It's really fun, and it adds more to the game than just more people. When firing beam spells, you can combine beams at a point to make an even bigger beam (think the main gun on the Death Star). I would say that it's a game that really emphasises the term "co-operation", more so than many other games. I had a really good time of it, as we were working together rather than competing.

PvP, on the other hand, can largely take a hike in most games as far as I care. I've been playing some Call of Duty: Black Ops with my little brother today. It's a good game, but like nearly all multiplayer shooters, it strikes me as rather...repetitive. You pretty much do the same thing over and over again until you win or lose. I'm sure any CoD conniseur will tell me why I'm wrong here, but it felt even more grindy than your average MMO; I felt this was due to the lack of a context or story, which is really what a game that has you doing the same thing (shoot people) repeatedly kind of needs to keep me interested. I had the same issue with Counter Strike years ago, and that didn't even have the good grace to offer a decent singleplayer experience,

Wait, what's that I see coming oover the horizon? Dear me, it's an exception!

Anyone who knows me will probably know of my love for Team Fortress 2, a game that has received just praise over the years, and a great community. Yet it's a game I should hate: there's no singleplayer, it's entirely PVP, and there's absolutely no context for the fictional conflict between RED and BLU. But I can't help but feeling that TF2 has miraculously transcended the need for these things. The classes are characterful, the maps are fun and cartoony, and it even stops me from feeling bad about being sucky by making the deaths so damn comical (there' your head, there's your arms, and waaaay over there are your legs); the little message telling me that I nearly got a new personal record on kills is always a nice pat on the back too.

So, to summarise: I don't like multiplayer unless it's co-op...or TF2...ok, Assassin's Creed can come in too...and maybe PVP is ok if it's in splitscreen...

Huh, maybe I just don't like military shooters.

Comment's down below :)