Every Single Game Needs to Have Online Multiplayer
By Jeff Effendi 23rd Mar 2010
Nintendo, Microsoft, Sony, PC, 1,561 views ShareThis Bad games are solved by multiplayer modes, single player campaigns should be scrapped and Mass Effect needs co-op. Yes, online multiplayer is the greatest thing... in the world.
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Dear developer, I really want to get my money’s worth; please add a multiplayer mode to your video game so that I may extend my playtime. Thanks.
As consumers, it’s what we all want, isn’t it? Of course we want to squeeze every little value from our product – we paid for it. Unfortunately, this general nature of ours, coupled with the ever-so prevalent obsession with everything multiplayer has skewed our perceptions. Seriously, guys, is multiplayer the only way you want to increase replayability of a game? Duh - is there any other way? Probably not.
First of all, the inclusion of multiplayer will always sell your game; so this should really encourage every developer out there to potato mash that mode in. Popularity and sales equals profit - just ask Infinity Ward. Secondly, in most cases, they guarantee playtime long after the credits finish. This coincides with my third point: better value. More playtime always correlates with happier customers - surely multiplayer guarantees this with a stamp of approval? I’m so obsessed with multiplayer, being the rabid online gamer that I am, that I also feel adamant about abolishing single player-driven games. They’re rigid, they’re inflexible, and above all, offer nothing new on a second playthrough. Boooring.
To me, MAG is the best game… in the world. I swear, every single game needs online multiplayer. Because, frankly, how can it not? For the developers, it’s a certified free ticket to stardom, right? And to us, the gamers, it’s a foolproof plan that we’ll finally get our hard-earned money’s worth. Multiplayer guarantees the increase in replayability
This won’t be the first time that I’ll concede to the journalists at a certain video game site, and it won’t be the last. These guys are right; Metro 2033 did need an online multiplayer mode because “…just about every game these days need to have one” - especially shooters. They guarantee replayability.
The backbones of first-person shooters in recent memory have indeed been bolstered by solid online multiplayer experiences, and Metro should’ve been no different. It’s inexcusable for a game to grip your attention for a mere 10 hours; take a note from Infinity Ward, know that a thriving online community will not only put you on the map, but increase the lifetime of your game. A multiplayer mode is not superfluous; it’s never ‘unneeded’, rather it warrants extended hours of play on almost every occasion. Sift through the latest and greatest; you’ll find that titles ranging from Modern Warfare 2, Bad Company 2 and Halo 3 are continually being played because of their online appeal.
Clearly, multiplayer is always mandatory. How did 4A Games, the developers of Metro 2033, miss this? To their detriment, the potential of a post-apocalyptic Moscow Team Deathmatch is a boat that’s long gone. Imagine this: you’re with your squad, trying hard to Capture the Gas Mask in the map, and the opposing team gets to it first. The toxic radiation, then, kills your team for failing to capture the elusive oxygen. Compelling.
“Bad” online multiplayer doesn’t equal longevity? Rubbish; stop lying to yourself.
The crux of the issue is this: video games that have been on the low end of the Metacritic pool were swimming there because they couldn’t provide for this generation’s online-hungry gamers. Add a slew of customization to the artillery available, a perk system, and a host of the usual ho-hum modes and you’ve got a winner. Yes, a winner that will guarantee replayability. It’s funny, thinking about it now, of course something was wrong with Dark Void – it had no online multiplayer. Buyers get more value with their hard earned cash
If ever there was one thing wrong with last year’s wooden spoon winner, Rogue Warrior (and let’s admit it; there was), it was that buyers weren’t getting their money’s worth with both the lacklustre single-player “campaign” and its half-baked online multiplayer. Gamers - being buyers with a budget just like everyone else on the planet - want to see the game they’re buying to have some sort of value. Again, clearly, since online multiplayer is heralded as the “it” thing, if Rogue Warrior had a decent multiplayer showing, it’d probably make everyone happy.
Seriously, online multiplayer should be a given for every game you purchase 2010 onwards. It’s added value. Even if the Deathmatch modes are rubbish, it won’t take anything away from the game, right? If you thought Brutal Legend’s multiplayer was Jack Black’s unfunny poop, you didn’t need to take a peek at it in the first place. The fact that the option is there for you to play it, though, is value you should be grateful for. That right there is some devious, devilishly cunning games development. Thanks, Tim.
Added value; it’s what we all want. The beauty about it is, after all, is that we can easily get it. Thank the gaming gods for online multiplayer. This leads me to my next revelation: heck, multiplayer may be the only value we need from our $60 – let’s just scrap single player modes; they’re shit, anyway. Just because single player games are a thing of the past
As previously stated, a game invariably becomes better as co-op and multiplayer modes are tacked on games. Dr. Ray Muzyka, the genius-hypeman for Dragon Age and Mass Effect is open to the idea, though, despite its clear-as-day benefits, was quick to note that it would “…have to be done right.” Wrong. Just slot a damn co-op mode already; a co-op adventure with Commander Shepard and Grunt is ‘win’ either way you look at it.
Single player games are a thing of the past; they offer little replayability. Once you’ve ripped the cranium off of the final boss, that’s it, that’s where the foray ends. Replaying the single player mode? No way. Multiplayer modes always turn out differently every round, and that’s what makes the Call of Duty series so refreshing. You don’t know what’ll happen next, as every gunshot noise is inherently different.
With shabby single player story modes, everything is staged. The same enemy A.I. pops up, the same explosion is never exacerbated by other externalities, and NPCs are annoying as hell to only look at. Come on, I want my Xbox Live buddy, XxCoDGoDShoota96xX, to be able to control someone in the game. inFamous is one of the PlayStation 3’s prized possessions, but I never returned to Cole’s playground right after he off’d Kessler’s on-switch. Why? Because there wasn’t a PSN mode that enabled eight Coles to run around the map, of course.
Gaming memories accumulated over playing a single player game is not worth the entry price of $60, even if they were memorable. I want to playplayplay long after the credits roll, so either make your game 40 hours long or give me multiplayer. Or else.
The appeal of Modern Warfare 2 has been a testament to what the current generation of gamers truly want. While the single-player campaign was credible, and – at times – let you participate in frenzied firefights, it was the competitive nature of Call of Duty’s online mode that drew millions of gamers in. Generalising the cluster of opinions, it was the killstreak rewards and weapon customization that really made Vince Zampella and Jason West’s last hoorah so special.
Really, if you think about it, Bioshock 2 only became great after 2K decided to slot in a cunning mode of multiplayer. Who the hell needs single player, anyway? Stack up the points, connect the dots, and piece the puzzles, because online multiplayer solves everything wrong with video games. Every single video game needs multiplayer. Wait… what?
[Editor's Note: For the readership feeling a little uneasy right now, yes, this is actually one of those satirical pieces with a point.] 作者: 地狱女武神 时间: 2010-3-23 11:28