• 14Sep 10

  Do we really need multiplayer in EVERY game?

  First off this is my first blog, and everything here is completely and totally my opinion. I'm sure this is obvious but I felt I needed to add that in. Earlier today I was trying to think up a good topic, and after browsing some gaming sites I saw a rumor from a UK site that said that multiplayer was a certainty in Batman: Arkham City. After reading this it reminded me of something thats been bugging me lately so I decided this was as good as any idea to write about.

  Now I will start off by admitting I'm not much of a multiplayer guy. Its not that I never play, but I guess I'm a little old school and love just sitting down with a game, being sucked into the story, and literally forgetting about the world for awhile. I will try not to let my personal feelings about multiplayer get in the way of this topic, but I'm sure it will inevitably.

  In my opinion there are just some games that do not need, and should not have multiplayer. (MP for rest of blog). I'm sure there are REAL reasons that developers "tack" on MP, and reasons they say they add it. It almost seems like developers are starting to feel as if MP is a requirement now, even if it sucks. In my opinion the real reason is money. The typical MP fan will buy a game, run through the campaign, and depending on the MP aspect will either keep the game for that reason, or trade it in if it lacks MP, or if the MP just sucks. Well the developers know this, and of course they want you to keep playing their games, so in some cases just "tack" on MP in hopes of more money through DLC, etc.

  Now on the other hand the reason the developers usually give for adding MP is usually something along these lines, "We decided that adding MP into the game will add to the overall enjoyment, value, and quality of the game." I'm sure this is true to an extent, but in the end its of course money.

  Ok, now onto some examples. Some of the games I'm going to use as examples aren't out yet, so it will be completely speculation as to whether or not its going to add, or take away from the game. First off I'll use Batman: Arkham City since it was the inspiration for this blog. I'm actually playing through Batman Arkham Asylum now, after losing my save several times due to a locked game save, but thats a whole new topic for later possibly. Anyway, there are games that are fun, games that I play to pass time from boredom (Peggle), and then there are games that I literally fall into the world and lose track of reality for awhile, which is the main reason I game. And Batman AA is one of those games. Sneaking around taking out thugs, while trying to find another riddler trophy, all the while in the back of your mind your trying to figure out the current riddler challenge makes for an awesome gaming experience. And anyone that has played this game knows what I mean. This is a classic example of a game that does not NEED MP. If they can make something that is fun that would be great, but I don't think it needs it.

  Another example is Dead Space 2. Now again this isn't released yet, but for reasons I cannot give I can say that this is the perfect example of a great single player game having MP tacked on (regardless if it is fun or not), because it has seemed to become almost a requirement lately. The first Dead Space was one of the first games I got when I got my first PS3. I was absolutely blown away at how great this game was. I don't scare easy, my favorite genre of movies is Horror. I've seen and played alot of "scary" movies and games without being even slightly scared. But Dead Space took it to a whole new level. I've not been so tense and scared since the very first Resident Evil (PSX). Remember in the beginning of the game when your walking down the hall, and through the door on the right the zombie eating someone turns around and looks at you. If you've played that game, you'll remember that part.

  Anyway back to Dead Space. Heres the perfect set up. Lights out, good headphones on with volume a little higher than usual, walking down a dark corridor, all is quiet and out of nowhere a necromorph jumps down from a vent behind you and jabs you in the back before you have time to turn around. Now THAT is scary. And as I mentioned above this is another game that literally pulls me in and I become the Protagonist.

  Needless to say when I got my copy of Game Informer and saw Dead Space 2 on the cover I was stoked. But, in my opinion this is another good example of a game that doesn't need MP to be a great game, and if it were up to me I would rather have them take that time, development, and disc space to expand the campaign, or use it to add co-op support to the full campaign.

  Now on the other hand there are times when a game that was absolutely awesome had a sequel come out that added MP, even though it didn't need it, and it ended up being fun. And this is Bioshock 2. Although it was and still is fun, for me it was one of those "I guess I'll give it a try" times, and after a few matches was bored, and wanted more single player. Thankfully after a few MP add ons we finally got some love for the single player with "Minervas Den" which I am currently playing on my 360.

  In conclusion I hope that developers realize that MP isn't a requirement to make a great game, and that there are still gamers that enjoy the campaign side of games, and hope that the high popularity of MP doesn't affect the time, resources, and quality of the campaign side of games in the future. And that concludes my first blog attempt, thanks for reading and God Bless, Custnam (Gam3r 4 Life)

  • Posted Sep 14, 2010 1:37 am GMT
  • Category: Games
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