Remember multiplayer games before the internet arrived? I couldn’t until recently. My brother was busying himself at the weekend, showing me a wonderful little tower defence game on the PlayStation 3 that goes by the name of Comet Crash…
“What, you can play it against each other on the same console?” I asked, sounding alarmed.
“Yes Lewis, there was once a time where we didn’t need multiple computers, consoles, screens and an internet connection to play against each other; multiplayer on one screen, remember?” He retorted, with a stop-being-stupid tone.
I had actually forgotten that in this day and age there are still some games which allow for players to play together. Sat next to each other. Without needing a headset to converse. It’s startling really.
Nintendo, based on its marketing campaigns, would have you believe that everyone plays all their games with family and friends. But when it comes down to it, it is simply not true. Despite many of my Wii games being multiplayer friendly, I cannot remember a time when I’ve had any memorable moments of multiplayer action. The odd game of Wii Sports with your partner doesn’t constitute true multiplayer action. It’s a bit like eating Crème Brulee; pleasant, but odd. So thereSuper Smash Brothers has sat gathering dust, pining to be abused by a group of guys, shamelessly throwing insults at one another over a few tins of larger and a packet of crisps.
Growing up with a sibling of similar age made gaming on the same screen wonderful and common place. Rivalry and cheap point scoring between Gregg and I still bubbles over to this day, and begun at an early age; fond memories of playing Mario Kart or our Soul Calibre marathons. It’s a feeling that online gaming cannot replicate.
The very nature of playing online, irrespective of voice communication, is a relatively sterile experience. Playing against someone you may or may not know, potentially a world away, pales in comparison to on-the-same-console play. You don’t experience the banter, the jostles or hear the laughter; the vocal and physical stimulants that do make a game more fun. I have never laughed more than when playing Gauntlet Legends or WWE with friends. Both tragic games made priceless by their same-screen multiplayer components.
It’s not to be said that online play isn’t fun, because it is. But it’s a level of fun which is entirely personal. I tend to take my online play incredibly seriously, whether with friends or not. Although I may crack a smile, and cackle under my breath on the odd occasion, it all becomes far too rigid and at times devoid of real pleasure. I continue to play because I want to win and to experience the satisfaction of winning, not because I’m having the time of my life.
With friends, on a single console, I play purely for fun. A losing streak of five races on Motorstorm: Pacific Rift becoming irrelevant when tears of laughter stream down your face. And while it remains infinitely easier to jump online for bursts of play, as opposed to trying to orchestrate game-nights with friends (due to the reality of Real Life™), emphasis on same-screen multiplayer sadly seems to have become the swan song of console entertainment.
I miss ChuChu Rocket… 🙁
Email the author of this post at lewisb@tap-repeatedly.com
Lewis, what a great topic of discussion. Growing up an only child my experiences like this were few and far between. Most of my gaming with friends “in person” involved a LAN: we would literally hook up 2 friends in my room and another 2 in the spare room beside it. You have to admit that this was: A) quite epic for 1999 and B) even tolerated by my parents.
The only game we ever really agreed upon was WarCraft II.
I absolutely agree with this sentiment. Multiplayer gaming with people in the same room is where it’s at. I know I’ve warbled on about this before across Tap at various points but, it’s always been about Pro Evolution Soccer for me.
Thankfully out of my immediate circle of friends, I’m one of the only proper geeks, which means the other guys don’t really care about online. 90% of my multiplayer gaming is still done with a load of the lads huddled infront of a TV with the beers flowing, shouting “fancy a game?” and passing the controller round. Good times.
If only there were more games where we could do that! My brother and I, along with 3-5 of our closest friends, make a point to get together a couple weekends a year (usually when a wife has been banished to the in-laws). The beers flow, and we sit on the sofa and play whatever we can find for 50 hours straight. It’s too bad that “what we can find” is pretty limited – even as these events have gotten more and more elaborate, with people bringing extra TVs and 360s, the number of games that support splitscreen or same-room play is depressingly small. When will developers remember that we gamers do have friends and family we see (and game with) in real life??
I remember playing 7-way Mario Kart DS and it was one of the best multiplayer experiences I’ve ever had. Granted it wasn’t on one screen but it was certainly local.
Actually, Mario Kart: Double Dash!!, as weak as it was, was responsible for one of my other favourite multiplayer sessions when me and a friend tried to conquer the Mirrored 150cc All Cup Tour. The whole collection of tracks took a good hour to work through and we’d already tried about four times that evening and failed. Anyway, on this one occasion we were mere points away from winning and the last track being Rainbow Road meant we were up against it because we had to come in 1st to win the whole shebang. On the last lap at the front of the pack, and within a couple of kart lengths from the finishing line, we were pipped by Donkey Kong. We were gutted and exhausted. It was about 3 o’clock in the morning, so we decided to call it a night.
@Steerpike: Co-optimus.com is a great site for finding good local co-op games and I suspect local competitive games.