Sunday, March 23, 2008

Local Co-op/Multiplayer A Thing Of The Past?


Remember back in the day when you could grab just about any video game and play with a friend from the comfort of your own couch? Those days aren't entirely gone, but they sure are becoming less and less. Now it seems like games on current gen consoles are either single player or ONLINE multiplayer only. After trying to find suitable games that me and my wife could play together this weekend we ended up trying to play some shooters. Not such a good idea. It wasn't her thing at all. She tried, but it was just too much. She's a casual gamer to say the least. It's not like we play games together all that much, but when the mood strikes it would be nice to have some local co-op games that aren't shooters. I'm not saying that there aren't any local co-op games, but there really aren't many. There's only so many times you can play SCENE IT before it gets boring.

Now I think I understand just why the Wii is selling like hotcakes. The Wii is a console that is a social experience. It's a console for people to play casual games. Being a hardcore gamer I'm really not interested in buying a Wii. At least I wasn't untill I put some thought into it. I'd be willing to shell out 250 bucks to play some local multiplayer games a couple times a month. I'm sure a Wii would only get about 10% or less of my gaming time, but when the mood strikes I'd like to be able to play some fun games with my wife and daughter. Nintendo obviously knew what they were doing when they created the Wii. Not everyone is a hardcore gamer. Actually a small percentage of gamers can be called hardcore. A very small percentage of people go out and buy 3-5 new release games per month like me or other people reading this.
A Wii could be in my family's future...if we can actually find one on a store shelf.

Hopefully Microsoft and Sony will start catering to people who want to play local co-op and multiplayer games. Not everyone wants to jump online and play with a bunch of people they don't know to get their multiplayer fix. Not that I'm saying I don't, but it would be nice to have the option of playing locally with friends and family.

Sidenote: I just now googled LOCAL MULTIPLAYER and it seems that other people are feeling what I feel. http://www.planetgauntlet.com/node/907

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Resistance The Fall Of Man. :)

This game is one of the best I've ever played. I think I am over halfway done now. It gets better and better. You guys can play at the same time with that game. I know it's not easy though. Maybe if you put it on an easier level it could be better for her


repro

Robert said...

Shooters are out of the question. She has major problems with using the right analog stick for the camera. She's used to older games where you move the directional pad and wherever you move is what you see.

If you like Resistance you should really consider getting an Xbox 360 one day. There are shooters on the 360 that put Resistance to shame. Resistance is a damn fine game, but there are better shooters for sure. :)

Anonymous said...

No way will I get any other system. Unless it's free. :)

Thanks to blu-ray I had enough of an incentive for the PS3. I won't buy that many games a year. Just too expensive. I'll get most of my games as they drop in price, used on ebay.

I don't think first person type games will be my favorite. I do love Resistance, though.

-Repro

Anonymous said...

Yeh beat the game at last. Incredible. I hardly ever finish games. This one just gets better with each level. The only other PS games I ever finished without a walkthrough was RE1 and the first Tomb Raider. Now I get to play this again but the second time you get new weapons.

After you destroy the rods there is a cut seen, then watch ALL the credits because after the credits there is a bit more.

Can't wait for Resistance 2!


- Sgt. Nathan Hale

Robert said...

Blu-ray is a huge selling point for the PS3. It's why I think the PS3 will eventually win the console battle. There's no doubt in my mind that they'll outsell the 360. They'll win based on people wanting it for a blu-ray player though. Hopefully they get ramp up their online and get more exclusive games.

I'm glad you dig the PS3! Like I said a while ago, I can't recommend anyone buying the 360 right now based on it's failure rate. Hopefully they'll get the problems fixed though. It's really the only thing holding the 360 back because the games and online service are top notch.

If I was a rich man I'd buy you a 360. :)

I'll definitely watch the end credits when I finish it. I never skip the credits.

Games I'm Playing:

Halo 3: ODST (Xbox 360)







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Kalamazoo, Michigan, United States
I'm 38. I'm addicted to Xbox 360 gaming and Dallas Stars hockey. I make a decent living at a boring job where I run two autoclaves and do various other tasks. My escape from this boring as hell life is video games, hockey, and music. I generally listen to Metal music, but I also love 80's tunes as well as 70's tunes. I have an unusual love for the band Overkill. They do it for me for some reason. Blitz is GOD!

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