Let’s talk about multiplayer. No, not the kind where you go onto an online battlefield and shoot people whilst shouting down a headset at them; the local multiplayer kind, when any form of abuse to the person you are playing with could actually end in a real life fight. That’s the best kind, right? I mean, you’re sitting next to who you are playing against (or with, co-operatively) so surely it must be better. What’s the point in playing against someone that you might not actually know and that you can’t even see?
Just a little over two months ago, I would have argued against this; I would claim that online multiplayer is absolutely fantastic and nothing else can beat it. Now I’m the opposite; I don’t believe that you can beat that feeling of having the other players in the same room as you when you’re playing a game. I used to believe this, before online multiplayer came along and ruined the local multiplayer fun I used to have on my N64.
Goldeneye 64. You knew it was coming, I knew it was coming and anyone that has the slightest knowledge of this game knew it was coming. I distinctly remember blowing myself up in a lift with a rocket on that game, much to my cousin and I’s amusement. It wasn’t just that, though, I put in many, many hours into the splitscreen on this game. What was so great about it? The fact that you could both witness what was happening on one screen; that’s been lost with online gaming (unless you have a friend next door that can run really fast).
Since I’ve been disconnected from online gaming, I’ve rediscovered local multiplayer due to having a few awesome flatmates that like playing games. One of the first things we did was play through the co-op story on Splinter Cell: Conviction. It was brilliant, I had tried to play it with another friend online before, but it lagged and it was hard to tell where to go (you can’t point to the screen with a finger when you’re playing online – unless you have a really massive hand). We completed it on the hardest difficulty and had a lot of fun playing it; I had forgotten how awesome local co-op was before this.
Local multiplayer is awesome, although I don’t seem to own enough games with it. It’s mostly my 360 games that have splitscreen (strange, isn’t it?), so we’ve played a little bit of Forza, some Castle Crashers and some Gears of War. All of these were a bit of fun, but none match the fun of the classic Goldeneye splitscreen multiplayer. The Zombie mode in Black Ops also provided a short while of splitscreen entertainment; although the fact that you need to be online to play Combat Training is very strange and downright stupid.
I’ve actually been put off from buying games depending on what the multiplayer’s like. I rented Black Ops because it’s mainly an online-based game, my flatmate suggested F1, but I soon found out that it didn’t have splitscreen and that meant that I was definitely not buying it (down from probably not buying it). I’m actually still deciding whether to buy LittleBigPlanet 2 or not; it has a fantastic co-op system, but the fact that I won’t have access to the millions of online levels is a big downside.
Then there’s Rock Band. My flatmates and I bought some drums, a microphone and another guitar so we could get the full band experience and so that we’d all have a controller to use if we all wanted to play. I managed to get Rock Band 3 and it’s simply brilliant. For the week after I got it, we all played it pretty much non-stop and I had more fun than I’ve had in a while whilst playing multiplayer. Rock Band is so much better locally, actually seeing your friends making a fool of themselves rather than just listening to them over a headset is fantastic.
I’ve came to the conclusion over the last couple of months that local multiplayer is absolutely fantastic and nothing else can beat it. Rock Band is just one of the examples of why local multiplayer is better, but it’s definitely the best. Not being able to play online may have seemed a terrible predicament at first, but due to my rediscovery of local multiplayer, it’s became the least of my worries. Who cares about playing against random ten year olds online when you can see people that you know make fools of themselves in your own house?
bunimomike
Blair, matey. I wonder if you’re suffering from your age. Hear me out! Generationally, you’re more accustomed to online gaming than many of us older gamers who’d spanked the posterior of local co-op and multiplayer possibly before you were born. It might have the affect of ingraining in us that local games (possibly for local people!) trump online games any day of the week.
However, as you are far more of the internet generation, it might be easy to think that online gaming is teh lols and hooking up in person is just crap or even plain weird.
I’m so pleased you’ve returned to the local fold as nothing can beat the laughter in person. The scowling looks as you mouth obscentities to your mate (on the sofa with you) when he blasts you in the head with his {insert preferred weapon here}.
I have a stunning time online with L4D2 and a few friends (Person678 being one of them) but in person would be uproarious. However, it’s not practical so online will most certainly do.
Now, where’s my Horlicks and corduroy hot water bottle?
mynameisblair
Nothing can beat the laughter or seeing the person at all, one of the reasons why I love Rock Band.
Person678
Is it just me or do you mention me and L4D2 in every other post or comment you make? :P
bunimomike
I’m trying to big you up so people like you. Sheesh! :-p
DrNate86
I’m the same, I was shocked when you said that you thought online play was better! I have always preferred local multiplayer, because, as you rightly state, it is a lot more fun having people experience it with you.
It is such a shame that so many games nowadays with multiplayer forget that you might have actual friends in real life that would like to come around and play with you, I used to think it was a crime for split-screen to be neglected but it does seem to be the norm with a lot of games now. And what ever happened to bots! They seem to be a forgotten relic it seems. Black ops seems to be a step in the right direction, with both split-screen online AND split-screen offline play, but it is bizarre that you need to be online to activate bots, when the sole purpose is surely to play large matches offline.
Hopefully we will see a resurgence of local multiplayer, with big games like Halo and COD giving everyone else a nudge towards the more sociable side of multiplayer!
moshi
Agree with you all. The countless days spent in the school summer holidays stuck in a bedroom with the curtains closed huddled around the Megadrive squinting at a 16 inch screen with friends. Good Times.
colmshan1990
I have always loved local multiplayer.
It’s no coincidence my favourite online multiplayer games offer split-screenn support at the same time, eg. Resistance 2.
KeRaSh
What I missed in Resistance 2 was story coop mode. The first game had it, why not implement it in the second game? I don’t care if it makes no sense at all to the story. It’s simply more fun.
minerwilly
Good article. I am an avid online gamer but picked up a move controller 2 weeks ago and have had a blast playing Sports Champions with friends. Bocce is a big favourite.
gideon1451
I’ve got so many memories of local multiplayer with friends. Mainly Red Faction 1 & 2, which were absolutely fantastic with your mate sat right beside you.
beeje13
my local multi memories are mainly of star wars battlefront and medal of honor rising sun
Lordfloyd
This is the reason I absolutely hate online gaming. If people want to play online games thats fine, but please developers, give us social people the opportunity to play splitscreen. It is criminal that hardly any PS3 games have splitscreen (how can F1 not have splitscreen). I’m not that bothered if the resolution has to drop, i’d just like the option. 4 player timesplitters on the PS2 was awesome.
XisTG
local was always better to begin with :]
in my case, i don’t have any gaming friends nearby, so i only play online co-op. AND, since i don’t like online that much, i end up buying games based on their single player appeal :]
TheShepanator
Local multiplayer doesn’t really work out with strangers. Thats why spitscreens where invented! Yes, spit-screens. I watched a LAN tournament once with a bunch of strangers all playing Dawn of War. Wasn’t pretty.
Origami Killer
You have to love local multiplayer, theres nothing better than four player fifa, call of duty, blur of LBP, but you just need the pople
Sympozium
I would really like few of friends that have psps haha its so painful that I haven’t got a wired connection in my room for adhoc party.
persuasion skills are just weak. heh
duncanuaz
After spending a few years lugging an Amiga & a portable tv to my mate’s house for multiplayer I quite like online multiplayer. This means I don’t see the dirty looks after some of the races I’ve had on F1 :)