There's been a ton of talk in various threads recently about different versions of games and different games being preferred due to their options. It's hard to sort out a true majority from a vocal few, so I thought a poll would be interesting.
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There's been a ton of talk in various threads recently about different versions of games and different games being preferred due to their options. It's hard to sort out a true majority from a vocal few, so I thought a poll would be interesting.
Yes, a poll would be interesting.
Someone should make one.Quote:
Originally Posted by Yoshi
It takes a few seconds to type in the poll options, smartasses.
Welcome to Internet 3.0: 2fast4u edition
I prefer singleplayer games but a good multiplayer component is something that will tip the balance in favour of a purchase. Call of Duty 4 is a good example of this. I wouldn't have bought it just for the singleplayer, and multiplayer alone isn't enough to interest me. The combination of the decent singleplayer and the great multiplayer was, however, enough to get me to buy it.
There are rare exceptions like Team Fortress 2, where the multiplayer is so good that I don't need a singleplayer component, but that is not very common.
Most of my friends don't like the same games that I do, so offline multiplayer isn't a big draw for me.
Been playing lot of games with local friend, so it's local multi all the way. I'd like to dig in more online multi, but people are never around when I'm playing.
I definitely play online games regularly, but I pretty much always prefer a good single player experience.
I'd rather play online than by myself, in general.
A good single player game is what I really want, but at this point there's very few incredible single player games that can last me 40+ hours but the TNL crowd makes any online game long lasting.
Due to the fact that I'm not on during the time most of the people I know are on Live, Single Player is of the most importance for me. While that is #1 for me, I still like to have good online as well for the times I can play.
For me, Gears of War, in concept, is the perfect game. It has a great and reasonably long single player campaign, which is the most important thing to be. However, it also has on and offline cooperative play and brilliant online competitive play that is only limited by Microsoft's stupid peer-to-peer.
I'm finding online co-op to be a big selling point to me. I don't have the time anymore to be good at online MP. Being able to play through the single player with a buddy online without having to traverse the city makes it golden.
My only online console is the DS, so I definatly buy for the single-player experiance.
Local multi is awesome, and online is really cool, but I probably play single-player stuff the most.
I'd type a nice response, but bVork beat me to it.
I like to play with myself.
I also like playing with TnL.
Other than that, it's probobly 65% single, 35% multi/online.
I almost never have people playing with me on the same system.
I play mutliplayer stuff pretty much exclusively these days. Some local, but mostly online.
The exceptions are games where I'm playing for score against other people via leaderboards.
I prefer single player games, and I don't really care for online play.
I slightly enjoyed playing online for awhile with quite a few of the Dreamcast games (PSO and Daytona were a hell of a lot of fun). However, I never get much mileage out of online play, or multiplayer in general, because I don't feel like I'm progressing in the game; thus accomplishing nothing. I'd much rather prefer playing through a single player game for 20+ hours until I beat the game, because I get great satisfaction our of progressing in a game.
I won't buy an online only game (Shadowrun), but a good single player campaign with a strong multiplayer is ideal (like Gears, COD4, etc). Of course, multiplayer is only good if I can play with TNLers, otherwise random is mostly shit.
An excellent single player game with no co-op is okay too, as long as it is awesome (Bioshock). For those kinds of games, I will buy it, finish it and then just sell it.
I buy for the single player experience, but solid multiplayer (especially co-op) is a big plus, sometimes even overtaking the 1P game. My problem with competitive multiplayer is that I just don't have the time to devote to the games everyone is playing, and I often feel like I'm just too far behind the curve.
To give you a good idea I have put a collective of 5 hours into call of duty 4 and halo 3 single players. But Over 50 combined in there mulitplayer. That holds true for just about every game, if it doesn't have multiplayer, with rare exceptions, I just don't care. Also co-op is meaningless to me, it's all about the player vs player.
The Xbox 360 changed the way I look at console gaming. Whenever I wanted some solid single-player action or something my buddies and I can get into, I go to a console. If I wanted to play with a bunch of other people from different locales and skill levels, I hopped onto my PC. But when I got a 360 and found out how much better some games are with others, I can't go back to the way it was.
Gears of War is what did me in. I played the game before I owned a 360 and thought it was alright. I did one Act and found it to be just another action game. But when I bought my own copy and started playing multi-player with TNL, the game felt fresh and different to me. Now I can talk shit with other people on a console, something I didn't even dream of. I don't have to change video cards, procs, RAM or anything.
Ever since I tried buying games that are mostly multi-player and the only one that was a letdown was Halo 3, but playing with TNLers made it bearable. I can't even fathom going back to just normal single-player gaming after this generation. Hell, when I didn't have any Internet connection at my house for three weeks I took my 360 to my girlfriend's house and played there. Even she dug playing TNLers in Uno.
I'll still play great/fun single-player games (BioShock, Lego Star Wars II) but I won't be as inclined to buy them compared to Rock Band or Call of Duty 4.
While I really enjoy good single player games, I find myself buying games that have both SP & MP modes strictly for the multiplayer, with the single player being a nice addition. When I am actually playing games, I just find the overall experience more enjoyable and rewarding to play along side people I enjoy playing with than playing a game by myself. That's not to say I don't find single player games enjoyable and rewarding, they just don't seem to give me the same feeling as an extremely well put together multiplayer game does.
I guess it's the social aspect of gaming that I like more than anything. I have always had friends that played games, we always played offline multiplayer games, or even switched off playing single player games. And with multiplayer gaming becoming far more popular I can see why I prefer it over strictly single player games, especially since playing games with people has been such a big part of my overall "gaming experience".
Halo 3 and CoD4 say what's up.Quote:
Originally Posted by Brand X
I bought both of those to play online and happened to do the single player because why not. Also, I really want to play through Halo 3's single plater right now. Is anyone down?
Precisely my point. While I did enjoy both of those single player games, I bought them for the multiplayer. Thinking back a few months even games like GoW, Splinter Cell: DA (which had a shitty MP :( ), and Forza 2 were all bought strictly for the MP.Quote:
Originally Posted by Opaque
Personally I prefer single player, due to the role gaming plays in my life now. I just don't have as much free time now a days as I used to, doing 2 schools eats up the majority of my time. When I do find free time to do something other than animating, if it's a Friday, Saturday or Sunday then I'm going out with friends, if it's a week day then I'll play some games.
If I get in 5 - 10 hours a week of game playing right now that's a lot for me. Sure at the start of the semester I'll be able to get in like 20 on a good week but not right now. Honestly I just don't have the time to put into a lot of these online multiplayer games to reach a level of proficiency with them where it's actually fun to play online.
When I did my undergrad I was all about online gaming. I just seemed to have a shit load of free time back then, so during weekdays when I wasn't in class I was playing PC games online with my roommate. Weeknights and weekends were devoted to drinking.
I aim mostly for engrossing single-player adventures, but if it has multiplayer (and online multiplayer at that) it's a nice bonus
that's cause they all had their wangs outQuote:
Originally Posted by raz0r
lol raz0r
multiplayer or bust really. I spend most of my time alone, I'd rather my gaming be a facade of social interaction than not. Single player has its place in games htat have story telling as a central thing but if there's no center on story, multiplay is a must, even if its just a scoreboard and friends list.
Single player main course, multi player desert.
I've been playing Mass Effect for the past 3 weeks whenever I get some downtime when I'm not posting here and never once cared that there wasn't a mode to play with other people somehow.
I prefer single-player, but online is always good if it's cooperative. I just can't get into playing death match and capture the flag over and over again, and I don't have the interest or time to spend months on a single game's multi-player mode. I know many people prefer the multi, and that's cool, but it doesn't do anything for me at all unless it's co-op.
Since most of my friends have moved to other parts of the country the only way to keep in touch is xbox live. So I'd rather play single player everything unless i can get one of them in some multiplayer.
Probably not gonna be popular by saying this, but I think people who are mp gamers aren't really gamers.
I think people who use the word "gamers" in that way aren't really gamers.
Those other mean boys made Tsubaki QQ one too many times, I guess.
I voted Online Multi/Value in Offline Multi. Offline multiplayer is the best of course for both social and competition/technical reasons, though not always feasible. Online is an acceptable alternative. There aren't too many single player experiences that offer the replay value of a multiplayer game, but beyond that, there's no AI that learns and grows with you as you get better at a game. Though, I'd imagine that most people would agree that single player can offer more "memorable" experiences through storytelling and the like.
I actually could not care less about online. I enjoy a good multiplayer game, but these days it's usually just fighters or DS wireless games. LAN can be very awesome if well supported, but it's very rare that I have the opportunity to do that stuff anymore 'cause everyone I would play multiplayer games with is too sated by shitty online.
At the same time though, it's not so much fun if everyone you know irl sucks at a game. I'd rather get some decent competition online.
I get zero enjoyment from playing random people online, whether I'm destroying them or getting destroyed. Might as well be playing AI bots.Quote:
Originally Posted by mannerbot
Except that AI bots still act like AI bots. The experience (of stuff meant for multiplayer like deathmatch) is better with real people even if you don't know them or communicate with them because of the added realism of the enemies' movements and strategies.Quote:
Originally Posted by MarkRyan
This is one of the dumbest statements I think I've ever seen on this board.Quote:
Originally Posted by Tsubaki
Care to explain your position?
Would you prefer the term cyber-athlete?
Having to play against AI is the reason I don't play single-player games anymore. AI is boring, because beating them always comes down to little more than figuring out and exploiting their behavioral patterns. The only time that stuff is fun for me is when things like score become involved and competition can be generated amongst other players to see who can exploit the AI the best.
Yeah, obviously bots won't play a good game, but you don't feel as much of a sense of competition when playing with strangers, and I appreciate that.
I think the main thing for me is that I just don't have the patience to play the same thing over and over again for long periods of time. I can play arcade games and such, but I rarely play them 7 times in a row, and that's what sitting on an online game server for hours feels like to me. It's just not that fun. I like getting a game from time to time, but I'm usually done in 40 minutes and only get into it now and then.
I agree, playing with strangers sucks.
That's why I find friends and communities that are good: so I don't ever have to play against random assholes, unless we all want to gang up and kick some strange ass.
I don't mean to say they play the same, I just get the same (non)satisfaction killing a nameless bot as I do fragging an online stranger.Quote:
Originally Posted by NeoZeedeater
I prefer online multiplayer, particularly on PCs. There just so much value to be had with PC FPSs. Several games ive played regularly over the span of YEARS. It helps that alot of the people I play with online are related to me or I know outside of the computer. Nothing like getting a Battlefield2/TF2 squad of uncles, cousins, neighbors, and old college buddies and bringing the serious pain.
I get lost in console single player games here and there, but the life of those games are very limited. Sure I will replay the really good ones every few months/years, but I will always come back to my PC Battlefields and TeamFortress.
I really dig console online multiplayer for fighting games, as most of my friends outside of the computer absolutely suck at them.
As far are FPSs go - Console online multiplayer is a nice bonus but its really not even close to PC multiplayer yet. The small player caps on consoles is just horrible. That wont change either until they offer up dedicated servers. BF2 has been offering 64 players at once and rumor is Battlefield 3 is going to up that to 80 to 100 players at once.
There's wasn't a choice on the poll that accurately reflects my purchasing decision, so I went with the first choice. My purchasing decision primarily depends on the type of game I'm looking at. For example, I don't expect nor want a game like BioShock to have any multiplayer modes, so its single-player is what makes it for me. In contrast, a game like Halo 3 would have to have both single-player and multiplayer aspects for me to consider it a worthy purchase.
Frontlines should have 32 players on the 360, but the game isn't that great.Quote:
Originally Posted by Destro777
All depends on the game --
I love puzzle games like Tetris and Puzzle Fighter online, and online fighters are usually a treat for me, but the majority of games I really enjoy are single player affairs. The newest exception to this rule has been Street of Rage 2 online co-op which has been a blast playing with a friend of mine.
I actually have my eye on that game. Its made by the Desert Combat team if im not mistaken after DICE gave them the shaft after BF2. What makes you say its not great? I thought it wasnt out.Quote:
Originally Posted by Ammadeau
The only reason you prefaced that that with "probably not gonna be popular" is that you know how retarded that comment is.Quote:
Originally Posted by Tsubaki
I miss the days of couch gaming. I haven't quite caught up to online gaming yet, bummer is I probably won't. Personal projects always eat up that particular bit of time and money it would take to get into it.
My sentiments, exactly.Quote:
Originally Posted by Prince Planet
I prefer single player and don't really care about multiplayer. At one point I was really into online gaming, but I find that I just don't have an interest anymore.
I couldn't have said it better, and I've been trying to say it for years now.Quote:
Originally Posted by wEEman33
I prefer single player for a major title, offline multiplayer is a slight draw for me because most of my friends still game, and their wives tend to enjoy shorter, minigame type games like raving rabbids2 or wiisports, so those can be fun nights. I really dont care about online at all, the tnl crew was a lot of fun back during pso on the box and cube, but i have no illusions that my tasts and the tastes of the forum at large have drifted further apart, and strangers are less fun to play against, so meh online, its usually more trouble than fun. I would love to see fighting games be reasonably playable online, but every time i played one, the timing was too wonky to use my stratagies and i just got frustrated.
You're probably still online. :pQuote:
Originally Posted by Pineapple
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I'm about half and half with the online play. I'd bought Call of Duty 4, for it's single player, as well as multi-player. I'd actually traded in the PS3 version of COD4, after buying a 360, because I'd had problems finding a match.
I'm not a big fan of buying games that offer nothing beyond online play. I'd reluctantly bought Warhawk, because it lacked a single player campaign. But I needed a title I could take online, with the PS3, and have any hopes of a userbase being there to play.
Still, I need my offline fix and Mass Effect fits the bill nicely.
I prefer online co-op to every other mode of gaming available.
I prefer single player in many cases, but that really seems to be because the majority of online games don't skew toward my taste rather than disliking online multiplayer. I wish there was more shit in the non- deathmatch or rts vein.
I can also think of like 10 Dreamcast games that I would suck dick to have with online multi.
What a bizarre hobby.
What a horrible night to have a curse.
i prefer single player games. multiplayer's nice if it's good or adds to the overall gameplay experience. i wouldn't play as much battlenetwork as i do if it wasn't for the 2 player vs option. i'd LIKE to play more games online but i don't have the money/time.
The morning light has vanquished the horrible night.
I prefer sp, online multiplayer used to be more important but lately I haven't been into the same games as my friends so my interest has faded.
That's just fucking stupidQuote:
Originally Posted by Tsubaki
See, I think I picked the wrong option because I prefer the campaigns to the deathmatch/multi VS. modes. HOWEVER!!!! it's ONLINE CO-OP that I look for MOST in a game, because as previously stated: I'm older now, my friends are all over, and games for me were always more fun with my friends. It was a social get-together, a reason for some of us to hang out after school. The best gaming moments I've had have mostly occurred with my friends.Quote:
Originally Posted by Opaque
With online co-op play you get to work together, which is good because I get stupid competitive (though I've chilled out a lot) and the co-op is pure fun. Online is almost better than local because everyone gets their own screen!
My ideal gaming situation is playing through an awesome story campaign co-op with a friend (or three) in the same room, each with our own screens. That's only happened a few times. I think I haven't bought CoD4 yet because there is no co-op mode. Gah...I remember the original Diablo was like, the best thing that had happened to me. We played multi on the PS1 , and we played through it like twelve times.
There are only a couple of games I prefer playing with no one else around: (even SP games I'm used to having my brother or gf watching me play) RPG's where a lot of my personality is injected into the game, (like KOTOR and now Mass Effect) and any of the metroidvanias/similar style games.
I should have just left my one line response post up there, but I'm at work and it's dead.
That's why it is great to have a group of ppl to play with like TNL. There isn't any pressure to play, but when you do get online (at least XBL), you can join alot of games that we are playing.Quote:
Originally Posted by YellerDog
I like playing online with other people....makes for more of an experience....keeps me more entertained
I voted offline, I really like offline co-op, and secret of mana is still my favorite game ever.
Because I live at least >1 hour away from my friends, online is very nice.
I'm also an Internet hermit.
Single player is the most important part of the game IMO. I can take or leave multiplayer/online play, but leaderboards are a nice feature - allowing you to indirectly compete against other players.
BioShock is a great FPS made for solo play. Multiplayer combat just wouldn't fly here. F.E.A.R.'s enemies put up a decent enough fight, and part of the fun is catching them off guard before you take them out. Instant Action missions serve as a score attack, kind of the F.E.A.R. counterpart of Half-Life 2's Survivor arcade game.
I disagree. MP gamers are just a different sort. Some 1P gamers can be MP gamers as well.Quote:
Originally Posted by Tsubaki
It really all depends on the genre of game for me. One good online FPS can keep me amused for years, so I tend to buy fewer of them even though they eat up most of my gaming time.
I usually only play through single player adventure or platform games once or twice and then sell them, so I tend to buy a lot of them even though they don't give me a lot of value for the money.
Most of my favourite fighting games are a decade old (98 was a good year for the genre) so I don't buy them anymore, although if I get SSF2HDR, it will be for online multiplayer exclusively.
Strongly prefer 1P - a big draw for me is figuring out & beating the AI, despite the fact most modern AI uses cheap tactics rather than being well-programmed. Big fan of co-op, but there simply aren't many modern games that have good offline co-op from both a tech and design standpoint.
I also strongly prefer system link multiplayer. I'd rather play splitscreen than online. I find online gaming to be incredibly unsatisfying compared to having people in your presence....preference left from my arcade days, I guess.
I like the concept of multiplayer, online or off, co-op or competitive but feel it fails in execution for a myriad of reasons. Whether for the nuts-and-bolts reasons of the game itself, or the incredibly fickle mass market, or the high bar required for entry once there is a core base of players.
So with the exception of CoD4 and fighting games, I could care less for co-op. As fun as it was to play TF2, the community (at least on 360) is busted. Oh, I take that back - I'm a big fan of Mario Kart online. Since I can't communicate with assholes who want to scream fag every minute at me, I can enjoy a race against a "smarter" AI than the game normally provides.
Otherwise, it's the same cycle - the flavor of the month game comes out that all pledge undying allegiance to for 2 weeks, until something else with an online component comes around. The only ones left in the wake are those who have already invested so much time in getting good that, it's pretty frustrating to play with/against them.
PS - I think playing with people in the same physical space can be much more rewarding, but technical limitations (split screen, needing multi setups in one room) can hamper it. Maybe that's why I still play fighting games. Again though - anything with a multiplayer element only works for as long as the crowd is willing to support it. Since I've been burned enough by bad groups it's much smarter for me (and my wallet) to buyy into a game with a stronger single player experience, with group play being so far in second place that it's practically unimportant.
I can definitely appreciate multiplayer, but singleplayer is the most important factor for me. The main problem for me is that I cannot afford to get all the games I want on day one, and by the time I do get around to getting them, when I do go online, I get destroyed and it diminishes any desire I had to get into the multiplayer component.