I realise that it's a shame that I'm missing some great multiplayer moment, but so is missing out on skydiving or having sex with three women dressed up like the ninja turtles.

...

I'm back. So yeah, it's comparable to a lifestyle choice almost. I was hugely into multiplayer back when I was a PC gamer. I spent at least 5 years playing only multiplayer games, with most hours sunk into the phenomenal Action Quake 2, so I do know what I'm missing.

Specifically, I'm missing a hugely pseudo social form of gaming with a repeated cycle of foreplay/climax based "rounds" and a real sense of accomplishment through teamwork and a tangible "role" in a well oiled machine. I've had years of those moments, but as I look back at it, those are all accounted for in a broad "five years of my life" statement.

The opening moments of NiGHTS: Into Dreams was one day in 1996 where I almost cried of happiness. The ending to Another World was one day where I DID cry, and that was before I could put my finger on why! I couldn't even explain it to my mum who of course was really concerned because I just came out of my room crying.

When all is said and done, the isolated type of experience with a real sense of closure is something I can put on my shelf, look back on and cherish. The amount of games potentially carrying with them a truly unique sensation across more than six formats today is mind boggling, and if I'm to even approach a maximum capacity of being part of those, I can't justify lingering on the same game for more than the duration of its components that have a beginning and an end.

That's not to say I rush through games. I will play whatever extra content I find compelling and I'll go back and beat them more than once. But after I beat Uncharted on its highest difficulty setting credits roll and I can move on.

I'm told I have OCD by people far removed from medical circles :D but maybe they're right, I dunno. What I do know is that yeah I'm missing something but I'm fully aware of what that something is, and right now it's something I'll willingly give up for the final level of Braid, a trip to Rapture or a Bit.Trip Beat. Facing Visari, dying in a nuclear explosion, soaring across the Mario Galaxy, running away from Lu Bu in ancient china or bulding my first working hovercraft on a Planet LittleBigger than ours.

Fair trade.

Are those equally accessible to you? If so, stop gaming.

There's seriously time for both in your life. You just have to give up those "less fun" games Simon. :P

Okay they were extreme examples to infuse my reasoning with a bit of humour. But okay, a boringER example.. I don't read many comics. I'm a comic artist but I just don't see myself having time to read many comics. Of course I could take time out of my gaming to do so, or take time out of the TV shows I follow.. or take time out of listening to podcasts when I go to bed, et cetera.. but somehow I wind up with the feeling that I just don't have time for them.

It's a matter of priorities certainly, but somehow even minor things become major when it's about routine.

Although I chuckled at your comment and applaud the excellent friendly stab :D I kind of challenge the "enough time for both" statement because I'm frankly having trouble keeping up with all the "must play" releases (some of which I play because I feel obligated to rather than having fun with them) let alone all the stuff that I desperately want to play. I have about 10 wrapped 50 hour epics on my shelf and that's just counting the jRPGs for the PS2 that I want to play at some point.

So how do you really define "have time" because for me it's the time you feel that you can spare for the things that are less "essential" to you. There's really nothing I can find in a multiplayer game right now that I haven't already experienced in some shape or form because the fun of it is always in the playing with friends. That's why a campaign to those games can even BE boring, the core gameplay just isn't strong enough on its own and it's fueled entirely by the social aspects, the teamwork and the competition - all of which usually plays out in familiar game modes that have come and gone over generations of that type of game.

My intention is not to in any way diminish the appeal of multiplayer gaming, but just to convey my perspective.

Fuck yeah:

New gameplay trailer!

http://www.gametrailers.com/video/exclusive-gamepl...

Man that was awesome, those Russian FSB units + shields looked great :D

Definitely awesome.. not quite gameplay but I know what ya mean. Guess this is just another teaser for the trailer that they're going to release on Sunday. E3 is going to be awesome this year!

Yea.. it's only 6:30pm on the East Coast and 3:30pm on the West. Still very Sunday.

It's a holiday in the US tomorrow too. Memorial Day baby. Honor the fallen and all that (With beer and BBQ).

3AM. At least according to the page I just looked at. It's about to turn 4PM PST if that helps any.

Okay, I'll be the first to say that looked awesome. :)

Seriously... Halo? No. Hell I'm down right scared of anyone but Bungie doing Halo.

I would love to see a game like Battlefield with Call of Duty's fast paced combat though. Some people may not like it, but it's the perfect blend of run and gun (it's the Q3A Engine heritage!) and Counter Strike (which was already a little run and gun--strictly speaking of game-types really) and BF (movement/stance/etc, at least before they broke BF with those awful stance delays). I love it. I think it's unequaled.

But then on the other hand, I'm scared of them relying too heavily on class gameplay and objective game types, because that's just not their thing. I'm not sure they could handle it as well as they do everything else. I already dislike several game types in Call of Duty.... the base combat is just excellent though, and the game was made for Search & Destroy.

I mean hell, I don't even want vehicles in any capacity in multiplayer, ever. United Offensive and World At Wars vehicles are garbage. But if it were a different, separate franchise... then I'd say go for it!

But Halo.. gack. Bungie or bust.