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The joys of local multiplayer

Not much to say here... Guess I may as well start writing! Goldeneye 007 (N64)

Even with online technology ever surging forward, it still fails to outdo local multiplayer. For example, just today I was sitting with my friend playing co-op in the Pokemon Diamond Battle Tower. As the opponent sent out their Pokemon, we'd each vocally tell eachother what we're doing, and sometimes what the other should do, too. For example, if we were faced with a Lairon and a Cherrim, I'd say "Okay, my Torterra'll use Earthquake to take out the Lairon, you burn the Cherrim with your Charizard, okay?". Sometimes in situations where the course of action is obvious, we simply nod to eachother and issue our commands.

Now, I know that there's such a thing as VoIP and webcams, I'll say that much for online gaming. But there's still no beating high-fiving your buddy after an intensely brutal co-op match, something impossible to do online. How about giving your pal a friendly punch after he frags you in a round of Halo? Again, this physical interaction is impossible online.

And even if they could SOMEHOW make it possible to physically contact your buddies online, I still don't think it would beat local, at least not in some games. For an example, take Dance Dance Revolution. Nothing beats getting together as a group and watching a few of your best friends make total asses out of themselves in the middle of your living room or local arcade.

Sure, when your online, there's always someone waiting to play. But is there any advantage to it other than that? No matter how great technology gets, you'll still occasionally get matched up with some guy with the crappiest internet connection ever. And what about disconnectors, those guys who always leave in the middle of a game just because their losing, just to protect their rank? Doesn't matter offline, because if your opponent drops the controller and leaves halfway through a round, you (And possibly many others) saw him do it. There may be little repercussions when disconnecting online, but when it's offline, your pals will know not to play against you again. And hackers? Man, don't even get me started with hackers...

So in the end, even with the webcams, the VoIP and the always-available nature of online gaming, local still emerges as the victor in my book. What do you guys think? Online or offline?

The Duck Has Spoken.
Posted by PsychoDuck at 6:06 PM rj42492 said...

offline, definitely, theres nothing better than seeing your friend's face when you're about to smash him off the stage in SSBM, etc.

July 16, 2007 at 8:42 PM ModestMr.Green said...

I'd say offline, yeah. Online is definitely not as satisfying for me as local multiplayer...playing locally makes the experience more interesting and alive, but when I play online I often get the sensation that I'm interacting with drones.

Then again, DS Wi-Fi Connection is basically structured so that I don't make contact with anyone else, so I can't really judge.

And by the way Mr. Cluck Cubed Daddy Dopples the Duck Jones, I shared what we discussed with Rav and he was happy, so that's good. xD

July 16, 2007 at 10:16 PM JohtoKen said...

Offline almost all the way! I love playing with others in the same room with me, but I'll play online sometimes when I want to.

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