GamerSushi Asks: Multiplayer Solo?

BF3 Multiplayer

When I first started playing multiplayer games, the realm of online gaming felt like a vast, unexplored world — one that needed conquering by my mighty hands. As the intrepid explorer, I imagined I would venture out into the far reaches of that vast pasture of frags and k/d ratios, seeing everything there was to see. It didn’t matter if I was alone, I could do this for hours on end, slaying the multitudes of faceless, anonymous players that populated each server.

Somewhere along the way, things changed. At some point, I began to need a buddy to help me tackle the vile denizens of multiplayer. This became especially apparent to me over the last week, as I played through the Mass Effect 3 multiplayer demo and Battlefield 3 (for the first time) with fellow GamerSushi writer, Mitch. You see, with early access to the Mass Effect 3 demo, I could have very well jumped into a multiplayer match with total strangers, fighting alongside them against waves of Cerberus bots. But that prospect just didn’t excite me. The same thing was the case with Battlefield 3, a game I’ve owned for over a month but didn’t want to play until I had someone to enjoy it with.

Honestly, I can’t even say why or when this change took place. I’m not sure if it’s because this whole “life” thing forced my gaming time to be more precious or because there are more social gaming options now than ever before, but at some point my tastes shifted. The main point of this was to ask you guys whether or not you tackle multiplayer games by yourself, or if you need a friend with you to truly enjoy it? Maybe you guys can help illuminate some of the reasons why we game the way we do in that regard. Go!

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I write about samurai girls and space marines. Writer for Smooth Few Films. Rooster Teeth Freelancer. Author of Red vs. Blue, The Ultimate Fan Guide, out NOW!

5 thoughts on “GamerSushi Asks: Multiplayer Solo?”

  1. For me, it’s all really about the game, and who can play it.

    When it came to Black Ops, I could play that thing by myself all day. But when it came to Modern Warfare 3, for some reason I found myself only playing online when one particular friend of mine played.

    But I find that I only ever really like playing online with friends on my side when it’s console games. When it comes to PC games, like CS:S or UT2004 (because 3 didn’t fill the void), I preferred going it solo and dominating.

  2. What are games for then if you cant truly enjoy them. For me personally I do need a friend to play online with, I don’t even bother turning on my xbox if I know no one is online. I’m with you Eddy, I don’t think I realized until I started playing the Mass Effect 3 demo. What it comes down to is communication and the people you meet online. I don’t even want to talk to them, I don’t put my mic in anymore unless I know the person. I’ve just become too jaded.

  3. I almost only play multiplayer games with friends. I like the social gaming experience, and I have friends who play almost every game that I do.

    In Modern Warfare 3, I only got the game quickly after release because one of my good friends wanted to play online with me. We now have a clan made entirely of real-life friends, and someone from that clan is almost always online playing when I want to, so I’ve almost always got a buddy to play with.

    When I played the ME3 Demo I went a few rounds with just random people, which was ok at first but got better as time passed. I think playing with strangers was ok as long as at least two other people have a mic, so there can be some actual teamwork. For instance, I played with some random (surprisingly) friendly guy online who was an Adept, and as a Sentinel we made a great team. We were able to coordinate tactics and attacks (he’d hit them with Singularity, I’d hit ’em with Throw). But I also played with a friend a little later on which was just as fun.

    PC gaming I play online almost exclusively with friends. Whether it’s CS:S, BF2 Project Reality or Mount and Blade mods, I only really play online PC games with friends.

  4. I really only play online by myself,people on my friends list are never on, usally with my mike turned off untill I hear some one else has a mike for fear of annoying people who don’t have mikes.Usally in competative game I just plug in my mike but turn it off so I can’t hear all the messed up stuff randome people yell at each other during live matches.But I like to use it for coop modes, so thats when I use my mike the most and actually talk to people who act like human beings. It’s funny how people figure out ways to communicate with in the game with out mikes though the melee attack becomes a way to get someones attention or to point out some thing, some developers understand this and add in a tagging system to the coop game ie gears of war 3 horde mode, Rainbow Six vegas 2 terrorist hunt tagging.

  5. It’s interesting, because yes, games like Quake 2, 3 and UT I would play multi by myself, but even as far back as CS/BF 1942, 10-years ago, I would usually only play with friends and guys from the dorms.

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