Weekend Debate: The greatest multiplayer game of all time

The best multiplayer game is optimized by the best player. Online multiplayer doesn’t entertain me long, I don’t like playing strangers. Achievement gets meaning when you play people who are friends, who train their game just to compete with you. People you can congratulate on besting you, or [CENSORED] off when you trample them.

Two games come to mind. Panel de Pon (the Japanese original of Tetris Attack) and Double Dragon 2 on the NES. Panel de Pon was the ultimate competitive game. My friends and I had sessions where you’d play one game for 25 minutes. Fighting yourself back from the edge, getting cocky and reckless, lucky hits and keen screen busting insights, other people cheering you on, sweat on your brow.

Double Dragon 2 was a great coöp game, such a simple button scheme, so many strategies you could determine beforehand. Kicking the final boss to the ground while the second player knees him in the face in mid-air (great sound effect) and seeing him flying across the screen… My friends and I’d play that game all day, even if we finished it a couple times.

Nothing will ever match long hours of fighting against my sister in Tekken 3 and Tekken 5. We didn’t care about skills and combos, we didn’t care about which one of us has more usable character and even though we wanted to beat the other one, we didn’t care about losing. There were no problems with lag, glitches and cheats or bad talking people. It was just us and the pure fun.

killzone series
gta4 series
max payne 3
resistance 1
cod:mw 1 & cod:blops
l4d 1 & 2
payday:the heist
psabr

A few months ago I would have said battlefield 3, however my view of modern online games has changed ever since borderlands 2 came out (stay with me). I hated borderlands 1 when it came out and sold it after a month, I hated it but wasn’t sure why. Borderlands 2 comes out and all my friends were going crazy about it, but I stuck to my guns (if you pardon the pun) and was convinced the game was terrible. When they finally asked me why I hated it I broke down what happened in the game, you shoot things and grind up a level. Then I had an epiphany, shooting things is boring and leveling up was a grind. I hated borderlands for the same reason I loved games like battlefield, and now I can’t enjoy any online games.

So to answer the original debate, monopoly!!!!!

i love sp games 90%
mp i like +-10 %

res 2 i play lots
cod also , even if i hate the game now
bf3
….

edit = res fal of men 2

Battlefield 2 on PC back in 2005. It was the first modern online FPS game I had played, as well as the start of my prosperous Battlefield career.

I remember rising up the ranks and finally winning Commander applications. Raining down artillery fire and setting up UAVs was such a unique experience. It was also the game that introduced unlocks and in game rewards that could be used online to me.

I still remember the feeling of sneaking up into the USMC uncap on Karkand as medic and [trying to] rain fire down upon them. Ahhh… nostalgia. The Special Forces expansion was also great fun!

Bad Company 2 and Battlefield 3 were also very entertaining, but I don’t see any other FPS stealing my heart the way BF2 did!

Nice debate!

Depends on if all, online or offline. As for overall, I have to say Killzone 2. It was brutal and feels- yes, still does- like the closest a game gets to a genuine war. Nearly 500 hours for myself kicking butt all over Helghan, I find it rather enjoyable. Some dudes don’t appear to have bought another game since release, seeing their hours dwarf mine.

For offline multiplayer only- since it’s a very different experience- I’d go for the classic Micro Machines V3. It was party gaming at its finest. Simple controls and over-the-top mayhem made sure everyone enjoyed it.

My fave multiplayer game was Tetris on the original game boy
Me and my brother 2 game boys and a link cable
When one of u got a Tetris (4 lines at once) the others screen went up by 4 lines the panic as u have less screen to play with was intense
I never won a single game to my older brother as when I got a Tetris he pulled the cable out great times

Close second sensible soccer classic no more words needed

It has to be Little Big Planet, easy for newcomers to jump in and can be an epic race for score bubbles between two or more veterans, online, offline it’s just so versatile

Counter-Strike: Global… Oh, wait…

For me, Red Faction: Guerrilla.

The multiplayer was and is still so different to anything else out there. Being able to collapse entire buildings onto people’s heads never got old. I also loved the fact there wasn’t any perks or boosters other than the backpacks, it led to a fairer and more challenging game. And the weapons such as the Singularity Bomb caused loads of lols over the time I played it.

Plus, you can kill people by hitting them with an ostrich. Need I say more?

Goldeneye without a doubt! Online multiplayer causes less bruises though. We banned Odd Job in our house, he caused too many arguments.

Unreal Tournament (especially the original and 2k4) for me. So many fun hours spent on that one. I’d say Wipeout HD Fury also deserves an honorable mention.

How could I forget LBP :O I’m so sorry, Sackboy! Half my friends list on the PSN I got from LBP.

For me i’d have to pick a classic over the tons of multiplayer games that passed the years already. Back then and when oh i’d say about 20 years already me and my dad had a little tank game on the PC (what was it a 4.something Mhz machine) where you could fight eachother in a large map.

Downside was back then you’d have to share a keyboard to control both tankies. Still.. That marked an era to come in the 20 or so years that followed but in my mind one of the best multiplayer fun i had.

I loved skate 2,so good just chilling with friends doing freestyle activities and seeing who can do the craziest tricks at the mega park!Good FUN times!

Well ..

my favorite multiplayer game has to be World of warcraft. Ive been playing it since launch/beta in 2005 and im still hooked.

The graphics may not be up to par with the technologie today but the stories/lore and little things they keep adding to the game make sure i go back to it at least once a day.

Guilds also make the social aspect of the game a big factor of coming back to it.

So yea .. my pick is WoW

Mario Kart, Just Dance and Guitar Hero are the best multiplayer franchises to me (though having a preference for Mario Kart)

My favourite would have to be Goldeneye on the N64, which was the first game I owned for the console. At the time the family had just moved from the UK to Munich – Germany, so playing the Multi-player with my brother, sister and sometimes even Parents, was a nice way to spend time together and have some laughs, in between getting accustomed to a foreign land and a different language. I think it was also something that could be picked up and so easily enjoyed, as essentially it was like playing Tag/Hide&Seek as young kids, you’d search all over for the person and then you’d find them, and then you’d hide and they’d search for you. Plenty of good memories playing Goldeneye. =]

My all time favourite MP game is easily Quake II on the PS…four of us crammed onto the couch, multi-tap hooked up, screen divided into four squares…mayhem! Amazing memories. We still recall and laugh about it today:)

Little Big Planet is my favourite multiplayer game, my friends and I spent a lot of time playing bomb survival levels.
Off topic, the latest PlayStation 3 update 4.31 has broken my access to the PlayStation store and this is really frustrating. I put $20 dollars on my account and can’t even spend it.

The best xbox g, .. sorry multiplayer game, of All time.. for me it is any game that is actually designed as multiplayer First, if not Only, like Starhawk for example, which has a SP ‘tacked’ on But argued to be a learning experience, rather than true SP or Story mode, pity they didn’t out and label it thus, instead of doing what All other devs do and try and get 1and a half, or quarter to add up to two, Have still yet to see this money making approch actually work, for us buyers i mean. Like the devs care anyway, these days at least, So again i like most mp games that Are mp games, not sure i want to name one. as tbh i don’t think i have really seen a playstation example, Mag could of made it, But imo they tried to be to ambitious, which ultimately led to them scaring away the numbers needed to have made it work,No i believe until the money making publishers allow devs to commit to making either SP or MP Only games, basically this debate’s topic is not going to be answered by to many good, or sensible comments, This xbox approach to current gaming, ie tack a mp on Every sp game, so they can make buying Gold subs look needed, Is just holding back classic mp gaming, and vice versa.

Multiplayer has changed over the years. Games like Kick Off, Sensible Soccer and Worms dominated years of my life against friends but they were sitting next to me then. Now its online my opponents are faceless and of unknown ability. This alone can make or break multiplayer for me. From abusive language to cheaters through to just bad losers. I was initially apprehensive about playing online so when I finally decided to take the plunge it had to be a game I was confident I could be competitive in. I also chose a game which also had co-operative play. I chose Burnout Paradise. After years playing previous iterations of Burnout against my brother I was confident in my ability and the game as a solo experience was astounding. Online though it becomes much more apparent how complete this game is and that it draws people together unlike anything else I’ve ever played, and that includes LBP. I met so many great like minded people on that one game and Criterion didn’t just do a couple of half-baked add-ons, they expanded the experience with their dlc. My favourite multiplayer game and possibly one of the best games ever released.
Its better to Burnout than fade away!

i woulnt even pick a game any game you can grab your family or friends is a great multiplayer
nothing beats having friends or family laugh with you as you play with them.

i woulnt even pick a game any game you can grab your family or friends is a great multiplayer
nothing beats having friends or family laugh with you as you play with them.

i wouldnt even pick a game
any game where you grab your family and/or friends is a great multiplayer game
because nothing beats playing game while your friends and family laugh with you

Hmm, this is quite hard to choose. I did spend a lot of my time playing COD multiplayer. I did eventually get burned out on it but it was a very fun and frustrating experience. After that I went on the battlefield train. I bought myself a copy of BFBC2 and had an incredible time online! I did experience a good amount of bugs, which were very annoying but it still didn’t detract from the experience. I can say that BC2 is my favourite multiplayer game.

o.0 i forget 1 game i loved only to mp = whithe knicht cronicles 1

hope soon guild wars 2 to ps3
diablo 3 ( no need of internet + no drm ) then instant buy + play lots mp to

Super Smash Bros Melee. I’ve played like 2500+ matches on there with mates.

Goldeneye on N64 was also really fun! Sadly the games these days doesn’t come to close to them in my opinion.

Little Big Planet
Playstation All Stars Battle Royale
& When Vikings Attack brialiant multiplayers games

sensible soccer, hogs of war, tony hawkes, Some simply legendary games being touted, personally only 1 game has ever had me going back for more…for the last 8 years . ….EVE-Online

hey hey

Eve. Without a doubt its the singlemost amazing mmolg of all time. Why ?

Because you can have the experience that you want without the grief of others or you can experience the harsh environment of pvp and even the cutthroat nature of trade and commerce. Of all the online multiplayers it really does have something for everyone and covers all game styles. you can even get lost for hours just messing with the UI (especially ship fittings)

However; what makes the game my personal multiplayer of all time is that the community is peerless. Corps meet up regularly and the fanfest is just mindblowing. The developers have superb ties with the community and players have a dramatic affect on how the game has evolved over time.

The game is superb but the community makes it amazing.

My favourite co op multiplayer experience,

Streets of rage II

Gotta have me some retro love. Nothing like getting to the end and turning on your co op partner only to be betrayed by MR X and sent back two stages

Crash Team Racing & Crash Bash. Good old PS1 days…

As far as multiplayer games that actually require some real cooperation I would have to say that portal 2 wins it for me because it requires you to really work with your partner and truly embodies the phrase “there is no I in team”.

For crazy as hell oldschool multiplayer awesomeness it gotta be Toejam and Earl: panic on funkatron, playing that game with a friend is like having a legal group hallucination

The best multiplayer online of all the time, for me it’s Portal 2 for sure. I had such a great time doing the logic puzzle online with friends, it was complicated, logic, hard to solve and funny all at the same times. And the satisfaction to be the clever one in the game is enough!

Its hard to choose just one multiplayer game but as I’m not a huge fan of fps games my choice would be between Street Fighter 4 or Monster Hunter Portable.

At a push monster hunter would win out due to the many hours spent in coffee shops with my mates questing away and such.

PS also we enjoyed GODS Eater and Lord of Arcana

That was Battlefield vietnam, I’ll never forget. A few friends and myself in a chopper, flying straight into the battle with ride of the valkyries blasting out of the speakers. EPIC!

It’s already been mentioned, but for me it has to be TimeSplitters: Future perfect. That game was just insanely fun on split-screen, you just don’t see that quality of split-screen gameplay these days. I first played it when my best friend brought it over to let me try it out; he left it at mine and it’s been here ever since!

He would come over all the time and we would play for hours. The game modes were all immense: Virus, Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch ,Capture the bag etc, all provided hours of fun.

We used to create a Team Deathmatch with the two of us up against as many bots as possible, in the temple map. There was this long strip of corridor with twists and turns,leading up to a sort of cave at the end which was a dead end. We would lay traps all along the corridor like proximity mines, and wait in the cave section as the explosions slowly got closer and closer. When the bots finally raged through all the mines and turned the corner into our cave, we’d be ready with an array of weaponry to make our last stand. We’d respawn of course, but you really got caught up in the moment.

I would always say to him “It’s about time I gave you this game back man.”
But he would always reply “Nah, I think it’s yours now.”
It’s getting me all teary-eyed just thinking about it.

I’d vote for counter strike:GO ….

Quake 3. Pure, unadulterated, fast, frantic, multiplayer. Still not been matched for deathmatch, I don’t think. And although Unreal came along and added more depth and variety to the multiplayer, it still didn’t match the surreal pace and skill involved in Quake.

Socom 1 & especially Socom 2.
No other game has had the friendly community that these games had, most people on my friends list bought a PS3 expecting a similar standard but unfortunatly that has yet to happen, imo COD destroyed shooting games,….
The days where friendly banter was friendly not aggressive or rude…
Teamwork was important to win, not K/D ratio…
Noobs were welcomed into the fray, and assisted in gaming,
Also push to talk comms was good so you could talk to / make new friends….
I enjoyed being dead in these games as that was a good time chat , clan matches were intense yet fun..
I miss those days, I guess a hd remake will never be made, maybe something similar will make the next gen..who knows

As much as I loved Battlefield 2 on the PC, my favourite would have to be Joint Ops: Typhoon Rising.

Joint Ops: Typhoon Rising was the usual affair of take control points, Team Death Match, King Of The Hill etc. It was the first Online Multiplayer game I really played with alot of work colleagues. Most of them lived around the corner, so when we would take a short break we would meet up, have a laugh, cigarette & a quick can of Lager before heading back online again for a few hours! My wife used to work Night Shifts so that suited me fine

The sniping was realistic to the point where you would have to judge the distance & aim accordingly. There were different types of Helicopters & ground vehicles at your disposal & the maps were absolutely huge! You could customise your appearance & weapon loadouts etc Words can’t justify the overall experience of the game, it needs to be experienced. I played that game for just over 2 1/2 years until people starting using Hacks/Chams & that ruined the game for me an made it obsolete. Novaworld had a great stats website similar to Battlelog that is currently used by EA for Battlefield 3 & MOH Warfighter but obviously not as advanced.

*SIGH* the memories…..*WEEPS*

It has to be STREET FIGHTER in all its variants, Firstly it started out as a multi player game long before the internet came out, and it has stayed as a multi player game all the way through, online leader boards and forums through to national and worldwide tournaments add to the overall experience, it’s one of them games that once you are into it you will spend the rest of your spare time trying to perfect it.

The best multiplayer game of all time has to be Bomberman. The simplicity of the game means that anyone can pick it up and play it, but the frantic play, range of tactics and uncomplicated power ups together with having five people all shouting at each other around the telly make for some of my greatest multiplayer gaming memories

The very first Counter-Strike up to 1.6.
We were still young in these days, LAN gaming was huge and CS’ gameplay was nothing but revolutionary in those times when plain Deathmatch and CTF were all that multiplayer shooters offered.

That surviving mattered as much as killing, that teamplay was not just an hypothetical option seemed like a gift from the gods to me in the late 90s.
That it had the best community, the loveliest and craziest maps (still missing those rats maps!) just add to the case. Without a doubt my best multiplayer experience in my life.

CGSO in our days (yes, the PC version) doesn’t feel all the same. The traditional mode and gameplay lost much of its special flair, new additions as Arms Race are nothing but a disappointment. Oh and of course LAN is dead, I’m older and … oh well.

The greatest multiplayer game of all time is FU**ING SINGSTAR.