In the older days of gaming, there wasn’t much co-op, it was more of a pass the controller style. You know, you’d die in Super Mario Bros. and you’d pass the the controller to your buddy, who would die sometime and this would just continue. This type of co-op was very crude, and hardly effective, reason being that half the time you weren’t even playing the game. If your buddy was really good at said game, you were watching for a while. We eventually got to the point where multiplayer was introduced, and this meant now  you could play together, at parties, etc. There was a certain point where the multiplayer got stale because you were essentially doing the same things over and over again, however this didn’t happen for a while.

Next came an online system, which astounded people because now you play with someone and they didn’t even have to be at your house. They could be halfway around the world and still play with you, and people thought this was the pinnacle of peer to peer gaming, until we got co-operative campaign, and this in my opinion is the best aspect of any online type. Sure you can play different game types, kill some people, have a good time while playing online multiplayer, but with the campaign comes a shared experience, one that is unique from online multiplayer. With online multiplayer you work together for a common cause, you share the achievement of victory, and you share the laughs and the outrages. What co-operative campaign does is that that foundation, and add a story for you and your friend(s) to experience. Now you get more out of it.

Halo Wars feels to me like a dumbed down RTS, which is true in all perspectives, although it features co-operative campaign. A co-operative campaign in an RTS?! Are they crazy?! It’s possible, but it’s more like one of the best ideas introduced. I’m not sure if Halo Wars was the first to implement co-operative campaign but it sure as hell does a great job at making the experience fun for everyone and when you’re doing co-op, that’s what matters.

For the most part, the graphics are still somewhat the same, there is a slight upgrade, but I still think the original graphics are still good. I know they updated the sound as well, to me it sounds all so much clearer and of course there are the squawking noises some of the characters make when you perform actions, like jumping. If it annoys you so much, there’s always a console command to get rid of it. The only complaint I have is there are no longer any gibs and guts flying all over the place, instead you just get vaporized. I believe this is due to certain countries having something against guts – since this game is international.

The game play is the exact same thing and they haven’t changed a thing, after all, why mess up such a great game? You run, you dodge, you jump, you shoot, you get fragged – all there is to it. To somewhat of my surprise, bunny hopping is in the game as I always thought it was some sort of glitch with the engine but instead it is now encouraged. If you played any another “tactical” shooter before, well you’re going to have a very hard time with this one as it is a completely play style. This game is all about reaction and quick thinking, there’s no time to hide behind corners, it’s time to be constantly on the move and learn how to do split second aiming. There is a bit more skill involved when playing clan arena or duels as then you have to predict what your opponent is going to do next.

Speaking of skill, Quake Live will try to determine the best of your skills when you first start up. Go through a minute obstacle course which consists of jump, rocket jumping, and then bunny hopping to determine your initial placement, and then you have to fight Crash. You know from the first game, the pipsqueak you can frag a million times without breaking a sweat? Yeah well, prepare to get your ass handed to you by her as her difficulty changes on how you play. After all that, you have your skill placement and Quake Live will determine for the most part what games will be best for you. Which is great and all since you won’t be fighting anyone too high or too low for you to handle.

Like I said before, the maps and weapons have been slightly tweaked to better balance them. With the maps, some of the of satanic imagery and such have been replace with giant billboards that say either Quake Live or an advertisement – after the game is free but they still need money. The ads within the game are not inhibiting in anyway so don’t worry; if you are any veteran quake player, you’ll be going way to fast to even notice them.

Since this is a completely multiplayer experience, there’s the online community to look out for. If you read one my of previous articles, you would know I had some sort gripe against the online community in every online game except Quake III and I am so glad the friendliness is still there in Quake Live. Of course there’s the occasional asshole here and there, but the community as a whole is still good – as in good outweighs the bad. Of course, it might different on where you live and since now it is open to the public it might change.

Of course there are some small gripes about one of my favorite games ever, but can’t really pass true judgment since it’s in open beta. For one thing, to actually play, most likely you’re going to have to wait in line to actually do it. Depending on what time of the day it is, it might range from hundreds to ten-thousands of people waiting in line, so it takes anywhere from five minutes to an hour just to get to play. Another thing is, you can’t really start your own server nor have a private one between you and your friends – which I believe is currently being added. Of course, like I said before, there’s just something wrong when I play Quake and there isn’t any flying gibs across my screen. All are really nitpicky stuff and the game is still in beta.

Overall, if you’re a fan of Quake III go play it; if not, go play it anyway – it’s FREE. This game is good, fun, and fast; there is really no need for commitment and there is really nothing to lose besides a measly hour of your time getting it setup. It’s a fun game with a large active community, so I hope I’ll see some of you on the fragging grounds.

Seriously, what the hell happened when people where nice to each other after a friendly game? Now days, when I lose match, I get called a cuntface douchenozzle faggot, not just by the other team, but my own team as well. Recently with the release of Left 4 Dead, this has become very apparent to me. I get insulted by both my team and the other team. Not just Left 4 Dead, other modern FPSes on the PC have players with similiar attitudes – except Quake III, never really saw bad sportsmanship on there. The rage, anger, and bigotry are so strong in that cyber air that it’s enough to give one a stroke after a good single breath. Of course this has been around for quite a while, specifically around Xbox Live.

Now I’m not exactly blaming the community as a whole or am I trying to insult any Xbox players – but the travesty that is the hate-filled ignorance which is Xbox live is hard to ignore. Simply playing around a few games on Xbox live, I will be insulted by every single profane word that is in the English dictionary, and maybe a few other languages as well. I can simple say, “Nice round man” and I get replied with “You sound like a butthurt cunt, you know I’m the best there is”. Is this any way for players to treat each other in, what I thought was, a friendly game?

After all that malarkey, a few days ago I decided I want to take it old school and play some Starcraft on battle dot net. Of course there isn’t much a player base, but I was able to join a few games here and there. Most of which were Top vs. Bottom so I had to be in a team. The one thing that I noticed is that, it’s the exact god damn thing. I get bashed by my teammate who got killed quickly and blames their team. The other team was, of course, talking smack throughout the game. And out of all those games, guess what’s the one thing I never saw in the chat? “gg” or “good game” That’s right. No one said “good game” after a match, the equivalent of shaking hands with the other team in sports, the “gg” I thought was a courteous thing to do after a game. I would be saying “gg” and all I get is “lol i pwn u fgt”.

Where did all the friendly players go? I don’t remember this many assholes in the 90s and even early 2000 when I use to play on battle dot net. Sometimes I wish I was back in the 90s, with my dial-up modem, my piece of paper with quake hubs, and where everyone was actually mature, even knowing that I was still a prepubescent kid. What is the cause of all this hostility in internet games? Is world getting angrier? Is our youth becoming corrupted? Or just because now that you’re grown up, you can talk like sailors? Is this an American thing or is it worldwide?  What is the exact cause?

Now I know there is people out there that still act friendly on the internet and I would love to shake your hand, but nowadays, the unfriendly players outweigh the friendly ones. I can understand the gloat that people do, but it’s no longer gloating if you’re trying to demean the other players. It’s becoming harder and harder to actually enjoy online multiplayer games if this keeps up, so I ask every single one of you – say “gg” after that good game you just had.

In particular, I must bring up Left 4 Dead.

Picture renting the game with the intent of making a weekend of it. You tell your friends to come over Saturday night for beers and zombies. Truly it will be an event that the gods themselves might envy. You set up, every-one’s settled in, you turn on your console and… you come to find out that you can only have two players per console. The rest of the night everyone is arguing about whose turn it is.

Why on earth would anyone think it’s a good idea to limit the players in such a fashion? Is it just too much to ask of this next generation to keep track of 4 sets of health, ammo, and other stats while rendering what they are seeing? The Nintendo 64 found a way to do it, Halo 3 even had it’s method. Heck, the PlayStation 2 even had the semi-functional multi-tap so four players could go head to head in a game like Ape Escape.  So why not Left 4 Dead, why not gears 2?

I can only imagine that developers worry about the gameplay of splitting the screen up 4 times, and making it so everyone can still see clearly enough to make the game enjoyable. Another argument, for gears specifically, is that because the online component is based on 5v5 teams, if you were able to take 4 players online, it would unbalance the game teams so somebody would be left out, or fewer games would be join-able due to one console taking up almost the whole team roster. I can understand that much, but why not let me take 3 fellows to a LAN match, of all things?

I am concerned that all games soon enough will become online-only multiplayer, as that seems to be the case with the Xbox 360. Because it has such a well-established online community, why not abuse it? I don’t want to insinuate that developers are splitting up same-console multiplayer for the sole purpose of selling more copies. I can’t accept that developers are so completely cold-hearted. Perhaps the marketing agencies, sure, but not the ones making the games we play. I digress though to my original point. If developers want to include multiplayer functionality at all, it needs to be complete and functional. Nintendo learned that lesson with Zelda: Four Swords. Don’t assume every player has access to friends with the same hardware.

When you think about the Wii, you immediately think crappy multiplayer party titles that everyone can only enjoy only if they’re A: ten years old; or B: drunk off their asses (except for the rare first-party and third party gem here and there, of course). Now it seems that Platinum Games, that blessed company made up of the imaginative people that brought God Hand screaming into the world, is looking to change that, with their upcoming title, the gory and noir-laced Madworld, featuring some multiplayer segments that should be pretty fun, seeing as the  game itself isn’t your usual sports-related title.

Of course, it’s not yet explicitly stated just how much of the game will be multiplayer, but it’s this bit in the official MadWorld website that got our attention:

Take control and compete in a variety of ultra-violent ‘Blood Bath Challenges’ which can be played offline multiplayer with your friends or enemies.

Hopefully it lets us play online multiplayer, too. Man Darts will probably be a nice way to vent all that rage from lost Mario Kart matches.

Tip 5

Two guns are better than one

Find plenty of guns, and plenty of ammo. Guns kill infected. Since there are stacks of infinite ammo scattered across the city, definitely use them. You’ll never know what you’re up against. Also, don’t forget to find a second pistol, which can probably be found on a random car in the neighborhood.

Tip 4
Find other survivors. The more, the merrier. Furthermore, you can use other people’s bodies to run away and survive, if it has to come to that. Oh, and they can also help you if you’re friendly to them, which is probably a better option. Otherwise they’ll leave you alone with zombies ripping your guts out.

Tip 3
Get some exercise. Seriously, you’ll be running all day long. If you don’t have any stamina, well, good luck. Don’t forget there’s an infinite amount of zombies. And you don’t want to be left behind by the others because you’re so tired while there are 20 zombies coming from behind.

Tip 2
Take a lot of pipebombs with you. They’re the white things that you can throw and they go boom. For some reason you can find them everywhere. Don’t just take one, stuff your pockets with them. You don’t want to be left without any pipebombs as there’s a zombie raid coming after you.

These zombies are running away from Chicago Ted

Tip 1
Find Chicago Ted. No zombie is safe from Chicago Ted. If a smoker grabs him, he rips his tongue out and uses it as a lasso. If he meets a tank, the tank will run away in fear. If a witch startles Chicago Ted, that witch is dead. If you find him, you’ll be sure to survive all zombies you encounter.

FREEEEEEDOOOOOOOM!

Much has been made of the current health of PC gaming, with developers and fans alike voicing their opinions one way or the other. Leaving aside piracy, the casual market, and all that nonsense for a moment, I’d like to offer my reasons why I’m about ready to fly the PC gaming coop.

Being a long-time PC gamer, I am aware of the benefits of playing a game on PC over a console. Modding adds a great scope for customization and further freedom for gamers, but freedom has another meaning. Most of you reading this will no doubt spend a significant part of your day sitting at a PC for one reason or another, be it for work, college, or “recreation” (ahem). The resultant pasty complexions and hunched postures are part and parcel of the lifestyle we sadly lead. They can, however, be lessened significantly by spending time AWAY from your computer.

Why should I be forced to spend my precious free time sitting in the exact same position I do for the rest of my day? I just want to relax! When I sit down to watch a movie I do so reclining on the couch, not prone upright at my desk. Similarly, when I sit down to play a game I should be able to fully unwind. There should be at least a few hours a day where my face isn’t within touching distance of a monitor.

It’s not just a matter of comfort though. The cinematic qualities of a game like Bioshock are something to be savored. I found this hard to do so sitting at the same desk I write boring college reports at. Playing the same game in a friend’s living room, with suitable lighting and a comfortable seating arrangement completely blew me away. I was immediately convinced that this was how games were meant to be played and began to reassess my allegiance to PC gaming.

On top of this, PC gaming can be an unhealthily solitary pursuit. I may be playing alongside a whole team of living, breathing people in Team Fortress 2, but in reality it’s still just me, my computer and the voices in my headset. In my mind, the greatest multiplayer game of my childhood was Micro Machines 2, a game where you were so close to the other participants you were literally holding the same joypad. Now, I’m not saying it was the proximity that got me excited, but there’s nothing quite like being able to laugh directly in your opponent’s face after a hard-fought victory. The incessant micspam of someone I’ve never met doesn’t quite suffice.

Recently PC die hards have bemoaned the inclusion of console-style matchmaking in Valve’s latest release, Left 4 Dead. Microsoft too acknowledges how difficult it is to please PC gamers, as their Games for Windows platform floundered in its (admittedly half-hearted) attempts to introduce a similar system. This “consolization” of PC gaming is tantamount to blasphemy for PC gamers, who are used to being in total control of their online experience.

I say let PC gamers have their freedom, and I’ll take mine. Freedom to game in more comfortable environs! Freedom to play with friends without having to wear a silly headset! And freedom from my god damn desktop!