Multiplayer games? Yes, please!

[Creole Ned]

Hello.

I enjoy these single player games where it's me vs. those evil jewels (Bejewelled) and such but I have found that more and more I treat single player games as a diversion and multiplayer games as the real "meat" of my gaming time, hence my fondness for the Smackdowns or the nights playing Medal of Honor, Tribes or co-op Raven Shield. And of course, my first MMMMMORPG, City of Heroes. This may change - I may find myself drawn more into some good single player stuff. But for now, I still prefer the MP.

An upcoming change to CoH (and CoV) has effectively killed my enthusiasm for those games. I may still play, I may not, I really can't say. I'm willing to try out this New Coke version, but in any case, I'm thinking some diversity might be nice, so I'm looking for suggestions on other MP games. Here's my short list:

• Dungeon Siege 2 - looks like Q *might* be getting this, so a co-op romp could be in the making. Yay! :yay:

• Raven Shield - I still haven't seen most of the maps in the free IronWrath expansion, so I'd like to give this another whirl or two. The download still seems to be on FilePlanet only, but it's a free download, at least.

• Smackdowns. Yep, still looking at starting these back up again. Need to decide on a couple of decent games. Problem here is even when something is suggested, there are very few replies in the SD forum, suggesting that interest is pretty close to zero.

• World of Warcraft. I have four months of free game time, so it would cost nothing to give it another spin. No interest AT ALL in PvP or the endgame. Let me say that again for those who might try to woo me over: No interest in PvP. Zero. Zilch. Any attempt to convince me otherwise will only push me away, I guarantee that.

• Other MMORPG's/MMORPG-ish games. I have a DVD copy of the EverQuest 2 "Trial of the Isle", which gives you a few weeks to look around the lowbie area (you can download it but it clocks in at over 2 gigs). Might be fun to give this a look-see with a few others. Beyond this and WoW, I'm not sure any other MMORPG's currently out there hold any appeal to me. The Matrix Online seems to have tanked, SWG is constantly roiled in some kind of controversy, Guild Wars is too PvP-centered and jackrabbit's post on Diablo II killed my nostalgic buzz for that game. The rest don't have a lot of appeal, subject-wise.

And that's about it. If I'm overlooking any super-neat MP games, this is where *you* step in and dazzle me. Then there will be much celebration and love. :o

Go!

[Harka]

Ned,

Stay away, and I mean far far away of EQ2. Let me preface that. Do you like the leveling of CoH and to a lesser extent, if you played WoW at all, WoW?

EQ2 will kill you. I played EQ a lot and then I played Beta WoW and EQ2 at the same time. As you may know I chose WoW over EQ2, so did Tai.

EQ2 is a lot of work with slow rewards. If the ability to solo is high on your list EQ2 is not very soloable in my opinion. Of course the Melee types are much better at it then others due to the ability to live through a pull of multiple mobs but you will still have your fair share of dieing. Also, there is a lot more of the go and kill this type of critter to either collect "X" number of body parts etc.. or just to fill a qouta. Very repetative stuff. Finally, at least for me the graphics are OK if you have a high end machine and can amp up the effects some but the character models for me were just plain UGLY.

Their is a tradeskill system in EQ2, if you are into trades in these type of games, that is very involved. I think way too involved but for those folks who love going out and hunting resources down and making things with them as opposed to adventuring then its right up your ally.

The one thing EQ2 has that would be on your plus side is there is virtually no PvP. I think they are in the midst of adding some in but last I played it was not in yet.

I reupped when they came out with a free 21 day period for anyoen who had previously played and I found the game play to still be more work than fun even though they have encorporated many things that are in WoW.

I guess all that being said, if you have a free trail period give it a shot but I think you may give it up after the initial new feel wears off.


This was just a quick off the top of my head ramble so apologies if it makes little sense or does not flow well.

:D

[Tick]

I haven't actually played it, and the graphics don't look that hot, but there is the game Second Life (http://secondlife.com/). It has a free account and a premium account level (with some serious differences, and the premium account is only 10 bucks a month - 6 bucks a month if you sign up for a year). It's pretty open ended...you can do damn near anything, apparently, and all the content is created in game by other players. Content creation and all activities are available to everyone, but you have to have a permium account to own land. Might be interesting to check out.

[Postal]

I would really like to get into another game together as a group. I'm not sure what game though. Here are some things I saw upcoming.

Civilization IV - Our Civ 3 try didn't go well because the games MP was bad but the new version is coming and it sounds like they built it for MP.

Quake 4 - Not sure how the MP will be for this. I know most of you guys are unreal players but I started as a quake guy and would like to try it again.

WoW Expansion - I will probably pick up the expansion and try it out.

Second Life - I would be willing to play around with this for a bit concidering it is cheap (Somewat free).

D&D online - New MMORPG coming up.

Halo 2 on XBox - I play Halo 2 a lot with my work buddies using Xlink. Any of you guys do this???

[FoeKilla]

couple quick notes

EQ2 - I bought it - I gave it a sincere try. The UI plain sucks turds. No other way to put it. Turd-sucking mastery. I fumbled though it and really tried to like the game. two weeks later, I'd barely left the tutorial and had yet to get out of the city you start in. Great dance animations - shitty game. Shitty game with a turd inspired UI. Oh yeah - my AMD64 3400, 6800GT, 1Gb RAM, and SATA HD struggle with this game. And the UI is built with poopy turds

BF2 - I really really really like this game. It makes me long for the days of Tribes when I knew everyone on my team and I could count on them to do their job. Pubbin in this game is suprisingly decent. Only found a few morons so far. I stumbled across a Christian Gamers run server that tends to keep the dummies away and I've spent most of my time on that server. I really really really like this game.

WoW - I really really really liked this game. Until it became a grind. I've considered playing again several times, but I can't install the current patch. When 1.8 comes out I'll log on again. Just found out that a ton of my coworkers play on a RP server. PVP was fun when I wanted to do it, but pissed me off when I didn't want to. I'll give the RP server a go. Lot less to worry about when I don't have to build for survival and can focus on fun. I really really really liked this game.


to sum it up - EQ2 sucks, WoW was alot of fun for a while and I really want you to buy BF2 and come play with me.

[Circuit]

You're considering quitting CoH because of an announced change you haven't tried yet? That doesn't seem at all like you, Ned. Maybe you need a break. Or a spanking.

And Serious Sam 2 comes out next week. That at least has co-op. I'm still scared to spend money on BF2. I did buy Medal of Honor: Pacific Assault a few weeks ago because it was cheap. I haven't played the multiplayer yet, but the single player's alright. Also, I wouldn't mind playing Raven Shield again.

[Tai]

I'll back up Harka on avoiding EQ2. It lacks the humor of WoW, seems more of a chore to play, and was damn depressing (gray and rainy all the time). Admittedly, the latter may be due solely to the fact that our group chose to play evil, and maybe that's a gloomier setting, but I have up at a measely level 11. I was not enjoying it. I liked WoW's humor and light hearted art style, but I'm not the hard code gamer who wants all the best equipment and to be top player online (at least, not since the days of 3 Kingdoms), so I was getting bored towards level 50.

I am planning on trying out D&D online, although I have no expextations one way or another. A friend of mine who works part time/worked full time at Turbine and her husband may be intereseted in playing that too. (Some of you have met them in WoW - her husband is one of those handcore 4 level 60 players, doing superquest all the time - the kind of stuff that doesn't really appeal to me, but he has fun - his first 60 was Drunken Dwarf whom some of you partied with in the early days. So I guess my ramble is indicating I will try this game.

BF2 - As you all know, BF2 is hitting the spot for me in terms of team play and the closest thing to Tribes yet (for me). While NOVA is out of the BF2 scene, a number of the NOVA players are still determined to continue, and are forming a new tribe called The Gentlemen (www.teamofgentlemen.com and #gentlemen on dynamix). We will be hoding practice once or twice a week, and will be playing competetively on TWL). You can almost always find some of us pubbing too, and we like to play as a team. I am certinaly open for anyone who wants to come play for us, or with us. (For, you might appreciate this, we have 3 or 4 guys who are west coast and insomniacs up all night playing).

We could certainly arrange some Smack Down stuff around this, even a 5 v 5 infantry only game can be fun!!

IWhat did I miss regading the CoH changes, do you have a link to the release notes or something?


That's my quick note, I gotta go back outside, the party is still in full swing :thumbup:

[Tai]

Ah, I read the CoH post - I will most likely be cancelling too, although I realize I wasn't exaclty playing alot in the first place.

[Creole Ned]

All the anti-EQ2 stuff perversely makes me want to try the trial even more. :bg: I've heard that the game has been aggressively updated since it shipped. Maybe that just means the poop is really shiny now.

Some of the others mentioned:

BF2 - no interest at all.

Second Life - content made by players? Could you convince me this wouldn't be horrible? I wish you luck!

Civ 4 - no real interest. Even if it's "made for multiplayer", turn-based games just don't lend themselves well to the format.

Serious Sam 2 - I will probably be picking this up.

Quake 4 - may get this unless a consensus that it stinks emerges. MP is said to be like Q3, which is a shame because I preferred Q2's.

Halo 2 - My Live account is still active and I have H2. I've never played the game, never even loaded the disc. Yes, I am weird.

I think that covers all the ones mentioned. Oh, and as for CoH, I am not thinking of quitting per se, just cancelling the auto-billing and maybe taking a break for awhile. The enhancement nerf is something I don't like, but I am just generally not happy with the way the game is going and the constant major changes to it. I'm tired of getting handed free respecs every few months because the devs are still "fixing" the game. It's just irritating now.

[armerius]

isn't Eve Online running a free trial? Is D&D online going to be pay2play?

My advice? go pick up We Love Katamari, that'll kill a few days for ya... great game there. and I have to say i agree with the BF2 crowd, GREAT game, that. How about F.E.A.R.? did anyone try the multi-player demo.. that one looks very promising...

or, if you want something free and (in my opinion.. and i think jackrabbit played too) a great game... go pick up Savage: The Battle for Newearth.. free download @ S2games.com

sequel is on the way, but the original was an instant classic for me!

[Paladin]

I'm in the process of getting back into playing Battlefield 2, although even with the point requirements for unlocking kits being eased up in the last patch, I still feel like I'm playing a ton and getting piss for points. But, it is a wonderful game to jump in and play for 20 minutes or 2 hours (or all damn day), just like the original 1942.

Aside from that, I'm slowly making my way through GTA: SA and KoToR II... both single player, so no help there.

I'd love to play some more Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory multiplayer, since that's what I bought it for, and interest seemed to wain fast. Ditto for Raven Shield.

WoW is a great game, but I'm giving it a rest until the next patch (1.8) goes live. There's no incentive for me to play my mage right now, and my warrior is useless. I would, however, be moderately inclined to start a new character on a non-PvP (or even a role-playing) server.

[Tick]

I will gladly buy BF2 if someone would be kind enough to spend five or six hundred dollars upgrading my PC to run it for me, because I can't afford that.

Eve Online, at least the bit I played in beta, seemed pretty crappy. Kinda tedious.

Savage ain't bad, but you gotta find some good people to play with...having an idiot commander is a gigantic handicap.

[Harka]

Ned,

To follow along with the analogy Foe started, EQ2 with the new stuff is still just a shiny Turd. I got back in for a few days about a month ago and it is still more like a job to play. Not a lot of fun to be had at all, especially in the early levels. Haviing a consistent group to play with helps some. My highest charater is level 17. With a good machine its prettier but still dreary, and that could be as Tai pointed out, due to being evil.

They took pages out of WoW's book and CoH's book in that then now have a mail system and a rest bonus for those who dont play as much and they have a sidekick/exempler system in place now as well. But even with that I found mechanics and gameplay still leaves me with a bad taste in my mouth.




Foe - (and anyone wanting to try an RP server for WoW) I spend most of my time these days on the Scarlet Crusade server. If your into RPing at all check out the guild I am in at www.kenafin.com. I encourage any of you good folks to fire up a character over there and I will help you in any way I can. My highest level character over there is a 42 mage named Tolliver. I have a 14 warrior named Harka as well. I tailor and enchant with the mage and mine and engineering with Harka.

We play Alliance by the way. When and if Blizzard ever allows paid transfers from any server we will most likely bring our horde characters from our original server over to SC for some evil gameplay.

[jackrabbit]

Holy crap! How did I miss this post?

I picked up Dungeon Siege 2 on Friday hoping that Q would get it. So far, while the controls are clunky, it's a fun ride. It's much larger in scope than DS1. I have already played longer than both the original and the expansion combined and I'm only through Act I. The levelling is slower, but it's timed well in conjunction with the game progress. In fact... I'm enjoying this game a lot more than I ever expected I would. I could go on, so I'll make a different post about it.

I plan on getting Quake 4. I too will wait till the majority of reviewers say it doesn't suck.

The demo for Serious Sam 2 didn't turn any buttons for me. I'll consider getting it for coop only if it's $29.99. I think, however it's MSRP is in line with most games at $49.99, and that's a steep price to pay for a game I may not play.

I own Halo2 and Xbox Live. I finished the single player and it was pretty good. I played 2 matches online and realized unless I plan on playing every hour for the next year, I'll never be able to compete (Counterstrike Syndrome). It was fun, and I'd play if people decided to get together for it, but I think Dg has my copy of the game, and I'd rather he keep it if nothing pans out.

Postal, from the buzz that I heard, the WoW expansion isn't expected to ship until this time next year. I could be wrong, but I suspect will know after Blizzcon.

[Q]

Civ 4 - no real interest. Even if it's "made for multiplayer", turn-based games just don't lend themselves well to the format.
With most turn-based games, I'd be inclined to agree. But Sid's turn based games have always allowed for a mode where players can do most of their turns simultaneously and actually provides for a great MP experience.

I've been tempted to pick up BF2, but I fear that I won't play enough to be any good at it and that will just annoy me.

I would be up for trying Raven Shield again, although I think I'd have to re-install it and then figure out how the hell to get it patched up :P.

[Tick]

One of the expansions added an auto-update feature to RS if I recall correctly. Or maybe it was in a patch. I forget.

I'd be up for RS, too. That was the most fun I've had in a shooter with QB since the original UT, and I played barely any of the Iron Wrath maps.

I found Dungeon Seige 1 pretty tedious, not sure I'm up for the expansion. SS2 on the other hand might be fun.

Q's right about Civ4. If it uses the Civ3 multiplayer setup, it won't feel very turn based...the only time you'll notice is if the other guy(s) take much longer turns than you, then you might have to wait a few seconds at the end of your turns.

[jackrabbit]

I'm almost always up for a game of Raven Shield. I had it installed on my old machine for just such an occasion, but that occasion just never happened. :(

Tick, DS2 is very much more of the same as DS. I liked the first but thought it had clunky controls and crummy itemization. Those two things hold true in DS2. It's still pretty damn fun to play though, as laid to testement by my 8+ hours of play since I got it on Friday.

[Creole Ned]

I will install DS2 today.

Sounds like there might be enough interest to get some RS games in. My server is still patched and ready to go from long ago. You need RS, Athena Sword and IronWrath. I believe installing IW will patch up the game and the first expansion.

PC Gamer has allegedly given Q4 a 70% review. Not confirmed yet but if true, that's pretty low for them. What, did another magazine get the exclusive? :P

[Paladin]

Actiontrip has what is supposedly the summary of the review on their site. The way it sounds, the 70% is based largely on the plot and lack of multiplayer bots. It sounds like it may still be worthwhile as a deathmatch option. I may still get it when it hits $29.99, even if that review proves to be typical of the other reviews it gets, just for the hell of it.

[pogozorro]

I'll pick up DS2 this week sometime, as I would like to play it given its marginally improved nature and the fun I had with Q and Ned in the past. RS would be a fun romp in the past, especially the minigame of getting it patched and able to be played.

[LogRoller]

I'll play RS, if I can find the discs. How many people can play DS2 at the same time?

[Creole Ned]

...if I can find the discs.
...should be your sig.

DS2 supports up to eight players, I think. I've actually had a hard time finding a firm number.

[jackrabbit]

Looks like only 4 people can play multiplayer DS2 at one time. :(

You can play up to 6 characters but only a max of four players. So 2 people could play 3 chars each, 3 could play 2 characters each, or 4 can play 1 character. If there are five of use playing, there's more likelyhood that 4 people will be on at any given point, though. If there's all five on, we can probably play 2 in one game and 3 in another.

Honestly, once you get past the first act of the game you can solo much of the content, so 2 people, each independantly controlled, would probably kick ass.

[pogozorro]

I am installing DS2 now!