Four Current Gen Games Ruined by Multiplayer

Richard Bailey of TheKoalition.com writes:
Yesterday, we wrote up an opinionated editorial on five 2013 games that we feel will be ruined by multiplayer. While it may have seemed silly to come up with these accusations outright, we already had in mind a few past examples that support our theories on why this feature isn’t necessarily needed for every video game out today. Without further ado, I now present to you our list on four current gen games that were ruined by multiplayer.

[rbailey]

Four concrete examples where multiplayer wasn't necessary. Do you agree or disagree?

[iamnsuperman]

I thought UC3 worked and had a slightly different take with the moving environments. I didn't think the single player suffered because of it either. The story was quite interesting and an eye opener to the traditional no worry style U1 and 2 had. Drake came off bad which was a refreshing and good thing.

"The quality gap between Uncharted 1 and 2 is astounding, but Uncharted 3 felt like more of the same in a lot of ways."

That is like AC1 and AC2 and AC:B. The jump was so big between 1 and 2 that B seems not as good because it isn't the momumental jump but that kind of jump is a tall ask for any game series. I think AC:B was the best in the franchise because it was AC2 but more. Which is why I am using it as an example for Uncharted. I think 3 was the better game because it was U2 but the story tried to do something completely different (and in my opinion it worked)

Spec Ops the line multiplayer wasn't bad. It just was a poler opposite to the single player game. It just didn't fit with the game at all and I am not sure multiplayer would fit with the theme it ran with

[Baka-akaB]

It's not even a matter of disagreeing , it's ridiculous .

You are scrapping the barrel obviously . GTA and UC3 didnt suffer one bit in the sp modes because of the multiplayer .

And it's highly open to debates that ME3's issues were caused by the mp . And by most accounts it's a great mp anyway .

The irony is that you might have been left with still a sp you dont like (if you are among the dissatisfied) AND yet without the good Mp to make it less sour

[FriedGoat]

GTA 4 suffered as being the most boring GTA in history. Realism just isn't fun.

San Adreas all the way.

[FarCryLover182]

Not much too realistic about GTA 4 though. Speeding through redlights, no ticket. Shooting hundreds of people, etc.

[Baka-akaB]

"GTA 4 suffered as being the most boring GTA in history. Realism just isn't fun. "

Not everyone think that to begin with , and even if true ,it's a matter of focus and style of gameplay and plot decisions , not the inclusion of mp .

[Theangrybogan]

A better question is why does multiplayer have to be in frickin everything these days?

[Dark_Overlord]

That's easy, online passes and MP DLC, even more ways to rape peoples wallets

[omi25p]

Grand Theft Auto IV is the best GTA and has brilliantly funny and addicting mulitplayer that is still one of the most played games online to date.

How is it bad?

[guitarded77]

I completely disagree... Mass Effect, Uncharted and GTA are not even effected by the MP. They still have strong campaigns, and Uncharted is great for 3rd person MP, GTA is all kinds of fun with friends, and ME MP just expands on the ME universe and offers a completely new way to experience what ME is. I can't comment on Spec Ops as I haven't played it. Of course it is your opinion, and you are free to express it. Just don't be surprised when a lot of people disagree. Anyway, that's for sharing and actually asking what others think. It's good to have open discussion with your readers.

[born2live]

I agree that MP wasn't necessary. I disagree that the MP ruined the games in that list.

[Godchild1020]

Dead Space 2 should on a list where the MP wasn't needed and I think Spec Ops: The line fits under that category. The other 3 games you listed don't need to be on that list.

[Cam977]

UC:3? I can tell the author I scraping the barrel here. That game had fantastic MP and those who say otherwise probably haven't experienced it to it's full. Coop an MP give the player lot of variety, furthermore, the online is constantly evolving with new additions to "The Lab", frequent updates, micro transactions, a wealth of challenges, skins and guns; special events (EG: Halloween and Christmas special items) and the fact that the maps are great, the game modes have variety and the MVP's logo shows for all to see.
I love playing U3 with my good friends - and friends across the pond for that matter.

Touching what you said about AC:B I guess it's a love/hate thing. I personally preferred AC2 due to it's groundbreaking features but AC:B was a great game. I liked the trainees, horse freedom, new moves and revenue from my buildings. Looking back, it was slightly below AC2 in my opinion because the environments weren't as varied.

[isarai]

It's not bad, but has a lot of kinks that fuck up the experience especially when compared to the perfected simplicity that was U2 mp

[Ezz2013]

that's the same site who said God of war ascension ruined by MP
yeah i will trust their opinion ...NOT

[icecoldfire]

This article is an automatic fail for including the ME3 multiplayer. Clearly he died one too many times from the Geth Prime or either the Banshee's or the Phantom's sync kill.

[listenkids]

Uncharted is fine, it worked great in 2 and refined itself in 3, neither SP suffered.
I had a great time finishing Spec Ops and it never occurred to me there was a MP, so that didn't change anything from my pov.
Mass Effect 3 multiplayer is the best of that style I've come across, with a ton of support throughout the months with packs, classes. SP was still great to me.
GTA4 multiplayer is ape shit crazy, great inclusion to a good game.

I guess I disagree, to each his own.

[FriedGoat]

The single player did suffer, but not from the MP.
The way they developed the game was different from 2 and it really showed and felt like it. Don't get me wrong I loved 3 but 2 was superior.

I remember reading about the team creating the levels and then building the game/story around it, instead of creating the story and then building the levels to cater for it like in 2. It felt very detached.

[STK026]

Four games where multiplayer wasn't necessary perhaps, but I don't see how it ruined the overall game. All four of these games had a pretty good single player component, and, in neither of these cases did the MP take anythign away from the SP.

Spec Ops is still one of my favorite game I had the chance to play last year, and while I didn't play the MP a whole lot, I don't think the game would have been any better whitout it.

The only two reasons I can see where multiplayer would "ruin" a game, is when a single player franchise goes co-op/MP oriented (like the Resident Evil series, although I'm more of a fan of the newer games in the series as I love the co-op experience) or when a game is made with limited resources and the multiplayer is taking away some of these from the campaign.

Adding a multiplayer component to a great single player game in itself won't ruin a game. If you don't like it, just don't play the MP, and let those who enjoy it play it.

[HaMM4R]

GTA??? Are you mad??? Me and my friends still play it almost every week for a couple of hours to this day!

[matrixman92]

I really do hate practically all of these multiplayers, especially mass effects...but if a game is good, ITS GOOD...dont let a multiplayer you dont like detract from the main game you want to play...I bought spec ops, didnt even play multiplayer...and i completely loved the game

[Hazmat13]

I feel that GTA4 was a nice addition, I'd say just Free mode. Nothing beats driving around LC with 6 cop cars behind you while your friends fly a helicopter giving support. But you know making a big fuss about multiplayer is not really called for no one is forcing you to play the online portion but then again on the other side is wasting valuable time making the single player just that more enjoyable. Both sides bring valid points but nothing is ruined the game is still fantastic (unless the game itself is just crap). Good example is metro last light said to have multiplayer I wished for a awesome co op adventure like a stand alone story (like farcry3) but then they cancelled it to devote more time into the storyline, that's fine by me. But I feel metro will be awesome to have multiplayer but then again I'm just going on a rant.

[wynams]

If the multiplayer isn't forced (only played Uncharted 3 from the list) then how can you argue it ruined anything?

I loved Uncharted 3 and only ever SP'd.

[greatcrusader44]

ME3 multi player is awesome, and it wasn't what made the single player section suffer, it was EA not letting the single player have an extra 3 months they requested (they wanted 6, they got 3). What could have been... still like ME3, its just not as great as the others, still happy I purchased it though.

[tack129]

Uncharted 3 did not suffer from a MP component.
Mass Effect 3 also did not suffer from a MP component.

Both of them have decent MP and also have decent Single Players. Just because UC3 was not as big of a jump as UC2 and just because ME3 had a really terrible ending, doesn't mean they have bad single players.

[deafdani]

Out of those, I played (and finished) Uncharted 3, Mass Effect 3, and GTAIV.

And I didn't play multiplayer on any of them. The single player campaign was superb on all three games (yeah, ME3 too, regardless of your opinion about the ending).

Multiplayer didn't ruin any of those games. Granted, I found it VERY annoying to see that my Galactic Readiness rating was always at 50% on my ME3 playthrough, despite me doing all the side quests I found and upgrading as much as I could... just because I didn't play the online part. But that didn't ruin the game for me.

On the other two games, though, I didn't see the multiplayer interfering with the actual game at all. I like Uncharted 3 as much as I liked Uncharted 2. It was a bummer that it was a shorter game, but it had more epic moments. :P

[r21]

Umm, Uncharted 3 and Spec Ops SP didnt get ruined by their MP, they both had great campaigns and IMO U3's MP was fun and great. Dont know bout Spec Ops though, never even bothered with MP.

[USMC_POLICE]

GTA 4 free roam was amazing

[rickybadman]

What a dumb ass list. Do people even realize that no resources is taken away from the single player to make these multiplayer components. They increase the budget and hire new people.

Consumers are getting something for free and they complain. SMH. Patcher has a point that sometimes gamers just want to cry and whine over nothing

[romancer]

Any points worth making about this wrong-headed article have already been made above. The rest is just mindless controversy... all too common in video game land.

[Jek_Porkins]

Although I'll agree that those games didn't need multiplayer, I don't think it ruined them for having it added. Developers are supposed to try and get as many people as possible to buy their games, some people will only buy a game with lasting value, if a game just offers a single player campaign, it might not attract the same amount of purchasers as a game that offers online.

That being said, I didn't play the multiplayer portions of any of the games listed. As an option, I don't mind it being included, and we might as well get used to it.

[mikemadden]

If you assume the single player campaign in a game could have been better if there was no multiplayer, you're an idiot.

[HacSawJimThugin]

Not every game is going to be as successful say the holy trinity of multiplayer this gen. Gears, COD, Halo work because the team behind each one of those experiences had a vision and didn't try to force it simply put. MP does not have to be apart of every gaming experience and I hate that that some games have tacked on BS that doesnt work or make sense.

[FrightfulActions]

Multiplayer ruined Mass Effect 3? Are you kidding me? Multiplayer was the only thing that gave Mass Effect 3 any real replayability after that horrible ending. The story ruined ME3, not multiplayer. While the servers could use some work I had more fun playing the multiplayer part of the game then I did the actual singleplayer.