Breaking Down the Multiplayer Conundrum

With the recent reveal that the upcoming Tomb Raider reboot will include some form of multiplayer, the internet has again flared up with cries of anger against a beloved singleplayer franchise receiving the multiplayer treatment. This is in no way a new trend as a multiplayer mode was added to Uncharted 2 back in 2009. Since that time, many primarily single player franchises have added both online and split-screen multiplayer components, including Dead Space, Mass Effect, and God of War.

Is multiplayer really that bad of an addition to these titles though? Does it effectively ruin what was once a beloved singleplayer game by adding features that require an internet connection or a second controller? Let’s take a closer and rational look at some of the most common outcries against adding in multiplayer.

[TrendyGamers]

As long as the single player delivers, I'm all for it.

[FarCryLover182]

Have you seen this games gameplay?? Looks nothing like Tomb Raider.

[BoNeSaW23]

Love the Pic AND Love U3 MP.

Hope it goes FREE in 2013(Naughty Dog's teased MP announcement)so I can play with all my friends on PSN.

Team Objective or Survival Arena anybody?

[elhebbo16]

free as in completely free or a free trail like KZ3?

[BoNeSaW23]

Completely free to any PSN Account.

I think there is enough DLC Maps and micro transactions like Characters,Guns,Outfits etc... for Naughty to make a profit on.
No reason to let it die after all the support they gave it over the last year is there? I think it would be a great move.

P.S. Is the free MP trial for Killzone 3 a bad thing?

[Riderz1337]

Listen, if the single player component of the game is prioritized then I do not mind multiplayer. Why not have extra content for a game?

[Obnoxious_Informer]

I think Uncharted is the best example of how multilayer doesn't detract from singleplayer, just gives you another way to play the game.

[Number-Nine]

I disagree.

In Uncharted 2 single player was the main focus. It was action packed, had great writing and story, and much better platforming and puzzles.

In Uncharted 3 Naughty Dog really put a lot of effort into building up multi-player which ultimately took away from the single player experience.

The story was awful, the game was short, the main antagonist's lack development, the final boss battle was a joke, writing wasn't scintillating, humorous and clever, virtually no puzzles, gun play was worse, etc.

MP killed Uncharted 3.
I also believe Multiplayer helped stunt Mass Effect 3's development because of it's lack luster and rushed ending.

Every game doesn't need MP...even if it's something so insignificant.

[tack129]

To be honest some people find it too easy to just place the blame on the MP when in actuality there are other things that may prohibit a title such as time, resources and even the design. They could technically count for the development of the MP component but what if it was aimed for the development for a separate game?

UC3's problems were that they announced a release date too early (their biggest regret), one of the actors whom played a main character had to leave to work on The Hobbit (which required a re-write of the story, this was something that they couldn't avoid) and the devs split themselves into two internal teams, the "Uncharted" team and "The Last of Us" team so resources were split between two games, not two components.

ME3 was more to do with the writing rather than the MP. They could have easily made a better ending but they designed that ending. However the ending was like what, a 30 minute bit in a 30 hour game? Didn't they try to correct it in the extended cut?
If anything I don't hear as much complaining about the overall Single Player (apart from technical issues) as much as the ending.

[admiralvic]

While there are some good examples out there, they're vastly outweighed by all the bad ones. Also most people seem to agree that Uncharted 3 is a weaker game than Uncharted 2 in terms of story and gameplay, which many attribute to an increased focus on Multiplayer.

[majiebeast]

We all knew Uncharted 3 would never be able to beat 2 the game was still really good and probably still better then 90% of the games in 2011.

[aaronobst]

Well I mind, as far as boring multiplayer is concerned anyway. Imagine if half of these developers spent all the time perfecting the single player instead of making tacked on multiplayer.

Unless of course the multiplayer supports 2 - 4 player splitscreen, you can't beat having a bunch of friends over with some pizza and beers. Online only multiplayer is whack

[taiyed80]

multiplayer boring? I don't see how you could get bored playing against other humans. To me, it's much more boring and predictable playing against AI.