A Look Back at 10 of the Best Local Multiplayer Games of All-Time

EB's Matt Heywood writes, "There’s no denying the amount of joy and camaraderie that can come out of a local multiplayer gaming session, so it’s kind of sad to see that most modern games forgo this type of mode in favor of the online only multiplayer model that dominates today’s competitive gaming landscape. Luckily, franchises like Mario Kart, Super Smash Bros., and a few others still offer local competitive play, so with the release of Mario Kart 8 less than two days away we felt like it’d be fun to take a look back at ten of the best local multiplayer games of all-time. The list features games from the NES all the way up to the PS3/360 era, so all generations of gamers will more than likely identify with at least one game. Head on down below to see which title took the top spot."

[Grilla]

Baldurs gate: Dark Alliance should be on that list, good times.

[Eldyraen]

I spent so much time playing Baldur's Gate, Champions of Norrath, X-men/Marvel, etc and was disappointed we didn't see more games of their ilk last generation.

We saw a few (Marvel: Ultimate Alliance games comes to mind--still fun and followed the model best imo) but most were either sub par Arcade/Indie games (again imho), singleplayer or onilne coop (Torthlight--one of the cooler dungeon crawlers last gen), or were not 'quite' the same sort of game anyways (Diablo 3--it was a blast and helped fill the void but was not as beat-em-up/brawler sort of fun as BG/EQ/etc sort of evolved from combat similar to side scrollers like Double Dragon/TMNT/etc).

I would love to see more games go back to that sort of model. Marvel/DC would make a killing if they released one (on par with old ones) near one of their big films (but they would rather go with Lego titles nowadays :( If it isn't Lego most are movie tie-ins that are usually not that great. Arkham games are by far the best super hero games (well established comic book heroes as Infamous is right up there imo and all original) to have been made in years but it has one thing in common with at least 90% of all great comic book games--an original story that doesn't follow directly with a movie, cartoon, etc.

I would love if Sony came out with a new Champions or its spiritual successor once EQ Next/Landmark comes out as well. They can keep it simple still and have limited classes/races if they want but I just thought they were a ton of fun (Untold Legends was a disappointment in comparison--had high hopes for it too).

I think the same would be true for D&D (BG was best but D&D Heroes was a pretty solid game too) as they have never strayed from the video game market for long. They have recently brought enhanced versions of older games to PC, created a f2p MMO, an iphone game, etc but I want something new and modern for consoles now and think its about time they went big with it. If they can afford to keep making weird D&D movies they can afford to make a good AAA D&D video game.

[ziggurcat]

A big yes to NHL '94. My friends and I played the living crap out of that game...

[Eldyraen]

A ton of fun but I wish they had listed a Mutant League game :(

In the long run it may not have left as big of a mark as franchises like Madden or NHL but I would argue it left more lasting memories for fans as it was simply more interesting and unique. Plus it spawned a pretty sick cartoon (for its time) ;)

Give me a good wrestling game too though as I would argue back then was the best time for console wrestling titles. They look better and have greatly expanded fighting nowadays but they just can't compete on the same level somehow (in part nostalgia but wrestling then was even bigger than it is now and its still pretty big).

[Revolt13]

Gears of War? :)

[Eldyraen]

It was great but think the ones listed here (and some others) are more deserving. These are basically all older games that existed during the pre-online era of consoles.

Nearly anyone that grew up during this generation, pertaining to the article's timeline, played at least one if not several (or all) of the games they mentioned. Gears, Halo 2+, etc are instead what defined the next generation of gamers which was raised on a more available online community even when local coop was sometimes an option.

[BitbyDeath]

Warhawk!!!!

[crimsonfox]

I have almost 300 hours on that bad boy. I was so let down by Star Hawk. Hopefully they just make WarHawk 2. I'd be sui down to buy another!

[deafdani]

I would add Wii Sports, because it was the first multiplayer game that truly, TRULY allowed you to play with absolutely anyone. Age and sex didn't matter with that game.

Also New Super Mario Bros Wii, because it was the most hilarious "coop" game I played the past generation. The chaos that ensued from 4 players racing through the stages, trying to hog items and grab other players to throw them off ledges? Amazingly good times. That game made me laugh til I cried and my stomach hurt, SEVERAL times.

[Gamer777]

Timesplitters is a personnel favorite split screen for myself.

[user5669510]

local mp is going extinct. devs are not going to put this in their games to sacrifice gfx just to get bashed by gfx whore fanboys thats trying to one up each other. consoles biggest perk is slowly dying since last gen.

people focus too much on gfx and dont notices features are either disappearing or they are charging for features that use to be free.

and since every time i state something that obvious, one of my fans come out of now where and say proof. Unlockables. you use to be able to unlock things when playing or by beating the game. now you have to pay just to get another costume. it make sense for a ftp game but dumb for a game i brought. Capcom is loving it.

[crimsonfox]

On PS4 and PC you can play Towerfall Ascension and Mercenary Kings those are some great local multi player games right there.

[user5669510]

i know im just saying we need more i loved playing on the couch with my friends. im older now so i can doing it while drinking. i think we should focus on stuff like this instead of arguing over gfx

[crimsonfox]

Defiantly, all the graphics topics on games. Especially right before release like Watch Dogs. No body talked about the game, just stupid graphics.

[Linzoid]

PS1
Micro Machines V3
Hogs of War
Anna Kornikova's Smash Court Tennis

PS2
Timesplitters 2
PES 5

[HAMM3RofBUDDHA]

Great comments everyone, glad the post struck a chord with some of you.