I’m Not A Multiplayer Gamer
Okay, so I shell out £40 a year for my Xbox Live Gold subscription, yet I admittedly don’t use it to its full potential. Most of my time on Xbox Live is spent in party chat, or tackling Spec Ops and other co-op based missions with friends. Racism, cursing, tea-bagging, and sexual slurs are not appealing to me. At all. When people find out I’m not a big Multiplayer gamer, especially with Call of Duty 4/Modern Warfare 2, they respond in such a way that suggests that’s what these games are all about. Whilst I’d agree Multiplayer is a big part of these game’s appeal and longevity, I’m one of those gamers who finds the story mode holds so much more weight. That isn’t the only reason why you won’t find me whizzing about the favela in Team Deathmatch, and that’s precisely what this post is about.
I’m no stranger to the lobby. I used to play in a clan. I used to be the captain of the Rainbow Six: Vegas division of a clan. Captain Rockers Delight! Even though I’m not a competitive gamer in the slightest, it was great to be a part of a group that played a game I loved regularly, and I got pretty good at Vegas as a result. For a girl 
Indeed, those days were undoubtedly some of the most fun I’ve had as a gamer.
Perhaps spending so much time with Vegas was a double edged sword. In one respect, I became so confident with Vegas I was able to dive into Multiplayer and secure a spot in one of the top two positions on the leaderboard every time. It was devoid of that ‘n00b’ feeling I had when playing Gears of War, unable to master the ’shotgun and roll’ tactic that so often saw me killed. On the other hand, I now have the slow paced nature typically associated with Vegas etched into my brain, and I seem to be unable to familiarise myself with anything else. My kill to death ratio in Call of Duty is embarrassing.
From playing online so much I had my fair share of unsporting gamers; those who were quitting early or terminating the game if you were winning. Kicking you from the server if you were on a killing streak, and verbally abusing you for whatever reason they had deemed fit (”You’re a girl?! Eww, kick her from the server!” True story). I’m sick of that. I can go for the rest of my life without that and not miss it. Naturally, these things are absent from story mode. Yes, story mode is pleasant, advancing at a pace that suits you, bereft of distractions, it’s all about you. How nice.
Don’t get me wrong, I don’t hate Multiplayer, and if drastic actions were ever taken to ensure Xbox Live was a nicer place, then you might see my name ping up in your lobby from time to time. However, I don’t understand how so many gamers are tolerant of other’s bad behaviour. It is for this reason I am to assume that the kick most gamers get out of Multiplayer is purely competitive, and like I said before, I’m not a competitive gamer in the slightest. I guess this renders me intolerant of all the negatives that go hand in hand with playing online.
Multiplayer is a mixed bag. When I do bravely venture online, there are times I enjoy myself. I’ve gotten lucky in the past where I’ve landed a decent team, I’ve found people who are accepting of my less than admirable skills, or I’ve truly struck gold and have had a good run of kills. But those times are few and far between, and now that Infinity Ward have stripped party chat from Modern Warfare 2, what made playing with the masses bearable is no longer possible. So, I think I’ll continue to advance with the single player campaign; losing myself in a world at my own will, with the surround sound bumped to the max, the only offender being whatever villians I’m slaying in order to save the world. And you can enjoy having someone’s testicles bobbing up and down in your face.
So, to summarise, this is why I’m not a Multiplayer gamer:
- I’m not competitive
- I’m intolerant to other’s immature conduct
- I don’t like testicles
- Single player has no distractions
- I like stories more so than aimless killing
After playing Dragon Age: Origins, Bioware’s latest Role Playing Game, for just under a month, I’m only 30% odd complete. There’s sex, there’s violence, there’s a question of morals, there’s a meaty story. With real-time gory combat and big swords, it’s what every action RPG fan wants, right?
Matt Brett