You know what I haven't done in a long time? Sat down next to someone on the couch and challenged them to some pedal-to-the-metal racing mayhem. Autolog in the newer racing games is all well and good, but it , as well as racing against others over an online connection, cannot possibly compare to racing against someone who's every bit as confident at said racing game as you are, right next to you. Couch racing, imo, can provide for local multiplayer at its most pure. There's not even any reason for someone to complain about "screen-looking" that's so prevalent in, say, FPS games. But you know when your opponent starts starts sniggering to himself, or you hear the roar of his engine or the scream of his speedboost go off, when he howls in laughter at bumping you to the outside of a corner, or groans and curses when you do the same... there's really nothing quite like it. :)
Off the top of my head, I have at least 10 multiplayer-centric games on my PS3, including classics like Worms and Bomberman, but also new franchises like Battle Tanks and Castle Crashers. The local multiplayer hasn't gone away, but it's mostly to be found in the download market rather than part of a bigger title, which has its good and bad points.
Still, I see a lot of potential in the Wii U for multiplayer, and it's nice to see it being exploited already. Definitely a point in its favour for me.
stealth2k - June 15, 2012 9:10 p.m.