There’s nothing like enjoying a night playing games with your friends.
Whether we were kids huddled in front of the TV until our parents made us go to bed or playing online on our computers until we couldn’t stay awake anymore, few things could beat playing great games with even better friends.
Today, multiplayer games come in all shapes and sizes, from co-op experiences to competitive gaming and even casual party games.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles IV: Turtles in Time
The beat ’em up genre was a popular retro arcade staple for two reasons. First, these games were excellent at draining quarters out of your pocket. Second, it was a blast to team up with friends and beat up enemies.
Turtles in Time is one of the best multiplayer beat ’em up games ever released. Its visual style resembles the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cartoon, and its soundtrack remains as catchy today.
The gameplay wins us over here; being able to chain attacks against the barrage of enemies on screen while dodging their attacks is an absolute delight, even if the game feels too easy at times.
Rock Band
Do you remember when our living rooms were filled with plastic instruments? I sure do. What a time to be alive.
Rock Band helped kickstart a revolution that began with Guitar Hero. Despite our lack of musical talent, we could live out our rock ‘n roll fantasies in front of our TVs.
As the Rock Band franchise grew in popularity, so did the song selection, with some of the biggest names in rock being available on the impressive in-game library.
Halo 2
The original Halo trilogy offers some of my favorite memories playing multiplayer games. From exploring the wide open maps of Halo: Combat Evolved to staying up until 4 AM playing Halo 3 on Xbox Live, these are core gaming memories for me.
I have to give the edge to Halo 2, though. Everything just clicked, from the multiplayer maps, weapons, and pace of the game to the era when it launched. Online gaming was still relatively new, and people were happy to play an incredible game online and make new friends.
Oh, how naive we were about online gaming back then.
Follow us on MSN for more of the content you love.
GoldenEye 007
Before Halo 2 took over my life, GoldenEye 007 was there for me.
The game’s single-player campaign was an impressive retelling of the iconic James Bond film, but the console multiplayer stole the show. Never before had an FPS ever performed so well on a home console. Its gameplay and controls were not only impressive but miraculous, considering the awkwardness of the Nintendo 64 controller.
Even today, GoldenEye 007‘s gameplay has held up surprisingly well and remains a blast to boot up and play.
Counter-Strike
Before online gaming, if you wanted to play PC multiplayer, you went to a LAN party. This is where you and your friends would hook up your PCs on a local network, drink a Bawls energy drink of Mountain Dew, and play games until sunrise.
One of the most popular games at a LAN party was Counter-Strike, a team-based tactical FPS where teams would compete in objective based gameplay. This wasn’t your traditional Team Deathmatch, where the highest kill counts win. Instead, you’d need to focus on objectives and teamwork, especially since if you die, you’re out for the rest of the round.
Dota 2
Speaking of team-based tactical gameplay, Dota 2 is the benchmark for just that.
Based on the popular Warcraft 3 mod Defense of the Ancients, Dota 2 is Valve’s official follow-up, complete with graphical improvements and quality-of-life updates. It’s the same Dota experience we knew and loved, just on an updated engine that wasn’t from the early 2000s.
While other games offered the same team-based experience, such as League of Legends and Heroes of Newerth, Dota 2 has the right balance of challenge, depth, and skill that has kept us playing after all these years.
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe
The Mario Kart franchise is the epitome of enjoyable multiplayer experiences, and its most recent release, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, is the best in the series.
While these games handle better than most racing games, they’re nowhere near an authentic simulation experience. The game does its best to balance things out, giving preferential treatment to racers who aren’t doing well, allowing them to catch up. It results in a gameplay experience that keeps everyone engaged throughout. Just because you’re in dead last heading into the final lap doesn’t mean you have no shot of winning, and that’s what makes Mario Kart so great: it is non-stop mayhem from beginning to end.
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
Like Mario Kart, the Super Smash Bros. franchise isn’t meant to be taken seriously. The whole concept is that the series lets us live out our wildest Nintendo fantasies, with iconic mascots duking it out on various stages.
Over the years, the cast of characters has grown, including some from third party games such as Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy VII, and Minecraft. This has helped Super Smash Bros. Ultimate toe the line between an incredibly multiplayer experience while also being an enjoyable, albeit chaotic, fighting game.
Jackbox Party Packs
The Jackbox franchise evolved from the popular 1990s trivia franchise You Don’t Know Jack.
They evolved from strictly trivia options to more party-centric games delivering hilarious results. Centered around annual releases, the Jackbox Party Packs are a throwback to the old days, centered around more social multiplayer experiences, where you and your friends will gather around the television and play with your phones rather than traditional controllers. Each game offers a different experience, such as designing t-shirts based on random prompts, social deduction games, or even pitching random inventions.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
If you ask me, this is the best Call of Duty game, and it’s not even close.
Modern Warfare already set the roadmap for a multiplayer FPS experience; Modern Warfare 2 raised the bar. The game’s progression system was perfect: you were constantly earning new perks, but it didn’t feel like everything was given out too quickly. You earned those abilities and killstreaks. When you hit max level, you were ready to Prestige and rank up once again.
Civilization VI
Just one more turn, I swear…
The popular turn-based strategy game features an impressive balance of complexity and accessibility.
Featuring 50 different civilizations to play as, all with their specific playstyles and quirks, a tremendous amount of depth has kept us playing for thousands of hours. Every game is unique, no matter if you try to incorporate the same strategy. Sometimes, it’s to be aggressive and conquer your neighbor. Other times, it’s smart to set up alliances and trade routes as you control the world economy.
We won’t ever trust Ghandi, though.
It Takes Two
Multiplayer gaming isn’t always about playing with dozens of people. Sometimes, it’s about a co-op experience with you and a friend or partner.
That’s what It Takes Two is all about: a delightful platforming co-op romp that constantly throws creative ideas and challenges your way.
Its platforming gameplay and controls rival the best in the genre, even comparing favorably to the Super Mario games. You owe it to yourself to find a friend and give this a shot. You won’t regret it.
Follow us on MSN for more of the content you love.
Read More:
Leave a Reply