[General Discussion] 2009 was the year of...?

You're probably right. But as I haven't been able to buy as many games, let alone a PS3 or 360, I probably haven't been looking as hard as I otherwise might. (I'm not dumb enough to call the Wii an online experience.)

And yes I know, online multiplayer is no new concept in gaming. I just think this is the year it officially became the new order, and single-player was collectively decided to no longer be as important in the gaming world.

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And uncountable more on the DS. Although fishing through the shit might be annoying, finding your quality single player fix there is probably the best bet AND the most economical.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

Okay, sure. I said I was sure more existed.

I don't know what you're trying to prove. Single player isn't dead, it's just not the main focus anymore.

I just feel like this is the year that cemented that. 'Tis all.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

Unreal Tournament and Quake III back in 1999 was a pretty Big Deal.

I was speaking idiomatically.

Makes me wish I'd had a computer that could handle UT99, and a connection that wasn't crap at that time also.

Perhaps I'd be, you know, good at FPS games now.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

I would love to see The Longest Yard in Modern Warfare 2. Can you imagine the bullshit? It would be GLORIOUS.

FELIPE NO

2004 Convoy's where it's at, bitches.

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What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

Originally Posted by Crash Landon

I think 2009 was the year gaming left behind people who enjoyed playing games alone. While games like Gears of War, Guitar Hero, TF2 and WoW existed before '09 and made online or co-op multiplayer a very viable choice, this was the year that seemed to hammer home the idea that if you're not relying upon other people for your gaming experience, you might as well not be playing games at all.

Left 4 Dead 2, Forza, Street Fighter IV, New Super Mario Bros. Wii, Little Big Planet, MW2 and numerous others I'm not thinking of because I just haven't been exposed enough have thrust online multiplayer into the forefront. It seems like developers are now creating games with the multiplayer experience first in priority. Single-player, offline playthroughs are something of an afterthought; it's an option, but the experience will intentionally no longer be as rich. A good example is Resident Evil 5; though it could be experienced alone, it was designed to be at its best with a friend by your side.

I don't blame the industry, since broadband technology pretty much mandated that gaming go in this direction, and the surge in social networking's popularity probably hasn't hurt the idea either. And it's not like there weren't unique single-player games available. Scribblenauts, Ghostbusters, Punch-Out Wii, Brutal Legend and Uncharted 2 were all worthwhile solo experiences. But the pulse of the industry was clearly on multiplayer this year.

I don't give a shit about online vidya gamin' and I probably never will, but 2009 was/is/when/who awesome for single player games. But then, my tastes are usually pretty terrible, so I dunno. Maybe it wasn't.

But there was a new Giana Sisters. Giana Sisters! Where did that come from? It came from somewhere. That alone makes 2009 better than those other years. You know the ones I'm talkin' about.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

TOO LATE, THIS IS ALREADY A UT2K4 MUSIC APPRECIATION THREAD

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Tune was so awesome even I suddenly got good at using the shock rifle

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Originally Posted by Crash Landon

Single player isn't dead, it's just not the main focus anymore.

Sorry Crash, but on this one you're just wrong. Co-op play and multiplayer may be appearing in more games than before, and for some titles multiplayer is a focus (Left 4 Dead, for example) but single-player is very much still the main focus in the majority of cases. Even Modern Warfare 2, which is arguably the biggest thing in multiplayer gaming right now, had its focus on the single-player experience. Sure it has a massive online component that will likely receive more play hours (nature of the beast and all that though), but you fire up that game and the single-player mode is front and centre. They could have done a lazy job and crowbar-ed in 4-player co-op on their story game but they didn't, it's a pure single-player experience.

Looking back over all the games I've played this year, whilst some of them feature tacked on multiplayer stuff to try and get people to not trade in games right away, nearly all of them were focussed on the single-player game.

And I don't see that trend changing; just look at some of the bigger titles for next year that we know about: Bayonetta, Mass Effect 2, Splinter Cell: Conviction, Darksiders, Bioshock 2, Final Fantasy XIII, God of War III, Heavy Rain, Dante's Inferno, Dark Void, The Last Guardian, Red Dead Redemption, Gran Turismo 5. That's just off the top of my head, and whilst some of them may include a multiplayer component they're all very much focussed on the single-player game.

Multiplayer and co-op may be more prevalent these days, but that doesn't mean single-player isn't the focus for most cases.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

HYPERBLAST REDUX

Also AS-Mothership and AS-Junkyard were superior

ALso this:

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FUCK YEAH UT MUSIC THREAD

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

The Unreal Tournament series is by FAR my favorite FPS series of all time. Regarding the comment I left earlier with slight homoerotic overtones - I'm one of those people who vastly prefer playing multiplayer games to single player games, ESPECIALLY if there's some Co-op element and some degree of dicking around to be had.

I've just been playing single player games since I was a wee kid and they have simply lost impact on me, whereas multiplayer brings you closer to your "bros" even if you spend every match Team Killing or fucking shit up intentionally for each other.

How ya doing, buddy?

I know it came out towards the end of last year, but Fallout 3 with all of its DLC from this year gave a pretty solid single player experience.

Also, if we want to talk about games being built exclusively for multiplayer, look no further than Starsiege: Tribes. That was the first FPS I ever got into, and its only single player component was five short simple levels that were based on training you to learn how the game works. Then you join a real server and find out everyone's running these crazy weapons mods and go .

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

Originally Posted by Crash Landon

I think 2009 was the year gaming left behind people who enjoyed playing games alone. While games like Gears of War, Guitar Hero, TF2 and WoW existed before '09 and made online or co-op multiplayer a very viable choice, this was the year that seemed to hammer home the idea that if you're not relying upon other people for your gaming experience, you might as well not be playing games at all.

You have got to be kidding. There is no doubt that you have your basic point correct. There is more multiplayer, more co-op and even more games that don't have a single player experience to speak of, but I can't even count on both hands and both feet the number of epic single-player experiences I've discovered from this year's release list. If ya ask me, both are true. Multiplayer is enjoying an unprecedented expansion, but single-player ain't going away. I know I'm not the first (or even second) to say it, but still...

For me 2009 was the year that PS3 started to deliver the goods it has been promising. XBOX 360 is no longer the shining beacon of exclusives that it once was, and the PS3 library is growing in all directions. I don't deny that it was also the year of PC, but out of the consoles, I think we've got a major change in which one is bringing the awesome.

FELIPE NO

I kind of feel bad, especially when it comes to new games for 2009. I've only played two 2009 releases (King of Fighters XII and Street Fighter IV).

Overall I've considered 2009 the year of quality fighting games to have come out.

When you have great titles such as:

Street Fighter IV
Blazblue
Tekken 6
King of Fighters XII

The funny thing is out of all those fighting games King of Fighters XII was the one I actually enjoyed the most. I know that it is pretty much a shallow game, with a small character rooster, lack of a story mode, lack of a final boss, and a lot of other flaws but I absolutely loved the graphics for this game.

The worse thing is that there have been so much quality games that have been released this year. I absolutely have no drive to play them. I have been so dedicated into playing and buying older titles.

I've owned a PS3 for over a year now, and have never played one demo, never downloaded anything to play. I've played a total of 3 PS3 titles since I have first owned the system.

I don't even do online gaming at all. I don't know why, just pretty much all experiences (albeit small) I've had online had been negative in some way, but in all honesty its kind of my own fault because I don't put myself out there when it comes to playing online as much as I should. In all honesty I would rather play online with a close group of friends, then play with people I don't know.

I think one thing I've learned from gaming especially this year, is that I'm falling behind when it comes to playing great games, and I am becoming a retro-gamer and I personally feel that I'm becoming slowly incompetent when it comes to current gaming and DLC because simply I'm not keeping up with it.

I'm also so genre specific towards the games that I play, and sometimes my dedication towards my gaming genre makes me ignore certain genres because I feel like I may not enjoy them. That is definitely the case in this forum because with most forums that have talked about current releases, I pretty much have little or nothing to say at all.

With 2010 coming up, I'm going to start adding some of my GFF friends on my PS3 and hopefully give some other genres a shot.

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

Quote:

hyperblast redux

Fuck off!

Over produced. Unnecessary addition of orchestral elements. Tries too hard to be epic. Sounds like a film.

F minus. That goes for the entire UT04 soundtrack.

You want this to be a UT music thread, do it properly.

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Jam it back in, in the dark.