The Death of Online Gaming?

[xPUDDYTATx]

im sure by now many of you have seen the petition to re-release socom 2 on the ps3. when socom: confrontation flopped, the battle cry was SOCOM 2!!!!! even when a new release of duty gets stale, the battle cry is SOCOM 2, lol. many online gameers got their start on socom 2, quite a few on the original socom. i myself started on socom 3 and combined assault, and tried my hand at 2 quite a few nights with the +30 clan. but even with the hatred that the purists had for CA, it still seems to surpass anything that we have available today.

 

just out of curiosity, i dug out a ps2 the other day, and played through the entire single player modes of socom 2 and 3. i cant believe how much fun i had. that one afternoon really got me to thinking about the current state of video games, and my online experience as of late.

 

i have made some great friends by first joining a clan, then by starting my own, and also by being a part of this great community. great games brought great people together, and i dont know if anyone reading this can disagree with that statement. lately though, it seems the anticipation for the "next big game" has far outweighed the game itself, and so many new titles lay on people tv stands and entertainment centers unplayed for months and collecting dust...at 60 bucks a pop!!!! it makes me wonder if the people who make these games are killing online gameplay.

 

what made socom 2 great? they handed you a great clan system, a handful of guns and maps, and told you here, play this. that was it. we all had our favorite gun, our favorite map, and we enjoyed meeting our clan mates online every night. a great game brought great people together. now looking to today, modern warfare 2. we all waited patiently as release day got closer and closer. the game dropped and the whole damn world bought it...and so it began. the message boards across the internet blew up with complaints and gripes about the biggest game of all time. hackers figured out every way they could to exploit the game, and after some time the game just became stale. confrontation...a game a millenium in the making was highly anticipated by socom enthusiasts, only to be a complete failure upon launch. patches to fix one issue created another, and a HUGE fanbase was decimated with this game.

 

so is the gaming industry going after too much "bling" and not enough basics in todays games?

 

consider this for a moment...

 

*give me a good variety of guns, all available from the moment i sign in to play day one.

*give me maps in two sizes, a core map for small groups, and a larger version for large groups (thinkk combined assault)

*give me 1080p...its not that hard to do

*get rid of all the little details...perks, killstreaks, specializations, blah blah blah

*more game modes, in more places

*a clan system based on invites, not on rank

*give me servers that work, hit detection that isnt in a 3 foot circle, and mics that i can actually talk to people on

*give me updates and DLC on a regular basis, and dont rehash old shit anymore...i already played it!!!

 

i personally love the next big game as much as the next person, and i try em all. but im tired of payin so much for something that becomes a paper weight after a few weeks. give me something with replay value. i want meat and potatoes...keep your garnish for the next guy. make it simple, make it fun, and make it something that doesnt come out of my ps3 for the next 6 months. if the game designers cant do that, i dont see a good future for gaming. they may still sell a million copies, and they may make a ton of money, but for those of us who pay for and play the games, the current state of gaming just sucks.

 

bring back socom 2. its old hat, but at least it looked good on. take your tillys, nukes, and what not, and keep em as ideas on the cutting room floor. when the next big thing drops, dont forget the gamers!!!!!

[xRuthlessRebelx]

My problem with Confrontation is the stale maps that are symmetrical. They only focus on making maps as even as possible so every map can have 7 gamemodes work on it, which leads to maps like Quarantine,Fallen,Kasbah etc. Plus they added side switching to make things even more fair and no tiebreaker. I liked original maps like Death Trap. What a fun map, but a map like that probably wont ever be made no more because maps have to work on 6-7 gamemodes instead of just 1 like it used to. I would prefer 12-15 maps with 1 gamemode than having 6-7 maps that work with 6-7 gamemodes.

[[SoW] Lucky_Saint-]

I enjoy the nukes and unlocks and all that i have no prob with its the number of maps and how fast those maps get old. I used to play Fireteam bravo 2 for the the psp system for HOURS at a time. it was a HANDHELD game and it had more maps then mw2 with stimulis included. also when its uneven it makes it more of a challenge. It forces you to think smarter to beat not just the other player but the map itself and the advantage its giving them. Theres always gonna be something to bitch at and there always is people find the worse in a game and dont even notice what they do have. Me i personaly loved the shit out of confrontation till it got so old i found myself running the same damn circles. Now im loving the shit out of MW2 which has alot more maps then confrontation. For me it all comes down to the playing fields and good hit detection and clan support are must haves. thats all it takes to make this guy happy. Variety

[Nikastylez]

You socom fans seem to be stuck on Socom 2 and 3 while us CoD fans seem to be stuck on MW1. What I wonder is why couldn't the developers just fix the small things that were wrong and improve the game, rather than reinvent the whole fucking thing!

 

I'm primarily a CoD fan and I don't like the fact that someone could knife me from 20 feet away, or that now you just shoot a launcher through a window to kill someone instead of getting close and throwing in a nade or that you must now use a noob tube to unlock shit which only promotes the use of noob tubing (i really love it when people use it with one man army for unlimited supply of grenades). I especially love the fact that when I snipe and I have a guy locked in on my crosshairs and shoot and miss, only to then have him shoot me back and BOOM! had shot! i'm dead. I look at the kill cam and his bullet landed 2 feet away from the top of my head... how the fuck does that happen? Now the cool thing is to drop a nuke, so you have people roasting marshmallows while they camp more so they can get their 25 kill streak. I remember when getting 30-40 kills in MW1 was an accomplishment, now anything below that on MW2 and you're considered a noob. In MW1, you had to work for your UAV... now anyone can have their own little personal UAV right on their gun and if that wasn't enough, you can even silence your weapon too with the Bling perk!

 

MW1 seemed so "basic" compared to all the new features that MW2 has. I wished they would have just polished the game up a bit instead of reinventing the whole thing. I'm sure you guys would have been happy with an updated version of Socom 2 or 3, but instead got CA >.>

[GeneralSarcasm]

Nikastylez ]

You socom fans seem to be stuck on Socom 2 and 3 while us CoD fans seem to be stuck on MW1. What I wonder is why couldn't the developers just fix the small things that were wrong and improve the game, rather than reinvent the whole fucking thing!

 

You don't make $ fixing an old game, you make $ selling new ones.

[[-VR-] Tool_Minion]

I ponder this:

 

Is it the GAMES that have changed, or is it us? Lets not forget, marketing is based around an age group, and that doesn't change....but we grow older, and the younger generation had their OWN expectations that seem to have been met by titles like Call of Duty.

 

Or is it that our expectations are not dissimilar to an addicts expectations?

 

We want that original high, but was that high from the game and it's particular setup, or from the sudden opening of the door called 'online game play'? We based our expectations of all future gaming on what we originally fell in love with...the first 'hit' as it were. Like any reformed drug addict can attest though, that first high is never again achieved, no matter HOW much you do it, or how much the landscape of their particular drug changes...so is it a matter of US expecting too much? Or are we addicted to the idea of what an online game is SUPPOSED to be?

 

Just food for thought I suppose.

[TOW-19]

Tool_Minion ]

I ponder this:

 

Is it the GAMES that have changed, or is it us? Lets not forget, marketing is based around an age group, and that doesn't change....but we grow older, and the younger generation had their OWN expectations that seem to have been met by titles like Call of Duty.

 

Or is it that our expectations are not dissimilar to an addicts expectations?

 

We want that original high, but was that high from the game and it's particular setup, or from the sudden opening of the door called 'online game play'? We based our expectations of all future gaming on what we originally fell in love with...the first 'hit' as it were. Like any reformed drug addict can attest though, that first high is never again achieved, no matter HOW much you do it, or how much the landscape of their particular drug changes...so is it a matter of US expecting too much? Or are we addicted to the idea of what an online game is SUPPOSED to be?

 

Just food for thought I suppose.

 

There is merit to this.

Also the fact that people are creatures of habit.

We like things to have a constant to them. Though we appreciate change, we appreciate change that retains its roots so that we can still feel that original familiarity.

We, as people (as gamers) do not make change an easy task.

[BigMoneyNacku]

While you have valid points, TooL and ToW. I'm not sold on that being the case. There are plenty of games and their sequels out that are just as good as the original. It just seems like the two games most of US play the most are the ones that keep being shit on. While I like quite a few of the new features to Socom, and MW, it seems like they halfassed the important stuff to give us the glitz. I don't want them to re-vamp Socom2 or MW1, I want the new stuff, while FIXING the stuff that was broken to begin with.

 

 

As of everything I've seen so far, I'm excited to see Socom 4. I'm not going to whine about what has been announced, I'll wait until I play the game to see if they've worked out the previous issues.

[YourMomsNewBF23]

Never been much of a socom fan (even though i do love the original socom which by far was amazing) but anyways i wish COD had true dedicated servers instead of getting booted from every other game because someone was a bitch and didnt want there KD all fucked up. I mean i understand the first MW was amazing but you have to admit MW2 did some great improvments they just didnt fix the shit they were supposed to i wish they did beta testing like they did for MAG so us gamers could have some input and help them fix some of the fucked up things they dont care about.

[Outlaw__Rebel]

I know you guys hate me pushing this... But I've been in the middle of all of these games with all of you so I don't see why we are not on the same mind set.

 

But MAG needs to be better looked at... And especially Zipper...

There working on getting us back... We get WEEKLY pod casts from Zipper.

There on the forums constantly talking to the fans.

And the MAG game they keep changing. Later this Summer there adding Clan Battles.

 

I think the future is with Zipper. Everything you guys talked about is being done. Go to the MAG forums and see for yourself.

[Chili327]

 

Undertow ]

Tool_Minion ]

I ponder this:

 

Is it the GAMES that have changed, or is it us? Lets not forget, marketing is based around an age group, and that doesn't change....but we grow older, and the younger generation had their OWN expectations that seem to have been met by titles like Call of Duty.

 

Or is it that our expectations are not dissimilar to an addicts expectations?

 

We want that original high, but was that high from the game and it's particular setup, or from the sudden opening of the door called 'online game play'? We based our expectations of all future gaming on what we originally fell in love with...the first 'hit' as it were. Like any reformed drug addict can attest though, that first high is never again achieved, no matter HOW much you do it, or how much the landscape of their particular drug changes...so is it a matter of US expecting too much? Or are we addicted to the idea of what an online game is SUPPOSED to be?

 

Just food for thought I suppose.

 

There is merit to this.

Also the fact that people are creatures of habit.

We like things to have a constant to them. Though we appreciate change, we appreciate change that retains its roots so that we can still feel that original familiarity.

We, as people (as gamers) do not make change an easy task.

I totally agree with both of you & money.. Socom 1 & 2 was most of our first online gaming experience. (console anyway) So we are never going to get that back.. & those games had plenty of issues too, its just that the newness overpowered the issues.

But i do agree that something has to be done they are pumping them out so fast, that no one can keep a fanbase, nor do they care to, as long as we all keep buying new games what do they care.

This sort of goes along with my rant about Tiger woods 11, & the EA player pass required to play online. (are we really expected to pay $60 for a game, then $60 in DLC.. EVERY YEAR.!?) Hell the main reason i buy used games is to make up for the expensive DLC, so to me they started it. & now i am refusing to buy Tiger 11. [/rant]

 

Sorry got off topic, but i do think the games are just as good if not better it is just us not getting that initial feeling back, or just getting older, & the games are targeted towards a younger crowd.. eventually we have to admit we are getting older too. (not just "them")

[Red0ctobeR]

Here is my thoughts on this:

 

What I would love if they would just release a game and continue to release content for it. People that love that game can keep laying that game and if they release a new game people could go play that game. But new content could be released for the old to keep it fresh. They would be still making money, becasue I would gladly play for new content if I love the game.

 

But if I wanted to move on I could. I love MW2, but things like 8 people running around with a sniper rifle, using stopping power, and barely pulling up their scope and they kill you without their crosshairs on you. BS in my opinion.

 

It is little things like that