Small Talk: Multiplayer Madness

Modern Warfare 2 and Left 4 Dead 2 are spinning hot in many gamers’ consoles right now. Both of these triple-A games heavily focus on multiplayer, and we all know that even if you can afford both games it’s difficult to dig your heels into two multiplayer games at once. With this in mind, we here at Game Informer discuss what multiplayer games we’re playing, what we see everyone else playing, and why think more people are playing MW2 over L4D2, or vice versa.

Tim: So, to begin with, I’m currently trying to juggle both of these games. I’ve been playing a little bit of MW2’s deathmatch and a little bit of L4D2’s co-op. I’ll admit that it’s difficult to become proficient at either game when you split your time and energy between them. That being said, I see a lot of people playing MW2 on my friends list, and not so many playing L4D2. I’m trying to figure out if this is simply a case of MW2 releasing before L4D2, or what? They’re both awesome games, but both are instances of meticulous iteration, thus one has not made more crazy-huge advancements than the other. What gives?

Meagan: I’m also trying to juggle Modern Warfare 2 and Left 4 Dead 2. Problem is, the MW2 online crowd is already driving me crazy. Not to say that all the multiplayer participants are out of line, but a few very vocal bad eggs are ruining the experience for me. So it’s single player only for the moment being. Anyone else feel that way? Or do you simply turn off the mic and be done with it? Left 4 Dead 2 seems to be the game of choice on my friends list, and there is no lack of people to play with and call on for help throughout the campaign. I learned through several fits of frustration that the AI isn’t up to snuff to really aid you while in the thick of it.

Kato: Jeez, you wonder if Valve’s very generous assurance that it was going to continue to support the original Left 4 Dead means more people are simply content to keep playing it instead of the new game? Wow, what if that were true?! Here’s another Too-Crazy-To-Be-True(?) question: Is the first so tight of an experience that people aren’t that intrigued by the new weapons and enemies of the sequel? That can’t be true, can it?



Dan: I think that Modern Warfare 2 makes some significant improvements over the original, and that’s why it’s getting more action on most of our friend lists. So much of the addictive nature of COD4 was based on leveling up, earning new perks, and completing challenges. MW2 takes all of those aspects and amplifies them to an absurd degree. You can get lost navigating the massive challenge lists, and it’s a blast changing up your loadouts and perks to complete the next one you’re eyeing.

In my brief time with Left 4 Dead 2, I’m not seeing that same level of improvement. It still feels like the same basic experience as the first, only with a few new weapons and enemies. I can’t stress enough that I haven’t played a whole lot of L4D2, but what I’ve seen so far just hasn’t grabbed me. The original was fun for a bit, but I got tired of the same “Zombies sprint at you. Shoot or melee zombies. Keep moving. Call for rescue” gameplay after a couple of weeks and didn’t feel like revisiting it. This sequel feels like more of the same so far, and while there may be a rewarding experience waiting for me if I really dove in, it hasn’t shown me enough yet to pry me away from shooting Russkies long into the night.

As for Meagan’s frustration with Modern Warfare 2’s community, I can’t say I really understand it. Everyone I know that plays the game makes a habit out of muting every single non-friend at the start of every match, and it solves the entire problem. Like everyone else, I hate hearing idiot racists/homophobes/12 year-olds on the mic, but Infinity Ward has made the mute process take a matter of seconds. Once you’ve tapped A on the names of all the morons, it’s nothing but stellar multiplayer action from then on out.

Bertz: Did anyone really expect L4D2 to have a market penetration that rivals Modern Warfare 2? I sure didn’t. That said, half my friends list was playing L4D2 last night, so it’s not like there aren’t people staving off the zombie apocalypse while everyone else is hunting terrorists. It’s tough to juggle those monumental responsibilities, so I haven’t unwrapped my Left 4 Dead 2 copy yet. When I’m not playing as the revenge-driven assassin Ezio de Auditore da Firenze in AC II, I’m squeezing in a few embarrassing rounds of Call of Duty. I haven’t put as much time into multiplayer as I would like, so I’m still learning the maps and my kill to death ratio is downright ebarrassing.

Ben: I'm with Bertz, I just can't concentrate on playing either of those games while Assassin's Creed II is staring me in the face.

Reiner: To Meagan’s point about bad eggs ruining the experience: Modern Warfare 2 is set up with a player mute system. In 10 to 15 seconds, you can mute every player on the list. Nick and I also found this is a work-around for people wanting to stay in party chat for Team Deathmatch and other modes not supporting it. Just enter the match under game chat, and mute everyone other than your friends. Problem solved!

Jeff M: I loved the first L4D, but still haven’t picked up the sequel. Why? In part, it’s timing – after picking up MW2, I haven’t even had time to go to the store to buy L4D2, much less play it.

But MW2 and L4D2 are very different gaming experiences. You probably won’t find a better 4-player “us vs. them” co-op experience than what L4D2 offers, and I’m sure my brother and I will delve into it soon and enjoy blasting its zombie offerings as much as the original. What makes MW2’s multiplayer so hard to put down right now, however, is its unlocking mechanic; you’re always gaining new weapons, add-ons, and perks to try out in the next round. Add to that the ability to continually tweak your custom classes, and L4D2 starts to look slightly…terminal. I’m sure it will be a blast to play, but the thrill of unlocking new content has kept me on MW2’s battlefield for the time being.

Nick: The cool thing about what Reiner said about the party chat trick is that it works with any game because the setting is global. I think Infinity Ward should just lift the restrictions if they can be so easily bypassed anyways.

Jeff M: Reiner is right, although the only problem is when new people join a match in progress – I’ve gotten killed more than once because I was on the leaderboard trying to mute an obnoxious newcomer when someone showed up for an easy kill. It’s still a working solution, but am I the only one bothered by the fact that we need this kind of solution at all? It sucks that all of the communication enhancements of this generation have been crippled by racists and homophobes, to the point where people don’t want to use them.

I know it’s an extremely difficult position for Microsoft to be in, in terms of trying to manage the problem and police the entire community, but ultimately their attempt to make a family friendly (or even non-idiot friendly) online experience is failing miserably. The only solution is to police your interactions yourself, which has a lot of gamers pulling out their headset cords altogether.



Bertz: This is exactly why I prefer squad based games. I almost always have three to four buddies playing alongside me, and when you splinter the team into small factions the chatter goes from useless to useful. With the mindless spewing from mentally stunted gamers like this guy turned off the communicative direction turns to the experience at hand—what’s the best way to infiltrate this building, who is watching our backside, I spotted two guys over that ridge, etc. It may be sacrilege to many gamers, but this is why I’d rather play Rainbow Six Vegas and Battlefield: Bad Company than the Modern Warfare or Halo multiplayer.

Tim: So it seems unanimous that friends are better to play with than complete, idiot-faced strangers. But with that in mind, wouldn’t it make more sense that a game with a heavy co-op emphasis like L4D2 would be the best for you and your buddies? Or is the simple “hey, shoot that guy!” teamwork of MW2 enough to satisfy right now?

Jeff M: I think our former governor Jesse Ventura said it best: “Until you’ve hunted man, you haven’t hunted yet.” Playing with friend against mindless zombies is fun, but it doesn’t satiate one’s desire to compete against other people. Teaming up with friends against other human players is in a whole different realm of fun. That, and the constant stream of unlockable content mentioned earlier makes it worth the hassle of muting new morons between every round of MW2.

Ben: I think I might be in the minority, but I actually prefer Left 4 Dead's more narrative-like approach to multiplayer. One of the problems I've always had with multiplayer was its lack of story. Deathmatch has never been able to capture my attention as much as games that have some kind of narrative structure. Even stories as thin as Left 4 Dead or Resident Evil 5 are more fun for me and my friends than straight up deathmatch or capture the flag.

But to answer Tim's question more directly, I don't think we have to worry about comparing L4D and MW2 all that much. They are different games, and they are going to attract different crowds and, you know what, that's fine. Everyone has their own taste in gaming; that's why the game industry makes so many different kinds of them.


Tim: Turning it over to the community, what do you all think? Which of these games are you playing right now? When playing these games online is more frustrating to encounter annoying, uncooperative players in Left 4 Dead 2 or Modern Warfare 2? Do you think that Left 4 Dead 2 is going to be completely overshadowed by MW2, or will people flock to it when they hit the level cap? Discuss!