Anyone else avoid online gaming?

[rxd]

Hi all,

Got my 360 about a month and a half ago and I'm real impressed. Some of the games are really great. But I have to admit one thing though. Even though I signed up for the Xbox live gold I'm too chicken to actually play anyone online. I know I'll get my ass kicked and would be kinda embarrassed. Anyone else avoiding online gaming like me?

[Crazy Climber]

I've never subscribed to X box live even though I have been an original X box and now a 360 owner for quite some time, mainly for that reason. I just don't have hundreds of extra hours to dedicate to a game to be the best.

[xenomorpher]

I felt the same way. I decided the hell with it and play some FarCry on LIVE. I had fun and I didn't do too awful. You just really need to find a game that you'll have fun with. I would avoid Halo 2. There were some very rare times that my friends and I playing splitscreen actually did good on LIVE. I think there should be more games like Aliens VS Predator on LIVE that gives you different advantages over other players. I don't think you should take it too seriously, there are other people that feel the same way too. And it is supposed to be fun after all.

Edited January 31, 2007 by xenomorpher

[Lord Thag]

It all depends. I cannot STAND those rude, obnoxious thirteen year old punks on XBL. I've learned to just turn off the chatter and play, or set up a private chat with a friend. Find a game you are good at, and you should do fine. I'm an FPS kinda guy, so I own on Call of Duty 3 and Halo 2. Give me a racing game or a sports title and I get spanked.

 

Nothing is better than shutting up some trash talking punk on XBL, but you have to learn the ropes. You will always suck when you start out, and the key is to keep your temper in check while you learn. Don't just play on autopilot, watch what he people winning are doing and follow their example. For instance, I started playing Call of Duty 3 the other night. I got hammered at first until I figured out the weapons and strategies. By the end of the night, I was #1 in almost every match. It wasn't because I am the best gamer ever, but because I bothered to think instead of react, and I learned how to play the way you need to to win. Learn the hiding/camping spots on each map (and avoid them or use them as traps), find the kill zones, and where the best weapons are, and then out think your opponent (who is likely fourteen, can't spell, and was spawned in a vat somewhere). You'll win, eventually, if you approach it like learning any new sport.

 

Don't be afraid of online gaming. You've no idea what you're missing!

[Bill Brasky]

I've only ever used my Sega saturn Netlink. You didn't have to pay to subscribe to a service to use it. You could direct dial someone and play against them over the phone or play over the internet.

[Foxy Cleopatra]

Playing online is not always about winning.... why, you could go online to become a "griefer" like me.

Play to have fun, and if you ruin everybody else's good time while you're having a ball, well, that's one of the greatest highs in the world.

 

I'll take you with me on Halo 2, I have to see it on the new TV anyway. But you must be prepared for me to lose, trash talk like a 13 year old, and basically give everyone a hard time. You will be amazed how much fun you can have making fun of people making fun of you because you suck.

[moycon]

I was suprised at how well done the Xbox Live was as far as hooking up with people. Often times you can choose who you will play with thanks to your friends list and the ease of hooking up with anyone on your list. Plus you can create custom games keeping the riff raff out. I also like the fact you can boot people in some games. If someone starts acting shitty in like say Burnout, I just boot em from the lobby. I was wary of it at first, especially after hooking up with shit heads on Diablo 2... but it was eveident MS had their act together when it came to Live.

[Gabriel]

I played online quite a bit when Star Trek Legacy came out. In fact, that game was the sole reason I paid for a 3 month Live membership.

 

But, for the past month, I haven't played anything online. Most recently, I tried to get a game of Heavy Weapon started, after about an hour of waiting and no one joining, I gave up.

 

My Gold membership expires within the next two weeks. I'm leaning toward letting it lapse.

[Red 5]

I very rarely play people I don't know online.

When I first played on my original Xbox, it was full of 13 year olds acting, well, like 13 year olds.

 

Since then I play with my friend, a guy he works with (who is now my friend) and my two younger brothers.

That is usually enough to play most games online. We play at least once a week.

 

If anyone is ever interested in joining a 'just for fun' round of gaming, send me your gamer tag or send me an invite.

My live name is 'beets'. Right now we are playing Rainbow Six Vegas mostly.

We play from 10 - 11:30 PM EST once or twice a week.

[MetalSlime23]

I agree with you completely rxd because I suck too and will also get my ass whooped.

 

Tell you what, let's exchange gamer tags and whoop each other's asses!

 

[Lord Helmet]

I play my brother online every once in a while. Not recently though because I let my gold subscription run out. I have enough trouble finishing games offline. For the most part the only games I play online are sports games against my brother or friends. That's the only way those games have any replay value at all. I played NCAA College Hoops 2k6 all the way through one season, and havn't picked it up since except to play a friend head to head.

[PuddWakkr]

It's OK to suck and lose on Live. You are anonymous. Why would you care if you play a game and not get one kill or finish every race in dead last? Live has different groups you can be apart of. If you stick to Family or Recreation sections you will not have a problem. Stay away from Pro and Underground and you'll be fine. I'm not saying assholes can't go into the Family section and game but the chances are alot less.

[Gabriel]

It's OK to suck and lose on Live. You are anonymous. Why would you care if you play a game and not get one kill or finish every race in dead last? Live has different groups you can be apart of. If you stick to Family or Recreation sections you will not have a problem. Stay away from Pro and Underground and you'll be fine. I'm not saying assholes can't go into the Family section and game but the chances are alot less.

 

My experience is that it really depends on the game more than the group.

 

And, not that people should let anyone win, but losing all the time is no fun either. It's better to play people of your own skill level and at least have a fair chance at winning.

Edited January 31, 2007 by Gabriel

[rxd]

I agree with you completely rxd because I suck too and will also get my ass whooped.

 

Tell you what, let's exchange gamer tags and whoop each other's asses!

 

 

 

My gamer tag is Rxdiaz. Anyone who wants to play someone who sucks, I'm available...

[IronMongeR]

Some types of games I avoid online, just because previous experiences have shown I suck. But any fps/racing type game and the online side will often be more fun than the single player. E.g. PGR3 and CoD3 and in the future... Forza 2!!!

[Foxy Cleopatra]

It's OK to suck and lose on Live. You are anonymous. Why would you care if you play a game and not get one kill or finish every race in dead last? Live has different groups you can be apart of. If you stick to Family or Recreation sections you will not have a problem. Stay away from Pro and Underground and you'll be fine. I'm not saying assholes can't go into the Family section and game but the chances are alot less.

 

My experience is that it really depends on the game more than the group.

 

And, not that people should let anyone win, but losing all the time is no fun either. It's better to play people of your own skill level and at least have a fair chance at winning.

 

Unless your sole purpose is to lose.

 

Although I will say some of my most favorite moments are being at -20 in a Halo 2 match and coming back to kick the other team's ass. I mean, there is nothing like a serious smackdown, and being able to tell the other team they could have had an easy win if they'd just have kept their mouths shut.

 

[+Cobra Kai]

The 360 wouldn't be as good without the Live service IMHO. There's always asshats, but I've met some really cool people and my friends list is expanding.

 

I've had the most fun with Gears of War on coop, and right now am meeting alot of people who are just having a good time on the Live Arcade game Heavy Weapon....this game is just a great arcade-like experience all around.

 

So no, I don't avoid online play, it just adds too much fun to the 360, and it's so well organized...MS made Live so simple and easy that you can't avoid it.

[Epc525]

I strictly play online. I love the action, and never knowing what will come next. AI just can't match the human brain.

[spacecadet]

I strictly play online. I love the action, and never knowing what will come next. AI just can't match the human brain.

 

Honestly, I've found mostly the opposite.

 

The problem is games themselves are not organic. They are coded a certain way and they are predictable; do this and you will get that result. So what I have always found is that humans will always identify whatever exploits and tricks a game has and they will just do the same things over and over in order to win. They will bring themselves down to the game's level.

 

Some games are coded and balanced better than others, but people still become highly "specialized" in certain areas. I mean it's the classic sniping thing in a first-person shooter, where people get good at one thing and don't do anything else. That's why some games now force everybody to choose one "profession", but then you always get in that situation where nobody wants to be the medic.

 

I honestly think also that most people are just dumber than most AI when it comes to playing games. I remember the first time I played PGR2 online on XBL, it was *hilarious* because even the guys who were good would go crashing into walls at the exact same places on every lap. On the last lap, you'd always see this massive pileup as everybody went just a little too fast trying for that first position. Funny, but not ultimately very rewarding.

 

I don't think sticking a bunch of humans in a non-organic world suddenly makes it organic, because the game itself is not adaptable. Humans are, though, so humans will adapt to the game rather than the reverse. They will make themselves predictable and use the game's own programming in order to win. It's actually kind of interesting. Conjures up all sorts of Matrix-ish questions.

 

I think that, for myself anyway, in the end an AI that *simulates* how humans react in the *real world* makes for a better simulation of the real world than real humans put into an artificially coded game world. Because the AI can hide the game's weak points or exploits rather than repeatedly taking advantage of them. And AI can also better simulate real specialized professions (like race car drivers) because they involve highly evolved skills and knowledge that most people just are never going to have, but that can be reasonably programmed into an AI in advance, at least as far as the game itself simulates them.

Edited February 2, 2007 by spacecadet

[Lemmi]

i played Everquest for almost 2 years and i will never go back to any kind of online gaming

especially from these videogame home computers

[StormSurge]

Like most of the others, I mainly stick with my friends. I play some Rainbow Six: Vegas, but I stink. I have a good time though.