Online Gaming

What the hell is all this online gaming talk?

There’s only so far you can go conquering your games collection by yourself nowadays. You can’t really claim to have mastered them until you prove yourself online.

Previously online gaming has only really been at home with PC’s. Console developers were wary after the demise of the first online console, the Sega Dreamcast in 2001. It was a relatively poor start in 2003 with the PlayStation 2 and Xbox going online for the first time and only producing a few titles that performed well, namely Timesplitters Future Perfect and Battlefield 2: Modern Combat in 2005.

All that has changed with console online action now being absolutely huge. Today the Xbox 360 is the current leader in the online console market with Sony’s PlayStation 3 playing catchup.
The 360 has the richest line-up so far for exclusive online games such as Gears of War, Halo 3 and Virtua Fighter 5 Online, while the PS3 has exclusive titles such as Resistance, Haze, Warhawk and Singstar. Most big titles however are released on both consoles with little or no difference between them. Great examples of this so far being, Call of Duty 4, Team Fortress 2, and Burnout Paradise.

All you need is a PlayStation 3 or an Xbox 360 (note: the 360 requires an additional £35-£40 fee to play online) and a broadband account. A headset is essential for taunting your opponents, but don’t be one of those people that blast bad music into it non-stop!

It’s only fair to warn all you online ‘newbies’ out there, expect an ass kicking for your first few games. If you’re only used to playing against the computer then you’re probably not going to be prepared for playing against real people. Games AI is getting better but it’ll be a while before it can be as vicious, conniving and cunning as the human race.

If you’re still trying to decide which console to buy to play online games there is little between the two, depending on your preferences for their exclusive games. However, right now, you’re likely to find more people to play with on the 360 as it’s been out longer than the PS3. The Nintendo Wii’s online capabilities haven’t really been explored yet but the upcoming Mario Kart title could change that soon.

Today’s gamers have a great choice of genres to play online, but you’ll find most playing first person shooters (FPS). Almost any shooter released on PS3 and 360 will feature an online mode. Favoured features of the FPS are: Deathmatch (kill everyone, highest score wins), Team Deathmatch (kill everyone wearing different coloured clothes to you) and Capture the Flag (steal an item from the other teams base and return it to your own). So whether you’re into teamwork or you’re more of a one-man-war-machine it’s all good.

There’s more and more emphasis being put on co-op play too. The upcoming Army of Two will let players team up and take on story missions against the computer in this new third-person shooter.

If you want something a little less violent there are plenty of sports titles out there with online capabilities. Sadly though most of them don’t have a great setup and feature a lot of lag. Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 is a common example. The lag can be so bad that your screen will stutter and sometimes freeze and when it finally catches up you’re 2-0 down and they’re attacking again. It’s not always that bad but will put you off playing.

In general, so far at least, sports games are still better played at home with your mates around and mocking their skills to their face.

The arrival of the latest Burnout game has changed the face of driving titles with a very easy setup and no lag issues. Plus if you hook up a USB camera it will take pictures of you when you win or get taken out, you also get pictures of your opponents screaming faces as you ram them off the road for the umpteenth time.

If you want a break from gaming there’s so much to do apart from multiplayer action with Sony’s PlayStation Store and Microsoft’s Marketplace offering extra content for your games such as extra levels, weapons, modes, costumes and even older previous generation titles for free or a small price.

Free game demos allow you to try a sample of a game without having to pay to rent it or buy an expensive magazine with a demo disc. Film fans are well looked after too with plenty of trailers available for download. 360 owners can download full films and TV episodes too. You can also video chat with plug-in video cameras (sold separately) on both 360 and PS3.

So get your broadband sorted, start climbing those ranking tables and show the world you’re no ‘newb’.