Playin Games with Your Friends...

You know, there are so many video game systems, and video games now-a-days, it’s hard to know what to look for in a good game. Between Nintendo, Sony, Microsoft, and Sega, there have been hundreds of interesting games to play for each system; it just depends on what you’re looking for. One of my favorite types of games has always been the type that offers an interesting and engaging multiplayer experience. If it was a game I could sit down (or online) with 1 or more friends and just play for hours on end whilst drinking heavily or engaging in mind-numbing but enjoyable conversation, then it was worth the money. Below I’ve compiled my favorite all-time multiplayer game experiences. Click on any of the links to look at the games on Amazon.com. Some of these you can get for super-cheap, and I highly recommend that you do!

#10 – SOCOM
SOCOM U.S. Navy Seals (No Headset) – PS2 - Review
SOCOM II U.S. Navy Seals – PS2 - Review

This is the only game on the list I’ve never played, and also the only game you really need an internet connection on to enjoy. I once had a roommate though that played this game 20+ hours a week online. The game’s that good. You can go online, join an 8-person team, and shoot people to your heart’s content. I had many a fun hour watching him run around these detailed maps, hiding, throwing grenades, and shooting people left and right. He slowly climbed the online ranks. I could easily see how the game could be THAT addictive. If you want a great online experience, being able to play with people all around the globe, try one of these two games out.

#9 – Lego Star Wars Series
Lego Star Wars – PS2 - Review
Lego Star Wars – Nintendo Gamecube - Review
Lego Star Wars – XBOX - Review
Lego Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy (PS2) - Review
Lego Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy (GameCube) - Review
Lego Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy (Xbox) - Review
Lego Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy (Xbox 360) - Review

I’ve played Lego Star Wars on the Gamecube, and wasted days on Lego Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy for the PS2. I highly recommend these if you have any love at all for the Star Wars movies, or if you have younger kids, or both. These are only 2 person games, but boy are they fun. They have infinite replay value, the ability to make your own characters, and the ability to transfer game saves from the original Lego Star Wars to Lego Star Wars II (on the same systems). Plus, best of all, the entire game is LEGOS! What more needs to be said?

#8 – Mario Golf Series
Mario Golf – N64 - Review
Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour – Nintendo Gamecube - Review

I’m sure one of these will be coming out for the Wii any day now. I’ve played the N64 version. In fact, this game is the reason I ever started playing golf in real life. I wasted many a night with friends playing the two person tournaments on the N64 version. The gameplay is easy to pick up, yet hard to master. The courses range from incredibly easy to incredibly hard. Overall, it’s a great great multi-player experience.


#7 – Mario Kart Series
Super Mario Kart – SNES - Review
Mario Kart 64 – N64 - Review
Mario Kart: Double Dash – Nintendo Gamecube - Review

I know of very few people who’ve played video games who haven’t played Mario Kart. It’s the original multi-player racing game. There was no feeling like throwing a turtle shell at your friend at the last minute to mess them up and win the race. You can play up to 4 players on the 64 and Gamecube versions as well. I still have a distinct love for the original though.

#6 – X-men Legends Series/Marvel Ultimate Alliance
X-Men Legends – PS2 - Review
X-men Legends – XBOX - Review
X-Men Legends – Nintendo Gamecube - Review
X-Men Legends II Rise of the Apocalypse – PS2 - Review
X-men Legends II Rise of the Apocalypse – XBOX - Review
X-Men Legends II Rise of the Apocalypse – Nintendo Gamecube - Review
Marvel Ultimate Alliance – PS2 - Review
Marvel Ultimate Alliance – XBOX - Review
Marvel Ultimate Alliance – PS3 - Review
Marvel Ultimate Alliance – XBOX360 - Review
Marvel Ultimate Alliance – Nintendo Wii - Review

I’ve only played X-men Legends, but intend on playing Legends 2, and Marvel Ultimate Alliance. These games offer really great multi-player experiences for either fans of dungeon crawling games, or comic book fans. X-men Legends and Legends 2 you get to play (obviously) as the X-men. You take 4 person teams through missions and level up your characters along the way through a myriad of different levels and bosses. The stories are engaging, and the history of the characters is well represented. Marvel Ultimate Alliance ups the ante a bit to include the entire Marvel Universe. All games offer the ability for another player to jump in anytime and play along with you on the missions. In the case of Ultimate Alliance, you can go online and recruit your friends to help out on your missions.

#5 – Triple Play ‘98
Triple Play '98 – PS1 - Review

This game would be higher on the list if you could really play effectively with more than two people. This sports game is one of the only ones I’ve ever been able to sit down with a friend and we could play on the same team effectively. In fact, I’ve had a season going on in this game for close to 10 years now. And I can still sit down with a friend, show them a couple of button pushes, and play the game with them. Add in the fact that you can also play a home run derby with great sluggers on the steroids era in their prime (McGuire, Griffey, Sosa, Bonds) and this adds up to a really entertaining game experience.

#4 – Tiger Woods Golf 2005
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2005 – PS2 - Review
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2005 – Nintendo Gamecube - Review
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2005 – XBOX - Review

I’ve only played the PS2 version, but boy did I play it a lot. This belongs in the same vein as Mario Golf. The reason it’s so much higher though, is because it’s a much more enjoyable game playing experience from the gameplay to the myriad of modes you can play with friends. This game was the first of it’s kind to change the control scheme from a timed button push, to the pull back and push forward of the control pad stick. This one simple change in the control scheme made the entire game play like a brand new experience. Add that to the fact that you can build up your own character and transfer the character into your friend’s game to challenge, and you’ve got the deepest golf experience on any system.

#3 – Goldeneye 007
Goldeneye 007 64 – N64 - Review

This is still generally considered the best console shooter ever created. It was also on the first system to offer 4 player support for it’s games. I don’t know how many hours I wasted in college on Goldeneye tournaments, but dang were they fun. Pick your character, pick your map, and go wild. Especially if you just allow yourselves to be armed with nothing but knives. This game also is great for settling arguments.

#2 – Mario Party Series
Mario Party – N64 - Review
Mario Party 2 – N64 - Review
Mario Party 3 – N64 - Review
Mario Party 4 – Nintendo Gamecube - Review
Mario Party 5 – Nintendo Gamecube - Review
Mario Party 6 with Microphone – Nintendo Gamecube - Review
Mario Party 7 - Nintendo Gamecube - Review
Mario Party 8 – Nintendo Wii - Review – Not Yet Released

The original Party Game Experience comes in at #2? These games were made to be played by 4 people. In fact, this is the only game that I’ve ever played at a party. Strangely enough, the game is also interesting enough to keep everyone interested and involved. It involves a board game, also mixed in with screwing other people, and playing easy mini-games each round. It really brings out the competitive juices.

And the #1 Multi-player gaming experience on any system ever?




#1 – THQ WCW/WWF N64 Games!
WCW/NWO Revenge – N64 - Review
WWF WRESTLEMANIA 2000 – N64 - Review
WWE: No Mercy – N64 - Review

There are no games anywhere that are more fun with 2-4 people than these games. The reason? The RUMBLE. In WCW/NWO Revenge, take control of your favorite WCW or NWO star and enter the Royal Rumble style fight with 30 wrestlers. Knock them out one by one, and last till the end when you finally play against your friends. Wrestlemania 2000 and No Mercy offer the WWF version of the Royal Rumble with 40 wrestlers vying for the win. The best way to play? Turn on tap-outs and pins, play with your friend, and make every wrestler tap-out until the very end. Also, I recommend not actually fighting your friend. Just beat up on the computer opponents. This is a very frustrating game to play against other live people.

Wrestlemania 2000 still remains the hardest 1-player wrestling experience on any console. Try to beat the story mode undefeated, you’ll destroy things in your living room from frustration.

Honorable mention must go to the following games:
Sonic 2 (Genesis), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2 (SNES), Rock ‘n Roll Racing (Genesis), Final Fight Series (SNES), Mortal Kombat (Genesis), Double Dragon (Arcade), Simpsons (Arcade), Time Crisis Series (Arcade), Super Mario Brothers 3 (NES)

There it is people. There’s the list. Feel free to add your own in the comments section! No go, buy, and be merry with others!