The Border House Blog has posted an interesting article about online vs. local multiplayer. What do you think?
Personally, I'm definitely on the side of local multiplayer. Maybe it's because I've never really known that many of my friends to play videogames online, but every experience I've had online has been extremely lackluster. It's kind of fun while it lasts (knowing that you're playing against a slightly more-skilled and less predictable enemy (or with a partner)), but some of the experiences I've had with local multiplayer have ranked up there as some of the best gaming experiences in my life. Highlights: Super Smash Bros. Melee on the Gamecube (where four to seven hour bouts weren't uncommon), playing John Elway football against my cousin on New Year's Eve back in… 1992? Or even more recently, the first time a group of us played The Beatles Rock Band together was completely sublime. I just don't think that these experiences can be recreated online, and I don't think I have much of an interest in attempting to do so.
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Personally, I've been a fan of online multiplayer since I first played Unreal Tournament online. I've also probably logged more hours online playing Halo 3 and Modern Warfare 2 than the single-player campaigns of Oblivion and Fallout 3 (that's including multiple playthroughs). Additionally, playing Left 4 Dead 2 with the AI just isn't the same as with real people around, and it's not always easy convincing a bunch of friends to find time in their schedules to get together and play something locally. Online multiplayer also ensures each game is a different experience. I wouldn't say that online multiplayer should or can replace the same experience as playing a game with a bunch of friends in your living room, but it can be a great substitute, and Halo 3 and Modern Warfare 2 offer excellent variety in their online multiplayer modes. Personally, I'm hoping to find some connector cables and an av adaptor for my N64 so I can start hosting some Goldeneye parties. In the meantime, I'm pretty jazzed for the HD re-release of Perfect Dark on Xbox Live on March 15th.