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The cute, pop-up sound of signing into Xbox Live (the same tone for unlocking Achievements) is gratifying.
It builds up your adrenaline — you're ready to play and compete online against real-life gamers.
And that's what I did.
I decided to insert Halo 3 into my 360 machine; not because I haven't played it in awhile, but the fact that I like it better than Reach (map-wise).
I forgot what a joy Bungie's game really is with its multiplayer — the weapons, the persistent jump, and most certainly the vehicles — it's a nice alternative if your a Call of Duty-freak and want to take a break from kill-streaking feens.
Then suddenly, during the match, my team vanishes; they're gone, retired, sayonara , you're all alone.
Sure, it's my own fault for playing with a gamers I don't know, but that's not what bothers me. What makes me cringe is the fact that they left for the simplicity of losing. Some (actually many) people cannot accept failure.
Haven't they ever heard of "You win some, and you lose some?"
Thanks guys, I guess I'll take on the rest of the opposing team, or die trying.
I think of a resolution.
"Okay, I'll just get better partners next time." I sure did, and we won.
"Let's party up" one says. "Fine with me" was my response.
At one point, we were confronted by insanely good Halo players, and they beat us down to China town.
"F*** this" I hear from my one of partners." One down. "Yeah, they're cheating or something, this is bulls***." Another one withdraws. "I don't care if I lose XP, you all suck." See you later kiddo.
This doesn't just happen in Halo, I see this calamity happen more frequently in Call of Duty as well. Don't all of you remember how irritating it was in Call of Duty 4 when the host quits? Or how about somebody whom acquired the nuke in MW2? They all leave; these guys can't face their fate in the competition. So what if we lost? That's what online gaming is all about, much like sports.
I know sometimes your connection is broken-down — your Internet goes to hell. Happens to me as well. But think about it for a second: the host migration happens more so in Black Ops, and many times when you see the connection time out, it's the obvious fact that whoever left purposely zip-passed the quit method by exiting to the dashboard.
Believe me, I've seen my friend do it before, and it's the weakest move in online history.
This balls-to-the-wall tactic ruins the joy and experience on Xbox Live.
When low-blow moves like this grace the event, I have to remind myself as to why I don't play these games with random people anymore. It sure isn't getting any better for that matter. People often complain about the misfortune of joining a game that immediately ends — the result could be from these actions.
Jeff Grubb just posted a couple days ago regarding some awesome new features on Modern Warfare 3 and its multiplayer. He describes one player can have all the perks in one game once they have earned them. Sounds cool to me, but expect the "quitters" to draw in like flies in a s*** factory.
Finish the fight, kids. Just saying.
Pictures courtesy of IGN, Wikipedia, and FTCDN.