Multiplayer Games : 4 Player Frenzy

It came to the attention of me and my age-ing friends last night that we are having our 'gaming nights' less and less. While our social schedules have changed over time and responsibilities have changed over the past decade one thing has not, and thats the games we play.

We have put this down to be one of the factors that have really just stopped us playing as often. Now actually i am one of the only one of my friends who don't play online. I just cannot be bothered for it, i just don't see the appeal and will not be convinced otherwise.

Normally our nights consist of the following

-Super Smash Bros Brawl (formerly Melee and N64)
-Mario Kart Double Dash
- FIFA 10
- Call of Duty: MW3 (formerly Black Ops,MW2,MW)
-

And that's about it, over the years various Mario games (Tennis,NEW SMB), sports games (PES,Virtua Tennis, SEGA Superstars Tennis, WWE games), shooters (Perfect Dark, Timesplitters, GOW, MOH, COD) and party games (Guitar Hero, Wii Sports, Bomberman) have entered the fray. Other games such as Lylatwars went down well, but Starfox assault not so much.

One thing in common that the above have? They are all franchises. With such a plethora of cheap pre-owned games knocking around we are looking to invest in such games, but the catch is that we can't get a franchise (or a franchise previously played) , does anybody have any original ideas as to what a 4 player multiplayer game could enter into our gaming patterns?

Stars for those who give good recommendations!

Sorry if there is a similar thread and no doubt there would have been over time.

( Edited 19.02.2012 15:24 by Flynnie )

First game that enters my head every single time multiplayer is brought up: TimeSplitters 2 (or TS3: Future Perfect).

It's probably the best multiplayer FPS ever made, from a lot of the guys that brought you Golden Eye 64. Shitloads of humorous characters to unlock, awesome music, loads of customisation options, and some of the most fun game modes.

Virus is one of my fave multiplayer events ever. It's effectively a 'last man standing' albeit setting everyone on fire. Someone starts on fire with the 'virus' and everyone has to stay away for as long as possible. Once someone is tagged, the virus team accumulates until their is only a couple of people left running away from the horde of players on fire. Shit gets hilarious, scary and fun every single time. Flame Tag is similar, expect only one person is on fire at a time, trying to pass it on to the next - the goal is to not get put on fire, or be on fire for the least amount of time, until the time runs out. Make sure to put bots in to have as many people in the map as possible.

Seriously man, the game is about £3-£5, and you won't regret a thing. on PS2, GC and Xbox.

Trying to think of some other 4-player games off the top of my head: Mario Strikers (Wii/GC), F-Zero GX (GC), Super Monkey Ball 1/2 (PS2/GC), Star Fox Assault (GC).

Az's post is pretty much exactly the games I was going to recommend. You could also try out Sonic and SEGA All-Stars Racing, which is great.

I agree with everything you say, and it does deserve a star.

The unfortunate fact (and i neglected to mention in my initial post) was that Timesplitters 2 used to be our main FPS game, i still have it in my collection, but the others in my group don't want to touch this gem with all the COD's in place these days.

GoldenEye and Perfect Dark were also games that used to be on our lists back in the day as well.

Mario Strikers had a brief uptake but the others decided that FIFA was superior (i said they are different games at the end of the day) , i tried imparting F-Zero and Starfox assualt when they first came out but neither were taken up!

Any more for anymore?

You know, it's an odd one, because I'm a massive footie fan, yet I don't really like FIFA or realistic footie sims. And my mate doesn't like football at all, yet he loves (and kicks my ass) in Mario Strikers Charged! Prior to Mario Strikers, I used to play the hell out of SEGA Soccer Slam. The same guys made Mario Strikers too, so I preferred that once I got it. Real shame they prefer FIFA to the madness and hilarity of that!

In terms of the ultimate frantic 4 player fun the game that really sticks out in my mind is Zelda Four Swords Adventures (gc).

Ok so it's not the sort of cheap game you'll find in a bargain bin somewhere, quite the opposite in fact. It will be a bit of investment for GC-GBA link cables etc, but entirely worth it.

If you've got a group of 3 willing friends then you'll be happy you all made the investment. It'll provide many hours of some of the best 4 player gaming experience you'll ever have.

Best of all it's totally different to any other multiplayer experience you've described, fps/racing/beat 'em up.

bomberman, always a winner!!

If you still have an N64 hooked up, WWF No Mercy is quite possibly the best 4 player game ever. Protip; drop ringbells in the ring and use face-planting moves; no game is more hilarious.

I'll second WWF No Mercy. Highly playable and always such big laughs.

Redking said:
In terms of the ultimate frantic 4 player fun the game that really sticks out in my mind is Zelda Four Swords Adventures (gc).

Ok so it's not the sort of cheap game you'll find in a bargain bin somewhere, quite the opposite in fact. It will be a bit of investment for GC-GBA link cables etc, but entirely worth it.

If you've got a group of 3 willing friends then you'll be happy you all made the investment. It'll provide many hours of some of the best 4 player gaming experience you'll ever have.

Best of all it's totally different to any other multiplayer experience you've described, fps/racing/beat 'em up.

You are quite right. One of my friends and I used to play this quite a lot when it first launched. I actually only played it the other week as well as i am still looking to complete it. However trying to convince the others to play is another thing.

I only have my GBA and 2 link up cables and i don't think they would be up for it, but it could be worth a try!

Phoenixus said:
If you still have an N64 hooked up, WWF No Mercy is quite possibly the best 4 player game ever. Protip; drop ringbells in the ring and use face-planting moves; no game is more hilarious.

I am an avid fan of No Mercy and still have it with 4 N64 controllers but these guys all prefered the Smackdown series and now i have to admit that i'd rather play Smackdown vs Raw. NM just plays too slowly for my liking now. I even tried forcing DefJam Fight For NY on them last night but they played one game and gave up!

All good recommendations though, keep them coming!

I'll definitely have to second Four Swords Adventures. I never had the chance to play it with four people myself but if the crazy fun I had with only two people is anything to go by, then it should be well worth the effort/money trying to get that going. Az already mentioned SEGA Soccer slam but I'll recommend it anyway. Great change from the normal football games like FIFA.

Another franchise I can think of right now would be Worms. Absolutely hilarious in multiplayer, especially with four people. I've only played Worms 3D on the Gamecube myself, so I can't exactly recommend a specific game of the series but it should be worth a look.

I'd also highly recommend the Soul Calibur and/or Street Fighter series. I know that they are 1 VS 1 only but if you're looking for some more options and don't mind swapping controllers, they're a ton of fun.

Have you ever tried out any 2D platformers? New Super Mario Bros Wii, Kirby's Adventure Wii or Rayman Origins would be great choices for that.

( Edited 19.02.2012 19:13 by SirLink )

Worms.

For a while, me and my friends would play this one super crazy 3D fighting game (not smash, wwf, or powerstone (all of which are AWESOME)). I forgot what it was called, it was really obscure. It was very clearly inspired by Japan as pretty much everyone looked like they came out of an anime. I think it was on gamecube too. If anyone knows, I'd appreciate it. It was soooooo much fun.

Ultimate Muscle: Legends vs New Generation

Dang, I don't remember too much, but it was a blast, especially with 3 other guys.

( Edited 20.02.2012 20:03 by bornforthis43 )

Left 4 Dead 1/2(first one especially should be dirt cheap) could be an option, it's 2 player split screen buuuut if you had two 360's and 2 TV's you could set up a 4 player LAN.

( Edited 21.02.2012 01:39 by Mr James2t3 )

bornforthis43 said:
For a while, me and my friends would play this one super crazy 3D fighting game (not smash, wwf, or powerstone (all of which are AWESOME)). I forgot what it was called, it was really obscure. It was very clearly inspired by Japan as pretty much everyone looked like they came out of an anime. I think it was on gamecube too. If anyone knows, I'd appreciate it. It was soooooo much fun.

Ultimate Muscle: Legends vs New Generation

Dang, I don't remember too much, but it was a blast, especially with 3 other guys.

I think that would have been ok at the time, but the problem with that is that there are now better games in that genre, i think what ties you to that is nostalgia, quite like how many are tied to No Mercy.

Mr James2t3 said:
Left 4 Dead 1/2(first one especially should be dirt cheap) could be an option, it's 2 player split screen buuuut if you had two 360's and 2 TV's you could set up a 4 player LAN.

Unfortunately LAN would not be do-able, but could be good for co-op?

Also...Mr James2T3? What happened to your original account?

Forgot my password, I don't really mind though, may aswell start fresh.

Dude, don't be so lazy. JB will send you a new password if you need.

Naaaaah, it's ok, I honestly don't give a shit.

( Edited 24.02.2012 04:07 by Mr James2t3 )

If you have a GBA and link cable then you should give the excellent Pacman Vs. a try. You will probably need to use Wavebirds to avoid cable tangle though.

It came free with some GC games - got mine with R:Racing.

Also track down Let's Tap for Wii - you will get it really cheap and the obstacle race game is an absolute riot.

Oh snap! Speaking of timesplitters, what about Anaconda?!?!?! I swear half the time we put in ts, it was to play that minigame

bornforthis43 said:
Oh snap! Speaking of timesplitters, what about Anaconda?!?!?! I swear half the time we put in ts, it was to play that minigame

Was a rumour of a TS4 announcement recently for E3. Really hope so.

MiiWiiKing said:
bomberman, always a winner!!

Seconded...the WiiWare version has tonnes of options and modes. Supports online too and with multiple local players joining in.
Up to 8 players.

( Edited 26.02.2012 21:45 by davyK )

Age of Empires 2 Best multiplayer game ever! The only problem is a "quick game" usually still ends up taking 3 hours.

Advance Wars is absolutely perfect if you're on the move. Only needs one Game Boy/DS, too!

Super Monkey Ball quick easy and fully dependent on ninja skills, even if you're flinging massive boxing gloves around on Monkey Fight.

Other than that, Brawl is an obvious choice. And Mario Kart if there's non-gamers playing.