Let me start off by saying that Spec Ops: The Line is now THE example of how a forced multiplayer mode can ruin a game. The CoD-esque multiplayer mode in Spec Ops actually crushes the very message of the whole game. Spec Ops was a brutal deconstruction of the modern military shooter and all the CoDs, Battlefields, and Medal of Honors that glamorize war and violence as a fun game to be enjoyed. The campaign of Spec Ops was a big middle finger to games like CoD, and a comment on how screwed up gamer culture and the glorification of violence actually is...And then the publisher forced in a multiplayer mode that does exactly what the game was preaching against. It would be like if Saving Private Ryan had a 15 minute epilogue where a cartoonish caricature of a Republican shows up and preaches about how war is the best thing ever and should be the first response to every problem.

Anyway, BioShock: Infinite was supposed to have multiplayer, but then they decided that would be dumb. Same with Metro: Last Light. So there is still some hope. I personally think that the Tomb Raider multiplayer mode looks totally pointless, like they decided to add it at the last minute to check off another box for the bullet points on the back cover.

Just wanted to say I agree with you. It seems that more often than not, when there is MP the SP suffers by either being VERY short/generic or it's a co-op game with retarded AI that will charge head first into trouble and get you both killed. If the SP campaign can be completely separate from MP like in the original Half Life then I don't mind it, but if it hurts the SP then no thanks - and no, I'm not gonna buy Dead Space 3 or Sim City 5 either (and I'm currently playing Sim City 4 Deluxe so....).

Well doesn't that just bite the big one???  I as well am not into multiplayer games either.  I have always been a fan of the Single Player Campaign and try my best to find the games that are made around that...  but they are becoming less and less each day.  So sad it is to see a once great series become degraded by multiplayer.  What were they thinking???  It is after all called Tomb Raider.  Not Tomb Raiders?  Lara has never relied on any help in her games to make things happen...  why does she need that now...  because they are milking the cow dry...  that is why.  I cannot believe I am going to say this...  but as much of a fan of the Tome Raider Series I have always been and still am to this day...  I personally think it is time to put it away...  lay it to rest.  I would much rather see that than them tarnish it with multiplayer.  I even pre-ordered the collectors set...  and now am not sure if I even want it after hearing this.  Dark Days are upon us my friend..   we are a rare breed of gamers...   ones that the future gamers will read about and dream about...  because soon it will all be a multiplayer world!  :(

Multiplayer ends up in nearly every game now. I wouldn't mind so much if it weren't case that the single-player often suffers as a result of the multiplayer features being forced into the product, even when the underlying premise of the game dosen't actually match-up to the idea of having the option of playing with someone else, Dead Space 3 being a good example of that. Okay sure, multiplayer is optional: one dosen't have to play it. But what happens when the core mechanics of the game are specifically tailored for multiplayer, and the single-player suffers as a result of it? Games like Resident Evil 5 & 6 where you're forced to play with either some second-rate AI or a human player, or the CoD titles from 4 onwards that feature single-sitting campaigns are good places to look for the answer to that question. :P

Somehow Ace Combat: Assault Horizon ended up that way too. That was a surprise for me at the time, partly because AC had traditionally always placed a huge emphasis on delivering a very strong single-player expierience.

Oh, how I missed your blogs...

Been waaaaay too long.  People think that because I have 4 Xbox controllers that I have multiplayer games...no, I just am clumsy and drop them all the damn time so I have to get them replaced.

Ever get around to Deadly Premonition? :D

Ah good to see you back!  Happy New Year and all that.  

Although I don't have a problem with Multiplayer I do bemoan it being added in to games that really don't need it.  Keep MP to the games that it works better for, and leave the other games.

On another note, did you manage to use that Crimson pack DLC that was briefly available for no cash money on Halo 4?  I DL'd it, but haven't tried to use it yet, and I hear that MS have done something to block it to those that don't have the Season Pass or have actually bought it.

I wholeheartedly agree. But I don't shun all multiplayer. There are games that can provide both good single-player and good multiplayer (the recent Halo 4, for example), but they're becoming scarcer and scarcer. And fully single-player games even more so, which really is a shame.

There's a lot of smaller budget titles that are single-player focused on XBox Live and the such, thankfully. But I do understand what you're saying. I too want to see more big-budget, full-release single-player adventures.

"Have I mentioned lately that I hate multiplayer? Because I really, really hate mutiplayer.'

Apart from just now, no. But now that you're back I'm looking forward to hearing you say so with regularity. :)

I felt exactly the same way when the Star Wars Old Republic game decided it needed to be an MMO. Seriously, I almost cried after having played the hell out of KOTOR 1 and 2 and hearing that news. To my satisfaction, that experiment has failed miserably, but too many others seem to be successful. I believe it's really a reflection on the ADD society we are living in. Younger people just don't have the patience (in general) to sit down and play a jrpg or similar game. They need constant interaction and stimulation which many developers solve by making the game mp. Ugh. Sometimes I just wanna sit in my recliner and lose myself in a game word without being forced to interact with stupid people.

I have abandoned my hopes for a good Tomb Raider game since the rip off of Underworld, and especially after the involvement and supervision of Square Enix. And basically because Crystal Dynamics always served as the foster parents of Lara, when Eidos took away from Core the development of the game. They gave to the child all the love they could, but they never understood it.

Good to see you're around.

Happy New Year and write whatever the hell you want.

On a completely unrelated note, I just finished The Walking Dead. First game since GTA 4 that made me cry.

There, I said it.

Also, Rayman Origins. Awesome game. 2 more Single player games for you to check out.

Dishonored was a fantastic and refreshing game with no multiplayer, you should check it out if you haven't already :)

Ugh. That's very dismal news about one of my few favorite franchises of the past few years. That's the last thing I wanted to hear about Dead Space 3.

Allow me to be blunt.  Get over it.  Buy the fucking game, don't fucking play the MP.  Not that fucking hard to understand, is it? /bluntness

Welcome back. Its a shame really, but this is the direction the games industry is going in. It's like when Mass Effect 3 was confirmed to have multi-player, it was needless. It was just a way for EA to include the online pass in the title. I love multi-player if done right, but I adore single player experiences so much more. The Last of Us shouldn't have multi-player, and I feel the Uncharted games should never had. I can't imagine how little interest I will have in Dragon Age III once it has truly been confirmed to have multiplayer functions.Alas, true single player experiences will soon be dead. I actually loved how Skyrim had no multiplayer features, but in The Elder Scrolls MMO is a success I bet The Elder Scrolls VI will tack on some crappy multi-player in some form or another.

Good to see you buddy, welcome back.

I still don't understand your hate for anything MP in a game. It's like anything else (IMO) just because it's there, does not mean you have to use it. The single player portion can still be GREAT, even if the game as MP included. I just don't buy the "it takes resources away from development" argument. 

Hope you start feeling better soon.

I don't think it is that they don't 'get' it - I think that publishers want it, see it as a revenue stream or something.  My response is to never play the MP and let them see that stat.

Another reminder that as a game-playing consumer, you should never pre-order anything.

I'm not the biggest online gamer, but I don't have a problem with multiplayer in general.. only blatantly contrived multiplayer whose only reason for existing is to push the publisher's DRM agenda and help mask SP shortcomings.

Tomb Raider and Sim City are unfortunate casualties, but I would have gladly served up those two along with Dragon Age and Dead Space to preserve Bioshock Infinite's integrity, whose focus on singleplayer is one of the few pieces of good news lately.