Nothing quite irritates when playing a team-based game like a team member that doesn’t hold his or her weight. Whether it is a cooperative game or a team-based deathmatch or a sports game, it is the ultimate buzzkill when an idiot or two ruins the chances for the team’s victory. Whether it be from selfishness or idiocy, there are many players who are simply incompatible with the concept of cooperative play. This came to me yesterday, when I was playing the cooperative mode in Resistance 2. I was in a game with a few others, and for some reason, while I busted my ass to keep people with full ammo and revived where I could, no one else was helping me in any way possible. Now I am sure that many gamers can share their pet peeves with cooperative play, but for this editorial, I’ll be focusing on Resistance 2, as I have been playing that cooperative mode insanely and the morons who don’t play their class properly ruin it for everyone else directly.
First off, it is important that a team be balanced in the first place. Entering a game and seeing seven Soldiers (Resistance 2′s cooperative mode supports up to eight players) is disheartening, to say the least, as it’s impossible for me as a Medic or Special Ops to really tend to such an imbalanced group. So the most important thing is that a team be balanced.
Could comeone please give me a damned clip!?
Secondly, and most importantly, team members must do their damned jobs! This is critically important, as any cooperative venture will fail without full cooperation. That is the whole point of cooperative games, after all. The most insane thing I’ve ever seen is Medics trying to face off the enemy while people lay around them, waiting to be revived, or soldiers running off to revive downed teammates while the enemy advances. Whatever job a player chooses, they must go into it expecting that to be their primary function. Get into the fight as needed, sure, but don’t go in trying to be Rambo as a Medic.
Lastly, selfishness is discouraged. This is especially true in Resistance 2, as Special Ops can only throw a certain number of ammo packs at any one time. Nothing is more annoying than to be nearly out of ammo as a soldier and running up to an ammo pack only to have a Medic snatch it up. There’s a reason Medics drain health from enemies, after all. If there’s an ammo pack no one’s picking up, it is perfectly fine for a Medic to take it and get a couple free shots, but for the most part, a Medic should leave the ammo packs to soldiers, or at the very least, ask the Special Ops on the team to throw one at him/her if needed. Likewise, Soldiers should position themselves in order to best protect their teammates, not just huddle in a corner alone and blast away. That’s not only selfish, but incompetent, as Soldiers above all else need Special Ops and Medics to keep them supplied and in good shape.
So, that’s my issues with Resistance 2 cooperative games, and indeed, with cooperative play in general. When people all want to be one class, don’t perform their duty properly, or think only of themselves, there is scant chance for success. However, I know Resistance 2 is not the only game with this issue. So, lusipurr.com community, what are your pet peeves in cooperative games?
