Has COD4 set the bar for online multiplayer so high that for years to come, future titles will never be able to measure up?

Yeah, umm, I kind of thought that bar was set with Battlefield 2. COD4 is just a frag fest with no strategy or objectives. Boring.

Yeah, I felt that way when my new shoulders dropped in Zul'Aman.

@Tim - You obviously don't play CoD4.

@Beeps - I'm not sure many people are going to even pay much attention to it. I've noticed it's kind of a sleeper hit. BUT I'm definitely hoping future Call of Duty games will keep the same high standards. For a "frag fest with no strategy or objectives" it's a highly addicting game, and even after beating the Singleplayer and getting to the max level twice in Multiplayer, I still can't stop playing it. Even if it's just a half hour in the morning before work, I'm still pushing to get my next 20-kill streak, or 3:1 ratio in just knifing people.

It's got the trigger itchiness of Counter-Strike, a modification system similar to Crysis, and what seems to be an endless supply of good players to test wits against. It's definitely got more playtime from me than any other shooter has:

http://www.xfire.com/profile/xylotism/

Also: as far as objectives go, I have more fun with just team deathmatch than any other mode. Dealing with bombs and "king of the hill" type stuff keeps me from watching people's heads splurt into a gooey mess. Regular deathmatch blows though. And hardcore is too hardcore.

By regular deathmatch do you mean free for all?

I agree about hardcore. I understand the concept, but it just pisses me off that I can't at least keep track of my score as I play. I mean, seriously, wtf?

Yeah... Free for All.

I hate hardcore because I have to look at the radar like every two seconds to find more people to shoot at. I can't stand not knowing when some dude's gonna bumrush me and stab me in the back.

Hah. I hate hearing that "tink" sound and having to run for my life...especially if there's two guys because I'll always stick around to shoot at the second one, only to get blown up. =/

I completely stopped trying to pick the grenades up and throw them back... I lose my hand/head every time.

I hope that wasn't spam!

I buy my games used most of the time because doing so gets me 25% off. That's good to know though.

Speaking of Guitar Hero, I tried Rock Band for the first time last week and found it HIGHLY preferable.

Yeah, Rock Band parties are way more fun than Guitar Hero ones, because they get everyone involved.

Hrmmmmmm.

So I went to go look this up. They patched in an additional 9 spawn points for each map. How are spawn points controlled? Maybe my friend just told me you spawn on other players because that's what it seemed like, and I didn't investigate closely enough. Certainly it seemed to my constantly fragged self that I was popping up in the middle of fights, and that the other team was appearing randomly, and far too quickly.

See, I LOVE the cramped levels like Vacant because then everyone's right around each other and you don't spend forever just trying to track down your next target. With the smaller maps, you wait a couple of seconds and 5 guys waiting to be pumped full of lead fall right into your lap.

The only thing I don't like about Rock Band is how seemingly imprecise the drums are. I usually end up singing or playing guitar though, so it doesn't really matter. I like the tracklist better, because it has a good variety of older tunes and newer "hipper" stuff. Guitar Hero had some great old hits, but most of the newer stuff seemed like it was just yanked off the playlist of your generic, local "new rock" station.

@Tim - Yeah man, free for all is a bitch because you're constantly spawning on top of grenades and such.

@Beeps - I agree about the tracklist for GH.... haven't seen the one for Rock Band but I know some GH songs are on it. Either way I don't really care what I play as long as it's fun/sounds cool.

As for Vacant... that place can suck it. The inside areas are too cluttered for me to aim properly, and the outside area is just a death trap. =/ Good for chucking grenades around corners though.

TEAM FORTRESS 2, ASSHOLES

also, i too prefer my shooters to be point-and-click, so what johnny squared said. i like absolute control, not struggling to negotiate my crosshairs. wuh oh is that a metaphor

I only played team fortress 2 for a couple of minutes, but I didn't really enjoy it. I probably would have played it for longer if I had liked it better.

I can't wrap my head around playing any modern game on a PC. I think about using the arrow keys instead of an analog stick and shudder.

To each their own on that one, I guess.

Just use the M40E and shoot down the chopper, dorkface. Or an RPG, but that's really not as satisfying as shooting down a MOTHERFUCKING HELICOPTER WITH A MACHINE GUN.

Sorry, I just got really excited.

You should just buy a PS3. Then we'd be BFFz and have LAN parties and shit.

Yeah fucking right. Haha.

Why not just use your tax return to buy that for yourself?

You're not getting a tax return?!? Why not?

Well, my first year working a real job... the comic shop and post office were just checks made out to cash.

as an independent contractor, you can write off your apartment space, right? there's some sort of rent/square foot mathstuffs that i remember turbotax calculating for me (i was an oddjobber during the first half of 2006).

Rock Band calibration for each instrument is super important, particularly for flat-screen monitors. It can be a terribly frustrating experience if the instruments aren't calibrated right for lag/delay. Not sure if that's the problem your drums were having, though, but that's been my experience...

is anyone beside playing on PSN ? my prejudices taught me that americans prefer the xbox to the ps3

i just learned from a friend that 'tribes' is a dynamix game, a follow-up to my favorite turn-based strategy, 'missionforce: cyberstorm', and also part of the 'earthsiege' universe. badass. hi, pal.