for us, games are like movies, books, or any other form of media...
we aren't in the mood all the time...
we almost never play games alone... it is someting we do at most, once a week... we have a sunday night ritual in which we play games a few hours...
but, there is not much of a market for two-player games...
here is what i mean by that...
there are plenty of games that have two-player MODE, but, not really designed as a fully two-player game...
for instance, in most games, you can progress...
whether it is a 'story mode', 'adventure mode', 'career mode', there is a way to actually progress through the game... to start at the beginning and work to the end...
you can unlock new levels, new characters, new items, new costumes, etc, depending on the game genre...
this is usually the benefit or re-play... in case it gets boring, you end up unlocking new facets of the game...
and, this is ALWAYS a one player mode...
now, there are exceptions to varying degrees...
in typing of the dead, we can take turns playing the drills and get to put our names in and it keeps a record of the results... but, that is taking turns, not really two-player...
the arcade mode is two-player, but, again, you just start at the beginning and try to get to the end...
caesar's palace is perfect...
it doesn't matter if you play alone or with others... everyone on that save (up to four players on a save) can progress through levels and end up a millionaire in the top ranking skill level or end up broke...
for playstation, we have a chess game and a pool game that allow the outcome of the game to be saved to a high scores sort of thing...
so, that is good, but only for that kind of game... they have nothing to unlock... except tougher opponents which become available when your rating is higher...
so, they are as perfect as caesar's palace...
but, all three are traditional games that mostly rely on arcade-style scoring for progression... same goes for typing of the dead, as far as arcade-style scoring...
after asking around for good two-player games, many people recommended virtua tennis, so, went and picked it up... we enjoy it and see ourselves playing it for a long time... but, it will always be the same...
which is the heart of the problem...
virtua tennis is a good example of our frustration, as well as racing games and fighting games, just to cite quick genre examples...
she can beat me ten times in a row or i can beat her, but, there is no credit for it...
there is no record... you get nothing for it execpt the fun you have... and, yes, we have fun... BUT, some kind of reward within the game itself would be nice...
this is why we play the "boring games", like pool and casino games, for the most part... they are the only ones that keep score of how we do...
now, quake is an exception, right? i put my player against hers and when we frag, it is added to our record, right?
here is why i am not sure... needless to say, it is because we haven't played it alot... but, the reason we have not played it alot is that you only get a few arenas! it is like 6 or 8...
and, my guess is you CAN unlock them...
IN ONE PLAYER MODE!!!!
and, this is the case with most games...
in one-player mode you can advance and be rewarded...
so... our answer so far?
well, we cheat... we use saves and other cheats... we would never play virtua tennis alone to unlock new courts and characters, so, we downloaded a save that has them open...
here is what sounds like something of an ideal...
first, let me make it clear that we are not partial to rpg's... as a matter of fact, i thik it is safe to say we don't even particularly care for them...
but...
final fantasy 9 is the closest we have found to a good example of what we are looking for...
we were able to adopt our own set of characters, and develop them and use them in battle independantly of each other... she could do what she wanted with her characters and i could do what i wanted with mine... and we stood together in battle, each having our own strengths and weaknesses, based on how good we each were at the
game...
plus, since the character used in 'exploration mode' switched between different characters, we would alternate "leading the party" searching for items, deciding which way to go, etc...
it was a GREAT balance and we loved it...
BUT, we had a hard time getting into the whole "rpg" thing... it just wasn't all that enjoyable... at least not as enjoyable as other games we play...
for instance, we played silent hill, just taking turns at the controls, and we loved that game... we actually came back to it everyday until it was complete, and have almost never done that...
the same also applies to x-files for playstation, strangley enough, because, again, it was just like watching a movie and deciding together what to do...
INTERACTIVE FICTION...
we want more interactive fiction...
final fantasy 9 was interactive fiction...
we watch a drama unfold before us, and have a part in the outcome of it... you never know what playing today will be like... you don't know what will happen, what you will see...
(but, we got tired of the very nature of the rpg game-style... random battles and endless attribute development...)
a casino game, a racing game or sports game or shooter are all match-based... the same thing over and over, you go in and win or lose, and tally up the wins and losses over time... simulators at best...
well, that is what re-play reward is for...
unlocking and earning new stuff...
but, they give you no reward for playing together in so many games...
and, worse, many games only give you access to a very limited portion of the game unless you play one-player mode to unlock and earn things...
now, there are the games (i said i thought quake was one of them) that allow you to put your "account" against someone else's...
racing your car against someone else's in grand turismo is the first example to jump into my head...
BUT, you have to build and develop your car in one-player mode... and, the results of the race does not get added to your account, so far as i know...
plus, that is only competitive... we want some co-operative choices as well...
so, if we ARE going to play something like virtua tennis, we at least want some record of it... whether we play each other or we play doubles against the computer...
so, we are looking for suggestions...
genres or specific games...
and we have not liked puzzle games so far at all...
deeper 2-player games (see our views on ff9 above)
games that rely only on a multi-player scoring system...
(see our good comments on caesar's palace and our bad comments on virtua tennis, racing games and fighting games)
the adventure category seems totally untouched... nothing like a two-player tomb raider or silent hill or shenmue...