I find this massively frustrating as not only does it completely break off the flow of the game, it just feels unnecessary. Lets look at
Burnout Paradise again. If, for whatever reason I wish to change the car that I'm currently 'pimping', all I have to do is pull into a scrap yard, pick my car and I'm off driving again. This is all done within the single game that is currently being played. No need to exit and risk your place to a “random” - and no need to send invites out just to be with your mates again. It's simple and makes a huge difference on the free-flowing aspect of the online experience.
It also stops you from trying out the many different types of horses, characters and weapons in the game. I haven't gone back into my character menu since the first time I unlocked anything. I found it too much of a hassle and didn't want to slow up everyone else's game just because I thought my current horse was a bit shit.
Meeting other online dwellers is a horrible experience too. The video promoting this aspect of the game boasted of shoot-outs in towns. Stand-offs in barns. Fights in bars. But the truth is that you'll be lucky to get within 200 yards of any town. For some reason Rockstar decided that each character in the game, whether you are in their posse or not, would have an icon and gamertag above their head, which you can see from miles away. This completely removes any sort of tactic when attacking an occupied settlement.
There is no sneaking up on a group foes, no surrounding them. There's not even the option to run through the door guns blazing. Instead you'll find that you'll get within visible distance of a gang's base only to be sniped from afar. Although you might be hidden behind a rock and completely invisible to the opposing gang, you have your icon and gamertag above your head like a big neon sign pointing down with the words “Sitting Duck” flickering on and off due to poor wiring. This single issue removes elements of the game that could have been so good, and for seemingly no real reason.
Then there are the 'Missions'. I was hoping for well thought out co-op campaigns. Ones that would see us covering ground together and helping out strangers with the same variety as demonstrated in the single player. What I got was nothing more than a few enemies to kill.
You ride around as a team and if you happen upon a gang hideout, a bunch of red dots appears on your radar. They are all enemies. You work together to kill them all, and once they are all dead you get some XP points and that's that. There are many hideouts in the game map but they are all the fucking same. Bunch of enemies, done. After my fourth mass murder I started to realise that the online game I had been dreaming about was well and truly gone, and I was left feeling cold.
Other online modes made me feel even worse. Deathmatch is less of a skill to master, and more of a 'who can lock on fastest test' and ultimately becomes no fun what... so... ever. Due to this over simplified gaming mechanic, the other game modes also become redundant. What's the point in capturing a bag if there is no skill or tactical element to retrieving it?
Maybe my expectations were too high. It's clear from the get go that this is a single-player game with a multiplayer tacked on to the side. Or maybe Rockstar shouldn't have built up my expectations. The promo videos and press releases promised so much, and ultimately the final product didn't deliver.
Once my first online game was over, I felt let down. A game that I was looking forward to playing for months to come just didn't exist. I started a single-player campaign, smiled and settled down for one of the greatest gaming sessions I've had for a long time. My memory of the multiplayer disappeared and I was happy again.
