Online gaming is a big business, now more than ever before. With less reliance on story-based gaming and a bigger push towards massively multiplayer worlds and competitive head-to-head battles, PC and console gamers alike are enjoying the online experience. Still, not everything is perfect. While online gaming is incredibly entertaining at times, there are still those frustrations that will have some gamers longing for the old-school video games of yesteryear. Here’s why.
1. Laggy connections
This is one of the most frustrating issues online players face. Usually due to a poor internet connection, the gamer will gnash their teeth as the other players flicker and disappear from view while the game tries to keep up with their position. It can be the difference between winning and losing a game, with player skill not coming into it. Admittedly, this is becoming less of an issue as modern game developers are finding ways of getting over the issue, such as using the best CDN for online gaming. Still, it’s little wonder a thousand voices scream out in anger when a game has been poorly optimised, and lag causes an undeserving player first place in an online tournament.
2. No pause button
Your eyes are focused on the screen. Your teammates are communicating vital information to you. You are just about to win a match in the most spectacular way possible, when… the phone rings, you smell your pizza burning, your girlfriend demands your attention, your cat jumps on your lap, your bladder begins to give way… and you have no opportunity to pause the game. What do you do? It’s do or die, answer the phone or keep playing, wet yourself or win the game. Decisions, decisions, decisions. If only you could pause the game, but sadly, you can’t. Bah!
3. Long wait times
Back in the day, you would load up the game, hit the Start button, and boom, the game would begin. Not so with many online gaming experiences. Sat in the lobby waiting for player numbers to build up, you wait with anticipation, only to face disappointment when the countdown begins, and players suddenly drop out. Where have they gone? What are they doing? We don’t know, but we understand your frustration when the only game you will be playing is the ‘waiting game,’ hoping that somebody, anyone, will turn up and let the game begin. Single player gaming suddenly never seemed so attractive.
4. Other people
You can’t play an online game without other people, but they can certainly add to your frustration levels. Those people who whoop and cheer with every win, single-handedly bursting your ear drums. The people who complain about losing, and blame everything but their poor skill level. Those idiots who insist on camping throughout the entire game, taking you out from the same spot time after time. Those wretched souls who berate you for being a terrible player. Oh, and then there are those who purposely ruin a game by driving around the racing track backwards or by killing their own teammates. They should be banned, all of them! Our advice: get your friends round, dig out your old N64 and have a split-screen game of Goldeneye with them. At least you can see who your enemies are!
Finally
Despite the frustrations, online gaming is still a lot of fun. Still, if you do ever find your stress levels rising from one of the issues mentioned above, wipe the dust from one of your single-player games, pick up a long-forgotten classic, and play one of those instead.
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