Why Leaderboards and Ranking Systems are Ruining Online Gaming

YES!   Its true.  Online gaming, as we know it, is getting less pleasant everytime a new game comes out.   Ranking systems in games accomplishes many things: it turns people into assholes, removes the fun of the game, and adds frustrations.  Think about it.

When I first joined Xbox Live people played games to interact with each other.  This is where I met most of my online friends which I now know by name, address, phone number, email, etc.  (NO, I didn’t hack there accounts to get this info.)  We would play Call of Duty 2 constantly and laugh about how someone shot you in the head from across the map or how you got caught on a latter or were killed due to bad lag.  If you lost a game then, it just meant that you needed to improve your skills during the next game.  If I remember correctly, people used to switch teams between games so that teams would even out.

Halo 3 Rankings

Now if you play Gears of War 2 or Halo 3 you have to worry about being called a racist slur or having bad feedback left against you because you play the game better than someone else.  I can honestly say that my feed back was 85% preferred and 15% avoided during the COD2 time period.  When Gears of War 1 and Call of Duty 4 came out my feedback went to 65% preferred and 35% avoided.  I barely trash talk on Live and if I do its because someone insulted me or a friend online.

Like stated before, kids online are generally all assholes any more.  If you would have asked me back when I was 13 to say the words fuck, shit, or call someone’s mom a whore I would have rejected the offer.  I can’t even remember how many times I have been called a Nigger, Spick, Wetback, etc online by a white child who is somewhere between 10 and 16 years of age.  The worst part of it is that this language is used all too commonly without any type of coaxing.

Furthermore, I’m tired of hearing excuses.  FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, NOBODY HAS USED A LAG SWITCH SINCE HALO2.  Stop using that as an excuse for dying.  Maybe there was a murmer in your internet connection.  Did you ever think of that?  No, you probably didn’t since you can’t think rationally due to the competition.

What do you guys think about this topic?

Are Video Games Making Me Lose My Head?… Pun intended

Much like most of the masses, I purchased Gears of War 2 for my 360 on Friday. I owned the first of the two and loved everything about it. Although, I did find one part of the game to be more appealing to me. EXPLODING HEADS. Shooting people in the head in Gears of War has to be the most enjoyable thing in life, in fact I don’t believe anyone can truly say they lived a fulfilling life until they pop the head off of a grub or a gear.

Its not really the sight of chunks flying, its more the sound that it makes that pleases me.  All of those that play Gears can agree that the sound of a headshot is awesome.  Usually when you hear the squishy popping noise of a head exploding, the sounds of players shouting, “OH SHIT” or “JESUS CHRIST” are soon followed

If you happen to join a game on live that I’m in, you better believe that I have the sniper rifle in my hand awaiting the moment that some poor chap stops to pick up grenades, or any weapon for that matter.  Don’t get me wrong, I’m not even close to the best sniper in the game, in reality I’m probably second to last.  The rarity of me actually getting a headshot makes the successful shots all the sweeter.