Alright, so we already know that the next Elder Scrolls will be an online MMO. Not super happy about it, but I get it I suppose. It's one of those games that everyone always says "Oh this would be really cool online." Now comes a rumor that Fallout 4 might be online too... Can we stop please?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iwr2d__x7Oo
This is a trend that I fight, and something that I KNOW isn't going to go away. I know that most games these days focus on the online multiplayer more than the single player component which is practically an after thought. Games get released and the reviews say "Well the single player is a joke and annoying to play... but online is fun! 9.75 out of 10!" That to me is absurd. If the single player is that bad, it shouldn't get that high of a score period. And if they're going to put that little effort into it then don't bother to do it. FPS in particular probably don't need a single player because it's the same type of play all the time. That isn't necessarily a bad thing, because it's just focusing on doing something really well.
Games like Elder Scrolls or Fallout on the other hand are games that have always been dripping in personality and heavy lasting consequences. Put them online though, and they lose much of that. Want to blow up Megaton? Too bad. It has to be there for everyone else. Stumble across some weird little easter egg that not many people know about? Not in the online version you don't, because the second someone finds it there are a steady stream of people flocking to the location to see the spectacle that plays every 4 seconds. There is no such thing as mystery in an online game unless they are specifically withholding that objects purpose for whenever they hit the "Enable Event" button. Online actively kills most of what makes games like these so much fun to explore and enjoy.
Anyway, I could probably rant for a while longer on the subject but I think that's about enough. Online can be a great thing, for a lot of games and this has nothing to do with actively just hating online in general. But when it's used like this, it is just a disease. Slowly wiping out any and all lasting choices or uniqueness that games like the Elder Scrolls or Fallout can hold.
