Fun multiplayer games - RPG, FPS, TBS, etc

[Caustic]

Haven't seen one of these around anytime recently, sooo....

Simple topic: what do you like to play with other random twits who laugh at your pain your online friends?

Yes, CoD is acceptable. We won't mock you. Too much...

But more looking for different games, beyond the "usual" ( Wow, CoD (and the other five-bajillion FPSs that copy it...), and the like). Feel free to discuss them as well, especially why you find them fun ( beyond "because they are" ).

All three of the following are F2P, but not necessarily "pay-to-win".

For me, I had a blast with Kingdom of Loathing. It's browser-based, but put your hate mail away already; it's the game that Monty Python would have created, has his troupe started in 2004 rather than the 1969. Heck, I'm jumping back on because I just remembered it XD Why am I so interested in this? Well, it should probably be explained...

At least in part. I don't want to ramble, but the game is really something that needs to be experienced to be believed. Wit and parody take the forefront of the game, which plays out like an old-school text adventure game, but uses keyboard shortcuts and a turn-based RPG battle system. Pretty much every aspect of the game is silly or referencing something in some manner. It supports both PvE ( a large chunk of the game is PvE ) and PvP, along with a multiplayer dungeon for guilds to tromp through together. Also, last I was on, there was a dungeon entirely made up of euphemisms - how can that not be funny?

I think the biggest draw factor, though, is the community; those that play are generally helpful towards new people ( unless newbs wander into PvP - which can be turned "off" via an item; then it's open season ), but mods and admins are rampant and will go nuts with the banhammer if need-be. Especially in the chat area; God help you if you think you can start cussing people out or spam the chat box just because you can turn off the swear filter. Besides the obligatory silliness that must go on, people are genuinely interested in the game, and not always in the "we need to be da strogest EVAR!1!". It really is awesome to see that anywhere, but especially in the gaming market, which is saturated with far too many communities focused solely upon hitting the top ranks.

Speaking of... there are ranks. For every single damn thing. From who has hit the highest level ( some are in the 100's last I checked, with the avg level being below 30 ), to who drunk the most of what booze or ate the most of what food. To who has the fattest pets ( yes, pet weight exists as a stat - it's basically their level, if I remember correctly ). So yeah - just about anyone can be the best in something. Quite literally.

Holy crap that ran longer than intended.

Also, for the longest time, I couldn't quit playing MapleStory ( yes, feel free to point and laugh now ).
I eventually had to, though, because it was eating up tons of my freetime and money. Two things I need if I want to stay sane. Nevermind that it was getting boring, and that's never a good thing. I jump in now and again, mostly to see if I have any friends left online, but also to poke at the newest stuff in the latest patch before proclaiming it to be crap and disappearing again. If you want to know more about it, look it up... I'm not really interested in discussing the game at-length.

Finally, I've played Path of Exile off and on for a while now since open beta. Best way to describe it is "Diablo 3 without the rehashed story or pay-to-win formula". It's a multiplayer dungeon crawler with several "Leagues" - either normal play or "hardcore", which is the same as Diablo games ( where you have one life and can't resurrect ). However, you get special bits if you get far into the hardcore leagues without dying. And instead of gold, the game promotes item trade, probably in an effort to stave off those annoying Chinese gold farmers. It's a pretty good game, and a blast to play with other people <3

Plus their community is... interesting XD That's about all I can say about them.

 

[Engr. Adiktuzmiko]

minecraft...

 

[Alexander Amnell]

   Pretty much the only game I'll play with others is Borderlands 2. (and even then, only going to play it with people I know, random matchups are no fun to me.) Every once in a while my little brother will invite me to play Battlefield with him and his friends(Even got me the newest game, out of the blue because he knew I wouldn't upgrade on my own) but that doesn't usually stay fun for very long because him and his marine buddies completely slaughter pretty much any opposing team we might come across, it's mostly just a way to catch up since we live so far apart now.

 

[parabellum09]

Me and my mates have gone back to playing Halo reach.

I didnt mind Halo 4 but the other guys did.

Beyond that I like FF14ARR. I had a blast with that.

 

[nio kasgami]

me i don't play to much off online game because i never had a speed internet in my home so is only I haved a portable computer...(this years) I haved the chance to play a little to mmorpg ..is called neverwinter :3

 

[Aurorain]

Several I can list:

(Long list, so spoilers!)

Spoiler

Allods, Grand Chase, Eden Eternal, Aura Kingdom, Everquest II, Dungeons and Dragons, Tera, Rift, Aion, Fiesta, Lunia, Ghost X, Maple, LoL, WoW, LoTRO, Seal, Ragnarok, Toontown, and Prius: Anima Redux. (Also, I'm looking forward to Albion Online..looks neat~)

Allods - It's a great game, but..it's incredibly difficult for me, for some reason. Picked one of the stronger DD classes(being an Ice Mage), yet I still got my ass handed to me, even by weak monsters, lol. Also, the incredibly slow leveling doesn't help either. Regardless, it's still pretty fun, and there's a big overhaul coming to it in the near future.

Grand Chase - I've loved this game ever since I first started playing back in late '09. Granted, it's changed..kinda for the worse/better, but it's one of those games where you never truly quit. Also, I keep up to date on it always, via a couple compadres at GrandChase.info; great bunch of people over there~

Eden Eternal - It's not bad, and pretty cutesy if you're into that sort of thing. The leveling's pretty quick, and it's actually fairly easy, even if you screw up your build like I did.

Aura Kingdom - This one pretty much exploded from day one; Servers full, all beta keys being taken, I was actually surprised at how many were into this. Like Eden Eternal, it's fairly easy, but it's more action-set, and also has a crap ton of little side-quests/achievements to be earned fo explorers.

Everquest II - This mmo...holy dayum is it big! Classes, areas, and spells everywhere..gah.. You can probably guess, but I like this one quite a bit. ;3

Dungeons and Dragons - I actually just started this one a few days ago, It took me awhile to get in and make my character because of technical issues, but I've enjoyed being an op Dwarf Cleric since. Kinda wish it had a bigger community, but..hey, I'm not complaining, it's pretty fun.

Tera - The combat in this is essentially a (vastly) improved form of Dungeons and Dragons, at least from an action standpoint. Just have to say, despite wielding a giant sword as a..fat ferret thing, I feel pretty weak. :x

Rift - When this mmo went f2p, I was hooked on it for, literally months. I just couldn't stop playing it, because of how incredibly good it was, and also "because" it opened its doors into the f2p scene, the population was massive. Sadly, it's died down a bit, but overall a fantastic game, with a pretty deep level of skill customization.

Aion - Another one I got hooked into, although..sadly my laptop's a bit too underpowered for it. I think what kept me going through it was simply just the flying aspect; I've never played an mmo before that let, first of all fly, and second go nearly anywhere(within most areas) while doing it! Leveling's a bit slow, but it's a great game. Also, despite being several years old, it's still one of the most graphically gorgeous things I've ever seen..and THAT CHARACTER CREATION!

Fiesta - Ah, good ol' Fiesta. While one of the first mmos I played, it's since become kinda..a love/hate thing with me. But, that's better left unsaid. Anyway, if the main game seems a tad slow, then there's plenty of private servers for this one, which is where I usually spend my time, if I want to play.

Lunia - Sadly, this game recently closed down at the start of this year, but it was still quite enjoyable, despite its age, and flaws. BUT, without receiving any kind of big update/content since like early 2011, it was bound to happen sooner or later.

Ghost X - Okay, now this one I really just want to die. Not that it's a bad game, by any means..quite the opposite, imo. But, it's being kept locked up in the pits of hell for all eternity by one of the 2-3 companies that I loathe, being Gamekiss, receiving only "two" updates in going on five years. I just..ugh. It's a shame, because despite its flaws, its quite a fun time-consumer, and is a bit reminiscent of Pokemon.

Prius - Another one, like Lunia that closed down. I'm not really sure what drew me into this so much. It felt generic, and it was...except for two things. One, you get to have a cute little loli follow you around at all times(as well as actually switch perspective, and play as her xD), and two. GIGAS. That is all. No, no, it's not..Gigas were freaking awesome, and then Arcane Saga comes in and ruined whatever I loved about Prius by not only taking out the Gigas, but removing/changing so much, turning it into a hollow shell of its former self. I'll miss this one. 

Maplestory - What hasn't been said about this already? It's cute, fun, addictive, grindy, makes months feel like hours..uhm, why do I have a Gandolf beard? Wait, my grandfather died, WTF!?

League of Legends - It's a MOBA. I like Skarner, Shaco, Jinx, Riven, Jax, and Sivir. Moving on.

WoW - One of the first mmos to grace my computer screen, I sadly never got to enjoy it until the permanent lv20 trial, but hey, I slashed up all kinds of stuff in Vanilla as an Undead Warrior~  BD

LoTRO - Turbine..honestly knows how to make damn good f2p games. DDO, and LoTRO are prime examples. They're huge, fun, addictive, and love to suck you in to their engaging storylines. Also, I'm quite fond of how you can literally never pay a cent, and still unlock all of the later locked content/classes/races just by doing quests/achievements/dungeons.

Seal - This one's kinda..quirky. It's pretty old, but can still be enjoyable I suppose. Everything about it is sort of dated, but it's one of those you just never forget.

Ragnarok - For as big, and loved as Ragnarok is, I never really got..why. I mean, yeah there's plenty of stuff to do in it, but the combat, and pretty much everything in this game is..kinda clunky. I guess I can't really hate on it or anything, given its age and all, but I suppose it's just not for me.

Toontown - This was my first mmo ever when I was about..10, I think. Sadly, it too closed down recently, which is a real shame since there needs to be more easy mmos designed for kids(common, my nephew could use something like this!)But yeah, despite it being directed towards kids, I came back to it a few months before it shut down, and still found it pretty enjoyable. I also want to go ahead and salute the fine bunch of people working on Toontown: Rewritten, which is..I think a private server, but I'm not really sure since it's still in Alpha.

Oh, and the last one is Albion. I can't say much about it just yet, since it hasn't been released yet, but it's one that I'm really looking forward to. It seems sort of like a cross between Diablo, and Runescape. Worth at least checking out, imo~ 

 

[ThatMaestroGuy]

Not many....not anymore, but I'll go into them a little.

RuneScape (cue laughter): My first MMORPG, I started playing RuneScape in like...2002? 2003? I honestly can't say I know the exact date...but the game was quite cool. Only big problem with it, which has plagued it since forever, is the bot issue. I mean, like...the place is TEEMING with bots. And it has been for the longest time. The bot issue actually made me stop playing and pick up another game (which I'll get into shortly)...but RuneScape is one of those games you can't really leave forever. I came back later to find a ton of improvements made and the bot issue generally under control. RuneScape was awesome for its run with me...wait a sec...I still play!

Ragnarok Online: I never played the official version of this game...I left RuneScape to join a private server of RO and felt it was an awesome game!!!!...until I took a deeper look. Horrid combat system, horrible economy, and someone DEFINITELY had a twisted sense of humor when coming up with class balance. Indeed, countless hours spent on this game, and I didn't have much to show for it. Eventually, I became a staff member for this game, but I'll admit that I don't really play the game much anymore, and thanks to the glory of RPG Maker, I've been slacking on my staff duties, as well. Sorry, RO. You just don't got it like RuneScape...

Team Fortress 2: A player introduced me to this when it first went F2P. Goodness, it's an awesome game. Requires much strategy and thinking for a first person shooter, and the game modes are fun. What really pulls me into this game, though, are the classes themselves. They all have their own pros and cons, and they're all just...funny. What odd personalities to give each of these characters! I can safely say I've actually laughed out loud (and hard) while playing because the characters all say different things when they make different actions. You can't even really be angry when you die (for the most part)...the game zooms in to show you who just killed you, and the resulting freeze-frames of the characters are downright hilarious. I still play this one. It's quite enjoyable...but even it has taken a backseat to RPG Maker. Thanks!

That's about it. I know I've played a few others (like Rift), but nothing too worthy of mention...at least in my book.

 

[zacheatscrackers]

Loadout: basically if Borderlands and TF2 had a baby, with customizable guns. Even the typical fps gamemodes (CTF/Capture The Point) are given unique spins that make them AMAZING fun.

It's probably the only game I've been playing recently, and for good reason; it's incredible for a F2P game and there's no real pay2win aspect.

 

[Caustic]

*is poking at Loadout a bit right now too XD*

@Autorain: I've played a few off that list ( DnD, RIFT, Prius - though I didn't get far before it died, and it was pretty meh IMO ), but I have to agree that RIFT was - and still is - addicting. Managed to snag the CE for 8 bucks off Amazon, and DOUBLY-lucky that it hadn't already been used and everything was there ( there was some package damage but meh! 8 bucks for 50+ worth in swag! XD ). Also tried to play Ragnarok Online some, but... as soon as I got into the main world ( which took like three hours... wth?! ), I got completely lost, and just gave up after another hour of wandering aimlessly.

Maple just sucked my wallet and will to live after so long I used to love it, but after you've seen how horribly Nexon treats their cash cow ( and how annoyingly juvenile most players are ), it just becomes a drag...

   Pretty much the only game I'll play with others is Borderlands 2. 

!!!

I loved the first one to death and #2 only did it all way better. But I got stuck somewhere and then distracted... and I keep wanting to get back in, but reasons keep me from it :<

Maybe we should gear up sometime! XD

Another one I got into before it died was Luna Online / Plus. I don't even know why; it was a basic WoW clone, and only with one playable class until Plus, but I'll be damned if I didn't actually have fun. Plus the community was pretty good, and it looked promising when the admins were active and more than willing to boot people. Sadly, the company that made the game ( not the one that was hosting it, gPotato ) basically forgot that their game existed, some game-breaking exploits were mass-exploited, and the game basically smothered to death. Which kinda pissed me off, because by then I had JUST gotten to lv100 and so close to the third-job change... And then all my sparkly armor that I spent so much time making disappeared forever. :<
 

( ^ everything but the cape [Japan Cape,

bought when it came out in the cash

shop] and the shield were self-made, and

I was just missing the gloves / helmet too :< )

 

[Aurorain]

@Aurorain: I've played a few off that list ( DnD, RIFT, Prius - though I didn't get far before it died, and it was pretty meh IMO ), but I have to agree that RIFT was - and still is - addicting. Managed to snag the CE for 8 bucks off Amazon, and DOUBLY-lucky that it hadn't already been used and everything was there ( there was some package damage but meh! 8 bucks for 50+ worth in swag! XD ). Also tried to play Ragnarok Online some, but... as soon as I got into the main world ( which took like three hours... wth?! ), I got completely lost, and just gave up after another hour of wandering aimlessly.

Maple just sucked my wallet and will to live after so long I used to love it, but after you've seen how horribly Nexon treats their cash cow ( and how annoyingly juvenile most players are ), it just becomes a drag...

Heh, Rift is indeed..I really should try to get back into it sometime. 2.6 just came out a few days ago, so I can either go back now, or wait for 2.7, or 3.0 even. Now, if only the Warriors weren't so..underpowered in pvp, but meh. xD (I prefer Cleric types overall, but it's nice to try different stuff.)

As for Prius, like I said..dunno why I got drawn into it. It's been way too long, and with how it got treated in Arcane Saga, as we as also getting shut down in Southern Korea, it's sad to see it die, despite it being generic. Lol, maybe that's why I liked it so much. :3

Maple used to drain my wallet as well, and then some. LUCKILY I'm not as big on it anymore, and only go back to it whenever a big patch comes in. I still keep up to date with it though. Overall though, I'd much prefer it return to how it was in the past, at least without the useless skills and whatnot, lol. 

I've also been wanting to get back into WoW, at least with the lv20 restricted version(since I'm cheap), so..I'll be needing to decide on a build. Maybe an Undead Priest for the lols~  BD

 

[Najir]

planetside 2, minecraft, Gmod, and maybe combat arms(kinda copy's cod a bit tho) are my favorite as most of them have new ideas that have not been or at least rarely been used.

 

[Caustic]

Maple used to drain my wallet as well, and then some. LUCKILY I'm not as big on it anymore, and only go back to it whenever a big patch comes in. I still keep up to date with it though. Overall though, I'd much prefer it return to how it was in the past, at least without the useless skills and whatnot, lol. 

For me, it had to come down to the moniez. At one point I was spending hundreds of dollars per month on MapleStory and hardly keeping track of it at all. Mind you, this wasn't money I was taking off my parents or something like that  - even worse, it was my own money that I'd kicked my own ass for that I was pouring down the drain into something I'd never get it back from. And even just five years later I can see how much I could have done with that, and am regretting what I did quite a bit.

And I know someone is going to make the argument "well if you were having fun then it doesn't matter"; let me say that, oh hell yes it does. Even when I was having fun, that was cash that I will never get back, which could have gone towards a car, or to getting more games that were better-made ( and didn't have little hacking ****stains that steal one's spot via forced-disconnect glitches ), or even saved up to move out of the house. Instead, I wasted the money on crap that didn't matter in the long run, for a short term "payoff" that wouldn't last. I had a problem, and I'm not proud of what I did with my bank account. Just pointing out how ridiculous and childish my problem was, and maybe convincing someone else to be more careful if they venture in there as well.

On a lighter note... Yet another one I've played - and quite a bit too ( I generally go through MMOs like some people go through clothes XD ) was Elsword Online. It plays like a 2.5D fighter, with massive combos and speed being key. The only things that really bug me is that there are only 4 slots for skills, but you can purchase an upgrade to 8... for 9 bucks... and you need to do that on every single character. As well, if you want to trade higher-level items and they aren't "Sealed" when you get them, you have to buy items to do THAT as well. Needless to say, that really rubs me the wrong way. I hate when games do that sort of crap. 

Plus... I'm kindapretty bad at hyper-speed button/direction mashing =_=;;

One I thought was interesting but not really my thing was March of War - a turn-based strategy war game based in an alternate "dieselpunk" WW2 setting. It's still in early access, but it's F2P so if you like strategy games you can at least check it out. I haven't gotten very far but had fun blowing stuff up while I was, though TBS always feels slow to me ( except in Advance Wars, but that's another story XD ). And there's SIX total factions (NA, SA, Europe, Africa, Eurasia, and Soviet/Russia, I think), so unlike a lot of strategy games there's plenty of options for who to play as.

EDIT: Ack, how could i forget Vindi?! Vindictus, full name, is "technically" a prequel to Mabinogi* (uuuugh...), but plays absolutely nothing like the grindfest "real-life-but-not-boring-at-all-we-swear!!" predecessor. In short, it's a high-octane action-fest that requires the player to act on their feet instead of just mashing the same button over and over XD Also, the game actually has one of the better markets around - in that you basically just post stuff up onto a board and wait for people to buy it. No sitting around AFK and praying your connection doesn't time out, or having to buy a freaking store like some games *cough*.

Battle-wise, like I said, Vindi keeps you on your feet; you have tons of actions to chose from, though obviously it falls for the trap of "only a few are actually useful". Class balance is magnificent, and even the newer classes are not, for the most part, overpowered or ridiculously problematic. As well, quests are actually worth doing; besides the challenges that give your more EXP or cash for doing certain things (completing a level: within "x" minutes, with "2~5" people or fewer, solo, with a higher difficulty, etc), many quests give weapons, items, equips, and such that lower-level characters practically need to survive, because it's hard to make stuff early on when you don't have a whole lot of money to spend (unless, of course, you binge on sellable cash items).

Best of all, every dungeon is an instance dungeon - there aren't any "grind spots" to deal with, and other players can't jump in, steal your goods. and disappear, so no needing to worry about stuff getting ninja'd (unless they're in your party - to a point!). In large raids with a dozen or more people running, everyone whom contributes gets their own goodies; even in parties you each get your loot bags, so no need to worry about the other members stealing that great sword you wanted then logging out. The only problem is that if someone with a crappy connection jumps in, you can easily get d/c'ed along with them, although it's usually just them getting the boot 

Speaking of the cash shop... it is, for the most part, just an add-on; it's not a necessity to get through the game with your sanity intact. There's plenty of costumes, a few pets that add some gameplay to the mix (in the guise of the usual suspects, of course - picking up items, whacking enemies occasionally, etc.), and consumables that make life easier. But none of it is required; everything you buy is optional. There's also the lottery items that give out random things, but again, they're optional and not necessary to get cash or items you need. As well, if you disappear but come back after a while, the game generally gives out a "welcome back!" package that contains items to help you get back on your feet.

Economy-wise, things are fairly stable. Which is good, because I hate it when the games constantly shift what is "popular" or "the best" just to get players to "buy" the newest and greatest stuff. As for the community... it's a mix of tolerable and about what you would expect, although there's no need to even deal with other people for the reasons mentioned above.

* seriously, I hated Mabi when I tried it... the game just drug its feet and insisted I do everything. I don't mind it when a game won't hold my hand, but shesh was it every boring harvesting wheat and failing AKd@#%k!?>|bn@%dj&%sg?>!j

 

[Aurorain]

Speaking of not hand-holding games, have you ever tried the original Everquest? Like, not even a minute in and it felt slower than Mabinogi(I've tried that as well, so I know where you're coming from. *Pat pat*). Luckily, EQII doesn't share its predecessor's problem, though the downside is, it became slightly WoW-like, just set in EQ's world. I'm quite a fan of it regardless, though.

Never tried Vindictus, but I've seen vids and screenshots of it, so..I doubt it'd run on my laptop. Elsword I've played a few times before, but I prefer Grand Chase more, idk..just personal preference I suppose.  (They're both run by the same company though, so..chances are if you're not into Elsword, you won't find much in Grand Chase.)

 

[Caustic]

They're run by different companies here in the US (EO is run by Kill3r Combo!, and GC by GameRage), but that's not unheard of.

Also, I thought I heard something about GC being shut down... but maybe that was just SEA? Because apparently those're the only servers that have actually gone down. Could've sworn there was a huge fuss over it within the past few years, but I'm terrible about keeping up with games that I'm not familiar with >->;;

 

[010]

I love playing Fable 2 and Fable 3 online :3

 

[kerbonklin]

Dota2 (MOBA)

It stole my soul

 

[Aurorain]

I love playing Fable 2 and Fable 3 online :3

Most people(myself included) don't really like Fable 3 much. Fable 2, however, was pretty good, even if certain things were unbalanced compared to the first game, like magic.   Imho though, the first was, and still is the best one of the series.

As for Grand Chase, no it's still up and running, it's just changing its publishers to Kill3rCombo, who also run Elsword~  BD

 

[Caustic]

I tried to play Fable 1... nearly fell asleep in the opening hour.

Maybe the others are better, but the whole feeling of genericness for genericness's sake never sat well with me.

And yeah, magic is/was game-breaking in that series from what I've heard.

@Aurorain: Hmm... odd. Are they in the process of that or am I just looking in the wrong place? 

Anyway, odd that the same company would be hosting two very similar games

Though I have to say that a game that puts me in the role of a murderous, laser-spewing fem!bot (Eve's Code Electra/Battle Seraphim path) has my full attention from the get-go, even if I'm terrible at it  BD

planetside 2, minecraft, Gmod, and maybe combat arms(kinda copy's cod a bit tho) are my favorite as most of them have new ideas that have not been or at least rarely been used.

Actually, try "kinda copies Counterstrike" because that's basically what they were going for at the start.

I don't know if I mentioned it ( PRE-POST EDIT: nope ), but The Secret World is one of the better buy-to-play games I've come across. The setting is modern, with a general horror theme for much of the game. I've played off and on since beta ( even pre-ordered the game because I was liking it so much - came back after they went buy-to-play instead of subscription-based ), and usually found something to do when I got on. The opening town has a lot of Lovecraftian influence ( hell, it's even NAMED Innsmouth, which was pretty much the fictional town H.P. used often for his settings ), and the rest have the usual array of horror creatures - demons to vampires, ghosts to swamp things - with a few odd but interesting choices ( junkyard monsters @__@ ). Really though, the horror background is just part of the appeal.

The combat and leveling system is a bit odd; combat revolves around attacking enemy weaknesses and getting out of "telegraph" areas - circles, lines, or cones indicating where an enemy will attack from - to stay alive. However, instead of making the enemies overbearing because they're above your level, the game has an interesting balance system that revolves around how many points you put into the skills you're using (passive and active), the "level" of the equipment that you're using (1 to 10, which you also have to choose to level up eventually), and determining from those if they are strong or weak in your wake. Once you've "mastered" one path, you're pretty much expected to go down another, or at least milk points from quests and whatnot to pump into another area until you've gotten all of them.

Most paths have a mixture of attack, defense, and healing skills, so it's rare when you're stuck completely in one or another, making it easier on the player when the monsters can cut you to pieces pretty quick early on. You can still get ganged up pretty easily if you're careless, though, so it's probably best to partner up with someone for the more populated areas. Thank goodness there's literally no death penalty.

Spoiler

Hell, some missions actually require you to die in order to start or continue them...

The most interesting part, though, has to be the quests. Some of them have you actually doing investigative stuff, looking things up online and all that. It really makes you feel like you're doing something, rather than "go kill 'x' amount of 'y' creature and bring back 'z' of item 'a'" that most every quest in MMORPGs are (though it has those as well). These are more like "hunt down where the hidden video recordings are" or "combine these items until you find the right combination". It really adds more layers to the game when you feel like you're doing something.

Another cool idea are the solo mini-dungeons, where you have to complete an objective on your own (or with NPC partners, who are usually pretty badass and don't require much supervision) without the help of other players. Many of these missions are either searching around, performing some action ( such as hacking computers or sabotage ), or plowing through enemies. They're rarely boring, and generally have at least a few mechanics that make them different from the rest of the bunch - and not always in a bad or sadistic way

Boss runs are just as layered. I've done a few of the early runs, and mostly on the attack squad, but they were pretty fun and rarely felt like I was being dragged along just for "my role". The entire party has to work together to complete the objectives placed in front of them, and the bosses aren't always straight-up pub brawls. And the bosses are simply HUGE. Like, Painkiller huge ( if you don't know what Painkiller is, look it up - the boss monsters in that game are ridiculously ginormous ).

 

[servantb7]

Most of my best multiplayer experiences were back in the day when Nintendo 64 was king. So for me I'd say the best are/were:

Mario Kart 64: Racing and battle mode were both lots of fun. Probably the most fun racing game I've ever played.

Super Smash Bros: Great party game with fun moves and characters.

Goldeneye 64: The standard setter for FPS multiplayer. 

Perfect Dark: Basically Goldeneye 2.0. Took an amazing game and somehow made it even more fun with a ton more options like a target range and adding sims of varying difficulties to multiplayer games.

 

[Caustic]

Oh gawd, I hadn't thought of that XD Please paint a big "DUUUUUURRRRR" sign on my forehead for the oversight.

I remember when our music/world religion teacher (an awesome guy) finished classes early and would break out a mini TV and let us play Goldeneye 64 or card games because we had nothing better to do. Until the head faculty caught wind of it and shut that down... the pricks -_-

( this was around the time when Magic was big and schools - especially private ones - were banning it because it was "satanic" or some ****. buncha half-witted killjoys. )