With a few spare hours to kill, I take it upon myself to do a little gaming, as one does of course. Recently I got Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit for my PlayStation 3, as I am trying to build up my gaming collection. I have to say that I am loving it. As with many games you can get, what had pushed me to buy it was because I wanted to be able to wipe the smirks of my smug mates’ faces as I thrashed their beloved best times. But as I sat and flicked through the menu, I’ve got to admit that I started feeling a little blue.

I kept thinking to myself, is the only way I’m going to get any sort of gaming satisfaction if my friends are there to play against me? As I am sure many of us can relate to, not all your friends have the same games as you do. If you’re lucky enough that they do, you could find that they’re not online when you are. Yeah you can always play Mr Joe Blogs online, but let’s be honest, it is that little bit better when you’re playing your mates. Now I am 100% sure I’m not meant to feel this way with my games… right? There was a time way back, when you would get simple satisfaction of just playing all on your own. Playing against your mate would involve them having to come to your house and bring their control pad. And when they weren’t there it were just you and the good old CPU playing with you. Oh those were the times.

I am super grateful that I no longer have to trek miles just to have a few multiplayer gaming hours, simply because I am just too lazy. But it does make me wonder, how much do we now depend on the multiplayer aspect in order to not only appreciate our much anticipated game, but dare I say dictate whether we buy them?

So I say this to you all: the next time you buy your game try and have in the forefront of your mind how this game is going to be when you’re playing on your own as well as how kick ass it will be to play with your mates. For we all have our ‘Billy No-Mates’ periods and the last thing you need when you’re sitting there hoping someone comes online, that you possibly, just a little bit, start regretting your purchase.