I don’t play much online multiplayer on games, and as I’ve gotten older I play less and less. However, recently that has changed, with Overwatch being the most notable, as it has no other modes. This means my rage may be weird for those seasoned veterans, but it’s something I’ve noticed which I don’t like. Like most things I don’t like, it’s something that can’t really be helped.
So, let’s get straight into Overwatch. I understand so far it’s only been quick play, and the seasons won’t have this system, but it’s still annoying. Joining halfway through means I have to go through a game we will lose, through no fault of my own. Sure, if I was good, I could turn things around, but I’m not. So I just get dragged down with the ship, while the person who quit is starting a fresh game, which is filled with endless possibilities. Why would I not want to play a match where the attacking team has pushed the payload to the final checkpoint and have seven minutes to get it the last bit? Sure, I could just back away slowly before the team even knew I was there, but where’s the underdog spirit? Besides, I would just be condemning some other helpless player.
Rocket League is a game that doesn’t make sense to have the ability to join in the middle of a game. You could end up playing a game with none of the original players and lose in a game where no one there got any of the goals. I’ve even played 2v2s with my friend where we’ve joined a game in progress. There was me thinking if the opposite team is replaced with all AIs, the game ends instantly. Clearly not. That means we join a game where we are already 5 – 0 down and have 2 minutes to somehow bring this back. The thing is, the reason the people left in the first place is because the other team is comprised of the best people at Rocket League in the world.
What does the game think of me? Does it think my string of 5 losses is me letting the others win out of boredom, so it wants to give me a challenge and come from behind? If anything, in most games I’m the opposite team’s MVP. Obviously, this doesn’t happen in ranked, as that would be stupid. But why is it stupid just for unranked? Surely, people who go to quick play are there to not have the fear and pressure of ranked, not because they wish to join a game halfway through.
Now I don’t want to get a name for always mentioning Destiny, so I won’t. Oh, who am I kidding? So, Destiny is a key example as it constantly throws you into games that are midway through. To the point where you could finish a game you joined halfway through, only for it to split the teams up as there is a huge difference in the players’ skill levels. It then sends you into another game which is halfway through. This starts a constant cycle which some people must have daisy chained for anywhere up to 100 games.
The worst part is when it is a game that is right at the end. Now all games that make you, I mean let you, join mid-session will have times where it ends instantly. Before you’ve even picked a gun the match finishes, leaving you to sit there and ponder the whole ordeal. Yet Destiny has extra versions of this. The mercy rule. This ends the game early if one team is being completely annihilated, which means they have 5,000 more points. I’ve joined plenty of games where it is only a few seconds away from this happening. Why could Destiny not have shown me mercy by sending me to another game? It’s not like I am going to rally the team and we’re going to win.
Call of Duty, the game series that has had years of practice at a system they rarely change…they still do this. I’ve been in many games over the titles where their team has had six players and ours four. One player on their team leaves, only for them to be instantly replaced with someone new. But it’s okay guys, as we’ve got great players. We may be losing considerably, but one of us got a four kill-streak, so things are looking up. At least with Call of Duty it’s a little easier to come back from losing, as on both teams most people leave the game. I don’t think I’ve ever made it through a game with the same team I started with. In the worst cases the team is filled with people who just keep leaving, and so your team ends up having had contributions from fifty different people.
Now I know there is not much they can do about this, as if they stopped doing it, games would end up being six against one. Even though I’ve been in games where that’s happened. It would just be easier to swallow if they didn’t join you to games where defeat was inevitable in seconds. Other than that, it’s going to be something I’ll have to accept.