Where are my Friends?

Being a currently unemployed gamer I often find myself pining for a game of Halo when my friends are all at work or in bed meaning I have to go into the scary world of matchmaking on my lonesome. As you all know annoying things can happen when you don't have good team-mates to watch your back and help you in objective games. Safe to say there is more than 5 things that annoy me but I thought I'd tell you my personal gripes.

5. No Support

This one is a little petty but when your used to playing with good team-mates you know where they go and what they do so when you play by yourself its like losing a limb. You have to be extra careful to watch angles that you don't usually have to. I really suffer from this in the Pit when I setup on snipe tower, I'm so used to my team-mates calling out positions and locking down rockets that I never watch my back. There's nothing worse than being jumped by 3 guys in your own spawn.

4.Awful Hog Drivers

Ever been left in the middle of nowhere with no one to shoot at? Ever been driven straight through the front door of the base in Standoff in your nice shiny Gauss Hog? If yes then you've been at the victim of mindless hog drivers, even worse than bad gunners. Countless times I have been denied a big multi kill by the actions of a suicidal driver hoping to get a one in a million splatter.

3. Quitters

There is quite a few variations of quitters and every one of them pisses me off. Either they quit out because their favourite map gets vetoed or they leave as soon as you go a flag score down usually guaranteeing your imminent defeat. I don't get why they don't just play it out? If your gonna lose then just take it like a Spartan, by quitting out your just losing Exp so surely a defeat is better than losing your hard earned Exp? Personally some of the best games I have ever played have been epic comebacks, think of all the glorious wins your missing out on, stupid...

2. Unfair Matchmaking

Unfair matchmaking may be a bit of a harsh term but when you get partied up with a lieutenant and his two simple minded thumb less guests against an organised team of Brigs and generals then you do wonder if Bungie is out to get you. The above picture was a game of BTB I played a while back, one of many times it has happened on my favourite playlist.
I remember coming against a party of 8 players who were ridiculously good. I promptly submitted negative feedback for being too good (I'm a pussy, I know) and went off to get some food. I came back about 15 minutes later to be partied against them again and to make the situation worse, four of my team-mates quit out in fear of their scary ranks. This would have been fine if they had just quickly won the game of Neutral Assault on Rats Nest but nooo they proceeded to destroy us for 20 minutes rather than just score the bomb and end the game.
I tried to fight back but there is not a lot you can do when you can barely get 3 steps off the spawn. The worst thing about the whole experience was the fact that I could not even give them negative feedback for being assholes...I'm sorry to say this but Why Bungie? Why? (I love you really guys <3)

1.Betrayers!!!

GRRAAGHHH!! Phew, got that out if my system. The above picture just invoked a wave of fury in me. Nothing worse in Halo then people betraying you for a power weapon that they were too slow to get their hands on. Is it my fault I'm faster than you? Did you ask for the weapon? No? Well piss off then! Its such a childish and immature act that completely ruins the game for the player that gets betrayed. If...sorry, when this happens to me, and it always does, I make it my number one mission to hunt the little bitch down and destroy him. I don't care about the weapon or if I get booted its purely an act of revenge. You cant beat the instant revenge of no scoping the team-mate who's trying to betray you, such a satisfying feeling.


Fell free to leave comments about your personal hates, I'm sure there are HUNDREDS I have missed!

Trade in Tribulations

Thinking of trading in a couple of games for Call of Duty World at War. I'm definitely trading in Halo Wars which breaks my only trade if completed code but I have really struggled to get into the game, I'm not a huge RTS fan but I did play alot of Red Alert in my youth as well as Age of Empires and even a little of Rome Total War. Its a good game but its just not a great RTS, its too simple. Does that make sense? The interface is good but there's just not enough buttons to facilitate what I want to do, I cant create armies or split my troops into small manageable units, I'm left with sending a massive chunk of troops around chasing objectives and enemies, its like watching little kids playing football. Its also too hectic, you never have time to breathe and build as the enemy keeps getting thrown at you wave after wave. I like the patience to build up and set up defenses but you cant really do that in this game. Its like they have made an RTS for the FPS fans, too much action not enough strategy.

Maybe I just don't like console RTS's, now that I think about it I have owned a few and traded them in without finishing them, all my favourites are on the old PC. I think I'm just going to blacklist RTS's on the Xbox from now on. I probably would not have bought it if the Mythic map pack was not included.

So Game said they would give me 25 quid for it which is quite good for Game, shame I have to give my ODST drinks coaster away :(

I love all the freebies you get with limited edition games so it is a little bit of a pain to trade but needs must.

The other game I'm going to trade is Fable 2 which I also am having pangs of doubt about. Since listening to the Hi-score podcast today and hearing about the interesting new DLC which is planned I'm slowly coming round to not trading it. Props have to go out to 8bitjoystick as well for trying to convince Lionhead to give me some free DLC, Yeah, it might happen and monkeys might fly out of my butt! (cookie to whoever spots the reference). But if I dont trade these games then I do not get COD5 which looks really good. Played the co op story on split screen with a friend and really enjoyed it but I want to play it on SP and experience it for myself with the added missions. I think I would have bought this game if the Multiplayer beta was not so disappointing. Alot of people who shared my hatred have said that the MP is much better than the beta suggested. Is it?

So its a bit of a 50 50 the now on whether or not I'm going to trade but check back tomorrow and you'll find out. I might give it one more week to decide...hmmm.