BEST MULTIPLAYER
Previous Winners
2013: Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate
2014: Super Smash Bros. for Wii U
2015: Splatoon
Multiplayer is always a category that has a lot of different genres and platforms in it, simply because everything from Tetris to Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare to Dark Souls III can be included. 2016 Multiplayer Game of the Year nominees, however, tended to come from one genre in particular: fighting games.
So without further ado, here are the nominees
Pokémon Sun/Moon
NA Release Date: November 18, 2016
Platform(s): 3DS
If you’ve played a Pokémon game before, then you know that you’re getting the single, double, and multi battles. And that you can trade Pokémon with people all over the world. That’s nothing new.
What makes Pokémon Sun/Moon stand out though is the new Battle Royal. That is where each player picks three Pokémon out and they are then sent out one at a time against three other players to fight in an all out brawl. The battle ends once one player has lost all of his/her Pokémon, and the player with the most Pokemon remaining and who managed to faint the most Pokémon win.
Players you meet online or locally will also appear in your Festival Plaza, and you can get Festival Coins from them. The more you level your plaza, the more shops you can spend your festival coins at, and as you level up your Festival Plaza, the more you can do.
It’s an exciting new addition to the tried-and-true Pokémon formula and why this game was nominated for 2016 Multiplayer Game of the Year.
Dark Souls III
NA Release Date: April 12, 2016
Platform(s): PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One
Multiplayer makes a return for the punishment that is known as Dark Souls III. In Co-Op Play, you use a White Sign Soapstone and you can then play with up to three other players total in the host player’s world. If you use a Red Eye Orb or Cracked Red Eye Orb, you can invade another player’s game and fight that player. As an additional twist, you can also use Covenants in Dark Souls III in order to send players to defend a specific area from being completed by other players and each covenant has their own ‘twist’ to the gameplay formula.
All of this, put together, takes what would ordinarily be a traditionally solo adventure and turns it into a multiplayer experience that has to be seen to be believed. However, it is still mostly the same as previously released in Dark Souls II. Despite this, it is still a worthy nominee for 2016 Multiplayer Game of the Year.
Guilty Gear Xrd -Revelator-
NA Release Date: June 7, 2016
Platform(s): Arcade, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, PC
A definite improvement over Guilty Gear Xrd -Sign-, Guilty Gear returns with three online options: Lobby Mode, Player mode, and Ranked Mode. The multiplayer for Revelator now offers a new hub area for different areas all over the world that people can jump into at any time and it’s now easier than ever to create player match rooms. And ranked mode is exactly what you would expect.
Furthermore, this is a PlayStation 3/PlayStation 4 cross-platform multiplayer game, thanks to the lobby system allowing players to circumvent the PlayStation 3/PlayStation 4 invite issue.
All of this, combined with returning and new characters, plus a robust and incredibly deep fighting system that has been refined over a long period of time, makes it a worthwhile multiplayer offering that will hold you over until Guilty Gear Xrd Rev 2 is released for Arcade, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, and PC in Japan for Spring 2016.
Nitroplus Blasterz: Heroines Infinite Duel
NA Release Date: February 2, 2016
Platform(s): Arcade, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, PC
Thirty-two characters that are split up among fourteen playable characters and nineteen supporting characters (Super Sonico is both a playable and supporting character), and it includes characters from the many different Nitroplus games (with two DLC exceptions) that have been released over the years.
There is a Network mode for this game that brings online gameplay to Nitroplus Blasterz. You have ranked matches and player matches, as in most fighting games, and you can rotate in and out up to six players. There is also an offline mode which is exactly what you would expect it to be.
The fact that this game got localized at all, to be honest, is a surprise, due to most of the characters in the game having never made an appearance in North America before. However, this is a title worth picking up and giving a try if you’re looking for something to mix up your fighting game collection with.
BlazBlue Central Fiction
NA Release Date: November 1, 2016
Platform(s): Arcade, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4
There are thirty-five playable fighters in this game, and they even include characters from the various BlazBlue spin-off properties and even the light novel. This is already an incredibly diverse lineup of players. But it is the various online modes that make this game really shine.
There are three online mode options. Ranked mode is the online battle mode, which is if you’ve ever played a fighting game online, something you’d expect. No surprises here. Player matches let up to eight people go through matches playing against each other, and is fairly standard. Lobby mode is where you are put into a virtual lobby of up to thirty-two other people and you can play against them.
Most importantly, just like in the latest Guilty Gear offering, the lobby system allows people on the PlayStation 4 to play against people on the PlayStation 3 as a way to circumvent being unable to issue invites from PS4 to PS3. Additionally, you can purchase items to decorate your personal lobby and your avatar with, though this is by a ‘lucky draw’ system.
AND THE WINNER FOR OPRAINFALL’S 2016 BEST MULTIPLAYER GAME OF THE YEAR IS…
BlazBlue Central Fiction
Congratulations to BlazBlue Central Fiction for winning 2016’s Multiplayer Game of the Year!
BlazBlue Central Fiction is a robust and more importantly, fun, fighting system that reaches across platforms and gives people an incentive to play with -though really against- each other. All of this, plus the lifestyle additions for when you’re not battling, when put together, shows why BlazBlue Central Fiction is Operation Rainfall’s 2016 Multiplayer Game of the Year.
So, what do you think? Do you agree with our assessment for 2016 Multiplayer Game of the Year?
What gem did we miss? Let us know in the comments below!
