Two-Player Games for Mixed Skill Level Players? 506
koreth asks: "What are some good two-player games that a newbie can successfully play with a more seasoned gamer? I want to find a good console or PC game I can play with my girlfriend, who has only recently started gaming. Something cooperative would be great, but head-to-head is fine too. All the games we've tried are made for players of roughly the same skill level -- so either I end up dumbing my gameplay way down (no fun for me) or blowing her out of the water without much effort (no fun for her). Is there any game out there that gives two players tasks of varying difficulty to keep both of them engrossed, at the same time?"
Coop all the way (Score:5, Insightful)
If you're not limiting yourself to PC, a Gamecube would be a good place to go. There are plenty of games for the veteran and the hardcore alike. Of course all I can think of is the NES days with coop games like Guerrilla War, the Double Dragon series, TMNT games, etc etc. Classic NES games are hard to beat. Easy to learn, but still a whole lot of fun! When I game with my wife, the NES probably gets used the most.
handicap (Score:2, Insightful)
Girlfriend? (Score:4, Insightful)
Super Monkey Ball (Score:5, Insightful)
Particularly the minigame "Monkey Target." No matter your skill level, you can have loads of fun; the game is competitive, but in a way that doesn't make it less fun if you get completely obliterated by your opponent. The sounds, colors, and animations make it easy to laugh about doing poorly, to the point where you don't even care who wins or loses. It's a lot of fun, either way.
Plus, the cute graphics will probably make it easy for your girlfriend to get into.
Dungeon Siege for couples (Score:5, Insightful)
-Rick
Does it have to be a competitive two player game? (Score:5, Insightful)
'Cause if it does, I feel I should quote C-3P0:
I suggest a new strategy, R2: let the wookie win.
Seriously though, if you are up for 'lets work together', and don't mind sharing the controller/keyboard, I would recommend something more puzzle & adventure oriented. Could be a point 'n click, but it doesn't have to be. I mean, some of the older Tomb Raiders were good in this respect (puzzles); just remember to look at other parts of the screen once in a while or your plan may backfire. Let's face it, FPS' are more reaction time and fine motor control -- which can be fun -- but I have a sneaking suspicion your better half will appreciate something more cerebral.
If you really do want a truly 2 player game, I would recommend something coop. If you have Half Life and more than one computer (and what self-respecting geek doesn't?), then give Sven Co-op [svencoop.com] a try. Play through Half Life co-operatively. There is also a huge map pack avaliable with decent maps; not all of which are quick-blast-everything-that-moves. Other choices include other coop games, such as Halo 2. I'm sure you can think of others without too much effort; eg sports games, racing games usually have > 1 player mode built-in, at least for consoles.
Personally, I'd go for the one that gets you the most thanks-for-thinking-of-me-honey... points.
Re:Coop all the way (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:Coop all the way (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:Coop all the way (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:I can only suggest a board game... (Score:3, Insightful)
Although by that stage you're better off switching to a smaller board...
a few games (Score:3, Insightful)
your girlfriend. Really, relationships are about cooperation, and there's
a lot to benefit from an adrenaline experience if you're both on the
same side. Show her things and help her up, stay away from
the smack-down.
Anyway, a few games from different genres...
Katamari Damacy 1 is a really fun off-kilter game, but the 2-player mode is
not that fun. I don't know about We Love Katamari (the 2nd in the series), but
I think they fixed the multiplayer. It's quirky, simple to pick up and addictive.
I think Dungeon Siege & DS2 are pretty good cooperative games for RPG-type
games. Fighting is relatively easy and you can help each other. It's an
attractive game too. Go out of your way to share the loot.
For shooter games, Serious Sam and Serious Sam 2 are really
fun cooperative games. They might be more guy games. I've
had lots of fun attacking 300-foot-tall monsters with my friends.
It doesn't matter about skill, because the better players just help protect
the beginners and there is plenty of work to go around. Weapons
and ammo that appear always have multiple copies, so there's no
fighting over stuff.
It's too bad that cooperative games are not as popular as they should
be. I think it's because it requires extra effort and tweaking that most
publishers don't bother with.
Maybe if review sites put "cooperative play" or "family play" on their
checklists, it might help with the situation.
Why only "computer" games? (Score:3, Insightful)
Why not play a card or board game or something else altogether?
It is very easy to "mod" a RL game so that you can even the playing field. Examples follow:
- "Risk" like games: Different distribution levels of armies.
- "Go" like games: One player starts with more pieces on the board.
- "Monopoly" like games: Start one player with a few properties.
I could go on, but you get the point (I hope.)There are also some games that lend themselves better to n00bs like Cribbage... I can't count the number of times I've been beaten by people who just started playing, and I've been playing it for almost 20 years.
FFIII! (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:You've got to try.... (Score:3, Insightful)
Dance Dance Revolution! (Score:3, Insightful)
Cookies and Cream, of course! (Score:3, Insightful)
My wife (a game newbie) and I love it, and have given it as a gift to other sets of mismatched friends. Seriously, spend the $20 or whatever and give it a shot. She'll love you for it!
Computer games are hard (Score:4, Insightful)
I think you might want to reconsider your premise: your girlfriend, if she is unwilling to immerse herself in the games, might just not be that interested in video games. You may also ask yourself whether your girlfriend really wants to play, or if she is just acquiescing to your hobbies. If the latter is the case, you might find that her ardor wears off and the games become a burden on your relationship. Finding activities that are genuinely, mutually enjoyable would be a better bet if this is the case. Note that I'm not saying it is: you're the one in the relationship and you must trust your own judgment.
As another alternative, you could try something like Go [wikipedia.org], a board game with a natural way of leveling the skill barrier by giving one side a handicap. Otherwise, I you could be on a quest for something that doesn't exist.
Re:Dance Dance Revolution! (Score:5, Insightful)
Anyhow, I also vote for "Dance Dance Revolution" and its ilk (see StepMania [stepmania.com] if your platform is a computer, not a console). If you haven't played before, then it's a toss-up as to whether you or your GF is going to be the better player, so the whole skill disparity thing may not be an issue. Even if you're a relatively experienced player, it's possible for two to play at widely different skill levels. And then, ultimately, it doesn't matter who wins: you mostly play to beat your personal best.
On top of all that, it's a great way to get exercise. Be entertained and get fit at the same time. Get experienced enough that the soft mats don't cut it for you anymore, and upgrade to the hard platforms. Get good enough that you can go for half an hour on the hardest levels and work up such a drenching sweat that you both need to shower afterwards.
DDR: a healthy addiction.
Re:I can only suggest a board game... (Score:3, Insightful)
A 5k and 10k can play a fairly even game with a 5 stone handicap, while the 10k will always win an 8-9 handicap game.
I have to agree that "no matter how wide the difference" statement is reaching.. but some fairly wide differences can be evened out with handicap stones.
Don't rule competition out yet (Score:2, Insightful)
Party games (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:I can only suggest a board game... (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Guild Wars all the way (Score:2, Insightful)
Some people like that and I understand why, but many MMO players will find it seriously lacking. I do like that I don't have to grind levels and pay a monthly fee though.
My wife and I... (Score:2, Insightful)
...are both compulsive gamers. When I say compulsive I say it in the lightest possible meaning of the word, but we still tend to sit down in front of our two high-end computers and play computer games once we both get home from work. It is not the only thing we do, but it is the only thing that is relevant to this discussion, and your imaginations can fill in the blanks elsewhere - thank you.
I turned her almost accidentally to gaming and she only recently started a blog [blogspot.com] with the intent of chronicling her gaming, except she is too wrapped up in The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind at the moment to actually make any updates to the blog. Go figure.
Our favorite genre is RPGs, for Role Playing Games. I prefer games with a deep, rich story and plenty of character development choices. She prefers games that are beautiful. Marriage is like that, you will like different things and you should just roll with it and get along on what you can get along on. That is also where it gets tricky.
Because we are both gamers, and because we love many of the same games we have tried to play them cooperatively. Here are the ones we have tried so far:
Neverwinter Nights (Wintel/Linux)
This was the game that really turned my wife onto gaming, and it was even her first ever contact with the "Dungeons and Dragons" franchise, imagine that. She has played this game and all of its expansions through at least twice, and four times for some. I have not even completed the original campaign. In this game, she is the master and I am the apprentice and my incessant questions about "Who was that?" and "Did you get that quest item?" or "Where does that road go?" became too much for her. We have completely different playing styles and couldn't cooperate.
System Shock 2 (Wintel)
This futuristic first-person RPG has an atmosphere thicker than custard pie and the 2.09 patch introduces a cooperative campaign mode for up to four players. We both love it, we've both played it through, but when we tried to play it together, we ran in different directions. When she was ambushed by a Hybrid from an angle she thought I had covered, I had actually wandered off in search of upgrade modules. It is a tense experience, but it is probably best experienced on your lonesome in a darkened room.
Guild Wars (Wintel)
We had great expectations for the cooperative possibilities in this game, and played through the entire "pre-searing" part of the game together. In this game we did not have the problem of running in different directions, but we were two different player classes. I was the tank warrior and she was the bow-equipped ranger/elementalist mage. She hit targets from a distance while I had to run up to them to attack. This meant she stood still and I ran ahead, and though I never ran far she still got the impression that I was leading the way instead of the ranger.
Icewind Dale II (Wintel)
Another Dungeons and Dragons franchise RPG, but this one was still in 2D art. She liked the 2D art, but decided that the characters "look like LEGOs" and refused to play on account of their miniscule modular ugliness.
Civilization IV (Wintel/?)
My wife not only made first aquaintance with gaming since she met me, but after her introduction to Civilization III, she also made the aquaintance of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. CivIII was her drug of choice and the first time she kept me up all night with a game, it was CivIII. So naturally we were both excited and frightened of the CivIV release. Carpal is painful and fixing it is not exactly free or pleasant. But! The turn-based nature of Civilization IV made this game the best possible cooperative game we have ever tried. Regardless of whether you play simultaneous or individual turns, you always have time to do what you want to and if your partner is ready with his/her turn before you are, you can zoom around the cities you have for some micromanagement.
Just make sure you divide the world between each other before you start. You do not want to get into a diplomatic border dispute with your spouse. And send reinforcements! / Per