Best 2+ Player Video Games?

Twinbee asks: "I was wondering what you lot would consider the best 2+ player games of all time. Apart from games for mixed skill players, this has never been asked on Slashdot before, so it would be interesting to see. From my own experience and research, it looks as though a top 50 would include games such as Streetfighter 2, World of Warcraft, Speedball 2, Super Mario Kart, SWIV, Ikaruga, Stunt Car Racer, Super Monkey Ball, Puzzle Fighter, and Mario Party. Whether they are competitive or cooperative, Slippery slope or Perpetual comeback, 2-player or multiplayer, retro or cutting edge, I want to hear them! I would prefer MMOG games not to be included, unless there is a good deal of interaction between the people in the 'same house' (e.g. perhaps they can team up and play against the world)."

DEFCON

[arachnoprobe]

Try DEFCON: http://www.everybody-dies.com/.

My List

[zr-rifle]

- Herzog Zwei : Genesis - Windjammers : Neo Geo - Neverwinter Nights Coop : PC - River City Ransom : NES - System Shock 2 Coop : PC - Double Dragon 2 : Arcade - Pro Evolution Soccer (any version): PS2 (my friends play this all the time) - Gauntlet 2 : Arcade / Amiga / Genesis - Spy vs. Spy : C64 - Gran Turismo (any version) : PSX / PS2 - Goal! : Amiga - King of Fighters (any version) : Neo Geo and, of course... - Bubble Bobble!

pfft

[gregtron]

I remember having a blast playing Uniracers with my little brother on the SNES.

But for all out, beer fueled, geeky faux machismo, nothing promotes high fives and trash talk better than Halo 2.

Re:Easy...

[Monkeys!!!]

Second that.

My gf and I are currently playing through Mario 2 after we completed Super Mario Brothers. We can't play any head to head games as we get too competitive and end up not talking to each other.

I'm pretty sure id Software made it.

[gameforge]

I'm not sure if Doom qualifies as a derivative of Wolf3D, or if Quake qualifies as a derivative of Doom. But I'm pretty sure whatever the best multiplayer game is, it was either made by id Software, or got the concept from a game by id Software. The only other game I've had as much fun with would have to be Streetfighter 2, but that was in the list in the summary. I suppose Tetris would have to be in there somewhere; it can be entertaining with the right people in the right state of "fun". But not "hours and hours on end" type fun.

I've had little more fun than wasting my boss on the LAN at the office in Quake and/or Duke Nukem 3D (I don't think Duke3D could take its multiplayer credit without mentioning id Software). The nice thing about Duke3D was of course Build; it was a piece of cake to make a cool looking fortress that resembled your office (or whatever) to play around in.

Note: I don't play MMORPG's.

Board Games

[gus goose]

Takes a lot to beat things like:
Monopoly - very competitive....
Scrabble
Chess
Canasta

Sure, you don't need a TV/Console to play these, but pausing them is a whole lot easier, and you get to drink and play simultaneously.

Additionally, you could get your parents to play too.

gus

P.S. There was no specification to ensure they were "computer" games.... ;-)

Ballblazer - C64

[acvh]

Ballblazer was my favorite. early 3d, quick games, fast paced play, and you could sneak looks at the other half of the screen to check out your opponent.

If you own a Playstation...

[marsu_k]

Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo [wikipedia.org]. But on Linux you've got to try Frozen Bubble [frozen-bubble.org] - the latest version offers multiplayer mode with up to 5 players, over the Internet or LAN.

Good, old pc games...

[pdboddy]

Warlords, WarCraft (I, II or III), StarCraft, Half-Life, Aliens vs Predator, Counter Strike... these are all classic games, which should run well on older pcs. Half-Life is a particular favourite of mine, and my gaming group. Every now and then it degenerates in to a game of whack-whack sticks (what we call the crowbars). :P

Re:Resident Evil 4

[CastrTroy]

That really depends on who is playing. If you're inviting over friends who don't play a lot of video games, then something that requires less familiarity with the game would be a lot better. GameCube has lots of titles. Some include Bomberman Generations, Mario Kart, Mario Party. These are great games when playing with those that aren't really into gaming too much.

Re:The king of Multiplayer Board Games...

[trip11]

Axis & Allies. Or AAA the open source version being developed at sf.net. It's like risk but biger, longer, more complicated, and with way cooler looking pieces. Seriously, try it out if you like RISK.

Bubble bobble

[phorm]

Bubble bobble [wikipedia.org] is a bit dated now, but still fun and engaging. If you can somehow find it, bubble-bobble two is also multiplayer (I think up to 4), has some more up-to-date graphics+sound, and is as equally addicting as the original.