Guest Post: The Best Social Games

It’s guest post time! This week the guest post shares with us the top five games to play with your mates! Enjoy!

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BEST VIDEO GAMES TO PLAY WITH YOUR FRIENDS

There’s nothing wrong with a little exposure to some healthy competition from time to time, especially amongst your bestest buddies. You could be a mere adolescent or middle aged professional, but within your friendship group finding out who’s best at video games is still a pretty big deal: you gain respect, you feel unstoppable and- more importantly- you have temporary bragging rights.

Although they won’t admit it, covertly all your friends want to be known as the best: the best at FIFA, the best at Call of Duty and even the best at Tetris (ok, maybe not so much nowadays). We all strive to get one over those boasting about their ‘mad’ gaming skills. But competitive play doesn’t have to potentially scar your friendship ties forevermore. It can be darn good fun as well: getting your friends round for a night of gaming will always beat a Saturday night takeaway with Ant and Dec. So here are five games, which will not only induce light-hearted competitiveness between your best amigos but also cause raucous excitement in your living room as well.

FIFA 12

A staple in any footy fans diet: FIFA 12 is by far the best football game out on the Playstation 3 and Xbox 360- Pro Evolution has unfortunately lagged behind in recent seasons. The game play is smooth, realistic and above all, hugely entertaining. Whether you face-off one on one or multi-play, guiding your favourite players and teams to victory will definitely earn you rightful bragging rights.

^{Rooney is reputedly set to sing on X Factor next year}

They say football is a simple game, and FIFA has definitely made it so. But consider the multitude of tricks you can pull off and the tactics you can apply during each match and this game becomes that bit more challenging; that bit more meaningful.

If you’re as bad at FIFA as England are at taking penalties, then don’t worry. You can always do what Messieurs Cole and Young didn’t: practice. After all it makes perfect!

Golden Eye

We may be rewinding back a few years now to when the Nintendo 64 was temporarily winning the console wars, but many still consider Golden Eye to be the best first-person shooter game ever made. Although if you play it now the graphics will probably scare you more than convey any sense of realism, the venues, the guns, the characters and the game play are all still tip-top. Playing it with friends was always, and is always, the best part of Golden Eye. Even with the silly cheats you can apply to the multi-player modes- giving your characters larger heads, for example- the action will still leave you all breathless.

^{The screen decides to take on a more car rev-limiter look here!}

Tip: make a note to keep an eye on the time. You can easily wind up watching the sunrise while playing Golden Eye- it’s that addictive.

Wii Sports

Apart from Mario Kart and the Wii Fit maybe, you’d have to say Wii Sports- the game you get free when you purchase a Nintendo Wii- is actually the best multi-player game available on the console. Bowling, baseball, golf, tennis, and lad favourite, boxing, all induce bouts of competitive play. Be warned though: expect to feel pretty tired after playing for several hours, it’s an active game to say the least.

^{Sorting out who will pay for tonight’s takeaway}

Mario Kart 64 and Mario Kart Wii

I remember the first time I rocked up to halls at University I opened the front door to bursts of loud roars coming from the dorm room opposite mine. I politely knocked on the door to introduce myself, but more-so to understand what on earth was going on. To my surprise I saw four blokes huddled around a small TV screen playing Mario Kart on the N64. It broke the ice. I knew these four geezers were alright and would turn out to be my close friends. They did.

^{Rush hour on the M25}

Bear in mind that this was in 2006, and Mario Kart had certainly done the rounds by then, but we all still avidly played it time after time; competing to ensure Charlie, especially, never won. Even though we all knew the courses, all the weapons, all the shortcuts and how to power slide- an important tactic for gaining a lead- we still loved it...we still do love it.

The Wii’s version has managed to capture some of the N64’s essence, and is certainly fun to play, but with new characters, new weapons and confusing courses to navigate through, it’s just not as thrilling as controlling Mario and co on the N64, however the launch of the new Wii-U later this year could see a new version of Mario Kart so you can enjoy racing in the splendour of full HD!

If you still own an N64: blow off the dust, find the game cartridge, untangle the multi-coloured controllers and get your friends round for an immense Mario Kart session.

Little Big Planet

For those who crave a creative outlet from which to show off their lurid imagination, there’s probably no game better equipped than Little Big Planet. The concept of the game is a little hard to describe given its unique themes and wacky aesthetics, but played amongst friends it’s a great puzzle adventure. Not only can you discuss and choose the best ways to tackle the thousands of different scenario’s laid before you, but you can also challenge yourselves against other online players.

^{‘Zip it Sackboy, you’re nicked sunshine’}

Exclusive to the Playstation 3 console only, Little Big Planet’s imaginative world has attracted both young and old gamers alike. Get your friends round and see which wacky world you can create.

This post was written by Tom Tolladay.

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Thanks Tom! I have fond memories of playing most of those games socially. It’s usually Mario Kart when my mates and I get together and it’s not uncommon for us to play every track on the game in a session. Let me know if any of these games are your favourites for playing with friends or if you think anything has been missed out! If you’d like to write a guest post come here for all the details.See you soon!