I guess it depends upon what kind of game it is really. I've hugely enjoyed playing Borderlands in single player, even more in co-op with my partner(splitscreen), and loving the online multiplayer too. When you get a group who are actually co-operating well, then multiplayer adds so much more to overall enjoyment of the game. After all, why play multi if you're not going to interact with the rest of your 'team'.

Left4Dead2 is another where playing multi is far more enjoyable than single too!

If a game does not have a well thought out and well built online multiplayer mode then it will generally only get one play from me before being cast into the pile of discarded games. Killzone 2 rarely leaves my console - and I have only played a couple of hours of the campaign mode. I won't get COD: MW2 until the multiplayer lag issue is resolved. I have played Assassins Creed 2, and Uncharted 2 all the way through but never even thought about playing them again. If you want longevity out of your games (and at over $100 a pop you want longevity) it has to have online. A game like MAG should keep me entertained for a long time.

Multiplayer is okay but really it boils games down to strictly the game engine with no story or storytelling aspects. It's fine for some things but I think it's a separate type of gaming to what has come previously. I like a good story (which is a pity because the games industry does have difficulty with story delivery) and hence like a lot of single player games.

Though it's worthwhile to note that the merger of the two can be well done in the form of co-op vs the games AI - and it's this merger of the two which interests me the most.

Of course it does depend on what type of game it is.

Not entirely convinced about online play only. If a single player game has a great story line (Dragon Age, Mass Effect etc) then I'd be more inclined to buy that and having online play as an added bonus. Then again I still play TF2 a fair bit!

I think the single player vs. online is game dependent. For example, I play MW2 for its mutliplayer function, but have been playing a friends copy of Mass Effect 1 as well - which is solely single player. The types of games provide a nice mix for me of how I am feeling at the time. Sinlge player allows me to relax and cruise along at my own pace, where as mutliplayer can be very intense and requires full concentration the whole time.

There are many games that I buy for the single palyer alone and there are a couple that I buy for the multiplayer only. I while back I purchased "The Orange Box" primarily for the Team Fortress 2 multiplayer component. I am yet to play any of the Half Life parts but did play Portal.

I will also be buying Battlefield Bad Company 2 for its multiplayer. I will play the single player and will enjoy it if it retains the same humourous dialogue fo the first one but primarily getting it for online.

Alot of games these days seem to include multiplayer just for the sake of it and I would much rather developers really focused on making the main part of the game (whether that is Single or Multiplayer) as good as it can be and don't worry about the rest. Bioshock did this in making the single player campaign excellent but looks like #2 has goe with a cookie cutter approach to multiplayer and it is blah....waste of resources that could have made the campaign even better.

Is MAG any good? or is it 200 snipers and 56 targets? The chaos of that many people would be fun.....I thinking lag may be a big issue at times?

As much as I like playing games such as MW2 and BC2 online, I still love getting stuck into a good single player campaign. I loved playing through COD4 because, to me, it felt more like a movie than a game. I got to know the characters. Online the characters usually sound like 12yo boys swearing at the TV.

Dont think ive ever done that, I prefer to get my moneys worth out of a game, although if the multiplayer is good enough ill play it extensively and not finish the SP.

MAG looks interesting, im interested to see how the connection holds up here in NZ with 256 players.. lag.. disconnects etc.. let us know!!

I'm not really into online gaming.

As strange as it sounds, I usually play a game to avoid socialising. Most of my day is spent with other people, so I like to have my games as time for myself and not worrying about other people.

I used to play a few online games - Diablo 2, World of Warcraft even for a couple months. But I always fell away from them because I would get to a certain level where you HAVE to play with other people.. and I just wouldn't. It'd be too hard by myself and then I'd quit.

Then there's games like Final Fantasy and other single-player games that I can't put down. There's no online, no dealing with stupid people, no waiting for enough party members, no conversations - just me.

On that note, though, I LOVE local multiplayer (as in, the other players are sitting right next to you). Pretty much anything on the Wii or Nintendo 64 are my multiplayer loves. I think it's because they're actually MY friends that I'm playing with, and not some random strangers? ..and that my friends would never be caught playing World of Warcraft, heh.

... I need gamer friends. D:

don't know if I'd go out & buy a multiplayer only unless it looked really really good...however I've only in the last 2-3months actually started playing online. While it is extremely fun, due to lag I don't play it all the time. I look at it as a bonus so it wouldn't determine wether or not I buy a game I'm after. I think this game will be a must-at least hire as the pure fact that you can have 256 players going around blowing the sh!t outta each other would be epic fun. Nice one Gerard!! btw if you see some dude riding a blue & white "Kona Kahuna" (not be be confused with the old ice cream big kahuna) don't give me the bird lol