What's happened to Xbox Live?!

[Centurion07]

I've only just got online with my new 360 after spending a year or two a few years back playing on the original Live & it's a completely different animal.

Admittedly I only play Forza 3 & Black Ops but it's nothing like I remember. On the original Live, you'd get into a game & everyone would invariably know each other or at the very least be talking to each other including during the game. Nowadays I go into a lobby & I seem to be the only one with a headset & everybody's doing their own thing, which is horrible in a game like Black Ops where I've lost count of the number of times I've been shot with a teamate in the vicinity & they just run off somewhere else rather than going for the guy that got me!

I could put up with the lack of banter in the lobby/during the game if at least there was a modicum of teamwork going on or vice versa. Or am I just not finding the right lobbies?

I won't even start on the stupid number of customisations/upgrades/options available in these games. I just want to put the disc in and play, not have to fanny about buying the right equipment with the right upgrades before I have even half a chance of enjoying playing the bloody thing!

So is it just me?

[Riknos]

Black ops is different to MW2, in that you can be in party chat and join most game types (except for S&D) So most of the time if people have a symbol next to their name that looks like a couple of people in a group, they'll be in party chat so will be chatting with their friends etc.

I prefer this to MW2 - On that every game I joined I had to instantly mute everyone in the game except for my friends as every game will be full of screaming kids or 'trash talking' Americans.

I'll only ever play cod if there's atleast 2 or more of my friends online, otherwise playing with a bunch of random people, there's no team work and people are generally thick, so you end up losing..

[Sleepy nic]

The amount of absolute idiots online on xbox live is unreal! Like you say unless your with friends there is no teamwork on black ops and all game types seem to end up as teamdeath match as everyone ignores the objectives


I very rarely go on Forza online without mates as i'm constantly getting kicked from the lobby having only just joined and only being a pro(21) I don't understand why. Oh and once you get into a game chances are the other racers don't care about the fact that your faster or better and will simply turn into you causing you to spin out and lose the lead/points.

Xbox live has definatly gone downhill now days and its a shame because i have fond memories of having good banter with other players

[sparkypups]

not just you I'm afraid

the best way to play is with a group of mates and party up

[JB!]

Party up.

if you find another english person who is half decent, stick in the same lobby, you'll eventually end up with a decent lobby.

[MadMullah]

JB! said:

Party up.

if you find another english person who is half decent, stick in the same lobby, you'll eventually end up with a decent lobby.

definately

playing bad company u get some great team players and you have to add them for the sake of having a great game

they'll drop advice to u of where the enemy is etc and its great. very few team players on the fps scene these days

[weyland yutani]

I'd only ever use headsets with people I actually know. I not interested in chit-chat or having to listen to "banter" or foul-mouthed and screaming children when just trying to chill out on a game for a couple of hours.

[Neil H]

It's also that certain games attract idiots, Call of Duty in particular. If you play something that's a bit less popular you tend to get a better group of people, as all the kiddies have to be playing the latest big game. I had a few games of TF2 lately and the quality of play is so much better.

[JB!]

weyland yutani said:

I'd only ever use headsets with people I actually know. I not interested in chit-chat or having to listen to "banter" or foul-mouthed and screaming children when just trying to chill out on a game for a couple of hours.

i've got some great contacts in my friends lists thru using my headset all the time, just mute annoying people.

[Centurion07]

But that's just it. I RARELY hear anybody's voice in Black Ops so how the hell are you supposed to make friends>play together>form a clan if nobody's talking?!

It was easy on the old Live as it was almost unheard of (see what I did there?!) to have someone online that didn't use a headset; on new Live it almost seems a pre-requisite.

[NateWM]

It's not just Xbox Live. Playstation Network is the same. Whenever I play my PS3, most people don't have headsets (Mainly because the PS3 does not come with one, and people are too tight to buy one) and even if someone does, they rarely talk.

You can still find people up for talking in other games though. GTA:IV always has people chatting away, and many fun afternoons can be had planning tactics on how to kill that certain guy.