Time to Catch Up

That is often the mantra of the barren wasteland of gaming that takes hold in May-July. Of course, Starcraft 2 is now going to announce the end to that period with gusto, but until then we are left with almost nothing new that I am looking forward to. There is a chance that Alan Wake or even Alpha Protocol may turn out to be worth my cash (much in the same way Red Faction did last year) but until then I am catching up on some random gaming.

What is odd is that I fear that Starcraft 2 will be a 95% single player experience for me, and Super Street Fighter IV is shaping up to be the same way (as a side note, to even get SSFIV to work online I had to open ports not needed for any PS3 game to date, including SFIV). There is just something about recent games that seem to cause people to get a bit fanatical about them, and if you don't pick one or two games to spend 90% or more of your gaming time on, it often feels like it is not worth ever trying.

This came up first when trying to play Dawn of War 2 (before the recent patch that apparently caused it to run like ass on my computer, strangely at the same time they switched from Nvidia to ATI, hmm) online, as I quickly realized I was getting shut out every match. Now I have gotten past the phase where I need to win every game, but not being able to get a single point sucks the fun out FAST. The exact same thing happened in my attempt at playing the Starcraft 2 beta, and watching the replay was just hilarious to see how terribly I got beat.

The thing is, these games are just a couple examples of a growing issue - matchmaking has just not caught up to where it needs to be. I thought the entire idea of the 'Trueskill' systems was that I would play people of equal skill, but from Modern Warfare to Forza that never seems to hold true (though Forza is one of the few games I can always hold my own, maybe the last game besides Dirt that I win on a regular basis online). What is the point of keeping track of all these stats if we are not using them to make truly even matches? Win or lose, I think most will agree those are the most exciting parts of competitive gaming.

If I can beat everyone I know in person in Starcraft and Street Fighter, why do I never get matched with anyone close to them online? I know those of my skill level exist, the games just haven't figured out a good way to match me up with them (even searching forums now, it seems SSFIV is currently dominated by those who never stopped playing the last incarnation, with many 'I am 5-90 right now, should I give up' topics). Then again, maybe the other people like me are doing exactly what I am - playing 5-10 matches, losing horribly, and then just saying 'Fuck it.'

That being said, I am still enjoying the hell out of Killing Floor mainly because I can scratch the online itch and everyone helps one another. Maybe I am part of a dying breed that plays a lot of games but doesn't master any of them, and that is part of the problem. Maybe all those 2 liters I drank when I was younger served to be the steroids of a gamer, and without them I am nothing. Maybe 28 is past my prime by 14 years. Either way, I refuse to believe there are no more middle-skill level players out there, even for the hardcore games. I just need to find a game that can tell the difference.