10 BEST MULTIPLAYER GAMES

FIFA 18 The ultimate Xbox football game is also one of the best multiplayer games on console. Whether you’re sitting next to your mate trying to slyly look at his controller to see which way he’s sending his keeper in a penalty shootout or smashing goals past randoms online with your perfectly-honed Ultimate Team squad, this soccer sensation has all the ingredients to make a multiplayer session memorable. It’s best playing against a pal in the same room, of course, so you can really rub it in when you nick a last-minute winner against the run of play, but FIFA’s just as good online… as long as you don’t mind dealing with salty players rage quitting.

MINECRAFT Multiplayer fun in its most simple form. With several different game modes and minigames for you to choose from, the game just keeps getting better and better. Thanks to the access to certains servers you can play competitively against other players, but if you just want to relax with friends or create your own types of games, you totally can. At one point we created a Hunger Games variant. In a level that was carefully crafted, we all stood on plinths in a large circle with a chest in the middle that held various different resources inside. Once the game begins there’s a huge scramble to grab whatever you can and make a run for it to prepare for hunting down your fellow players.

ROCKET LEAGUE This physics based title is still a regular in our multiplayer playlist. The set-up is simple: it’s not completely unlike football, you have your pitch, a ball, two teams and two goal areas, but instead of human players you have acrobatic rocketpowered cars. Each game is usually around five minutes long and you get to play as one-on-one or with up to two teams of four. There is a little bit of a learning curve when it comes to handling the ball but once you’ve mastered the basics you’ll be well on your way to scoring clinch goals during intense matches. Regular updates to the game have added more game modes. Our particular favourite is the ‘Hoops’ mode, which is based on basketball.

DESTINY 2 Bungie has been at the multiplayer game for many years, first with the Halo series and now with Destiny. The multiplayer in the first Destiny was an absolute blast but it definitely had a few issues. This is something, thankfully, the developers seemed to have fixed with Destiny 2, which is arguably more about skill this time around. The highlight of multiplayer can be found during the Iron Banner tournament where your skill is really put to the test. In this Crucible game mode your armour and weapons make a difference to how powerful you are. Sure, even Destiny 2 still has its own problems but with the upcoming update it’s looking to become so much better, and that can only be good news.

BATTLEFIELD 1 There are so many first-person shooters that we play but we keep going back to Battlefield 1. There are various different game modes to choose from but our favourite has to be the War Pigeon game mode. Similar to capture the flag, two teams battle against each other to capture a messenger pigeon which is used to call in an artillery strike. The team that successfully catches the pigeon must keep hold of it for a short time to create the message that the pigeon will carry – players can write the message faster while staying still. The first team to do this three times wins (there’s no time limit). Just watch out for naughty people trying to shoot the poor pigeon out of the sky.

OVERWATCH This phenomenal squad-based first-person shooter has each of the eight players in the game forming a team of three from a range of eccentric and fun characters, or Heroes, that each have distinctly unique playstyles and have their own set of weapons and abilities, with no two characters being the same (with some having great names like Doomfist, Roadhog and Widowmaker). There’s little more satisfying than when you discover your perfect combination of Heroes and everything falls into place and you achieve your first play of the game. Whether you want to play on your own or as part of a team, against real players or AI, there’s a variety of different game modes for you to grapple with.

GRAND THEFT AUTO ONLINE In a game whose foundations were built around rampant crime and abhorrent behaviour you can expect the world of Grand Theft Auto Online to be a brutal place, but it’s a fun one. You’re free to simply roam the world but taking part in the plethora of different game modes is where it’s at. From racing, parachute jump and deathmatch games, to intense heist missions and stunt races, there is something for everyone. The game has seen a constant stream of free content updates for almost five years, the latest of which sees you teaming up with another player to drive weaponised vehicles. There’s never been a better time to jump into this rightly famous franchise.

HALO MASTER CHIEF COLLECTION Now this is a bit of a cheat because we’re actually highlighting four games with this beast of a collection, but we don’t care, we just want an excuse to include the Halo 2 multiplayer. There’s something for everyone, though, as this collection includes every single multiplayer map ever released for Halo 1, 2, 3 and 4. That’s a whole bunch of maps, 106 to be exact. But that’s not all, the Forge game mode is also included, which gives you the ability to craft your own custom maps and game types. Some of the most fun we’ve ever had in Halo was with messing around in Forge. From creating our own version of Cat and Mouse, using a Wraith and a bunch of Mongooses, to creating an elaborate Rube Goldberg machine.

FORTNITE This latest hot topic has taken the world by storm. The original Fortnite is a playerversus-environment co-op survival game, but an extra game mode was added in the form of a battle royale one. It has since become a standalone game, which in many ways has surpassed the original. Retaining the fortification construction mechanic from the original you go up against 99 other players to scavenge for armour and weapons and become the last surviving player, by either killing other players or waiting it out for others to do the same. The fact that the game is free-to-play has helped in its success in becoming a huge contender in the battle royale scene, but it’s a fantastic game regardless. Get it now.

SEA OF THIEVES

One of the most unique multiplayer experiences of recent years. Although you can have a maximum of four members in a crew, you can make uneasy alliances with other crews and rove the treacherous seas taking on others, until their sudden and inevitable betrayal where they turn on you. Even playing on your own or with another person in a sloop can offer endless amounts of adventure. There aren’t many games where a larger crew can kill you, steal your chicken, allow you to chase them through a heavy storm, board their ship, exact revenge by killing them, steal the chicken back, teach them a lesson by nabbing the three chests they have on board and then sail to a nearby outpost to cash in the bounty. Priceless.