What is it with people and the internet.
Before today I knew that people could be rude and disrespectful on Xbox Live, bs angel has certainly had her fair share to say on this matter. Tonight however I got a fresh new insight into John Gabriel’s Greater Internet Fuckwad Theory, and to be perfectly honest I could have done without it.
I decided tonight to play a little late night Halo, 3am for me in the UK, and 7pm-10pm for my American cousins. As I ventured into the big team social playlists I noticed that a lot of people where playing sans mic. How odd I thought as I put on my headset, surely the ability to communicate would be beneficial in one of these team games. I realised both my mistake at the same time that I acquired incontrovertible proof of the above theory.
The second I plugged in my headset, I was bombarded with a stream of trash talk and abuse from the two other players with headsets, who where both on my team but clearly felt that pre-match team-building statements should contain the words ‘faggot’ and ‘bitch’ and combinations of these two delightful phrases.
Needless to say I was very quick in muting these gentlemen, and I use that phrase in its loosest of terms, before removing my headset and wishing that a few of my regular teammates were online so that I could at least get some use out of the team chat facilities in Halo 3. Alas it was not to be, and I was subjected to a 5-3 drubbing in Territories on Valhalla.
However the night, or morn depending on your locale, was still young so I ventured into another Big Team Social match, surely I would not receive the same result this time. Ah, bugger I did. Trash talk is bad enough as it is, but this time it was foul enough to convince stonerkidd420 quit the match before it had even started taking his guest with him. VIP on Sandtrap with a two player handicap. 10-4 to the other team.
By this point I was less than pleased, I had not had the best of games. Two matches marred by the potty mouthed players, and my own poor performances in game had left me with a sour taste in my mouth. Not even my 8 kill streak with the Wraith in the VIP game or my Missile Pod Killing Spree in Territories could console me.
So disenchanted was I with the complete lack of team play and communication in the team hoppers I hopped into Rumble Pit instead. Two games later I was feeling much better. With no teams I didn’t have to worry about poor and abusive communication by team mates rendering the game a joyless slog. I could play to my hearts content, exult in my individual victories, and try to learn from my melancholy musings after every defeat. All in I was enjoying the game again.
Lesson learned, if I go into team games I am taking my friends with me.
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