14 Video Games That Prove Local Multiplayer Is The Best

2. Super Smash Bros.

Smash Bros is a wonderfully chaotic game. It's a fighter with depth, but it doesn't have dozens upon dozens of moves to memorise. It rewards skill, but novices still have a fighting chance thanks to the random nature of the game. Pick up a weapon or use a Final Smash at exactly the right moment and the match could suddenly sway in your favour. You just don't know what's going to happen in Smash Bros. and that's exactly what makes it such a highly regarded series. Whack in any Smash game and everyone will soon be having a good time. Its simple controls make it very easy for anyone to pick up and play and its insanely diverse character roster means everyone will be able to find a character they like. The upcoming 3DS and Wii U versions of Smash Bros. will most likely be perfectly playable online (that's of course assuming Nintendo learned from the lagfest that was Brawl), but it's safe to say that most players will only go online when they don't have people to play with locally. That's because Smash is simply one of the best local multiplayer games there is. There's no split-screen with 4 players and no frame-rate dips. You don't get any disadvantages that typically come with local multiplayer while getting all the advantages: the banter, the spectacle and the tangible, soul-destroying feeling of defeat when one lucky bugger just so happens to get a hammer in the closing seconds of a match and snatches victory from your fingertips.