Human contact? Never heard of it. Didn't that die when the internet showed up?

Ironically, I can't help but notice that while consoles are connecting us all a lot more with Xbox Live and PSN, games are also pushing us apart a lot more. I'm not saying that it 'ruins out social lives and makes us horrible, irritable people' as that's Daily Mail-standard bullshit, but more that as a whole, games are beginning to lack a vital part of 'true' multiplayer: splitscreen.

Of course, we're still getting the odd Gears of War, Left 4 Dead and Halo, but why do most games feel the need to sacrifice a little local play for online multiplayer, especially as the aforementioned games can even combine the two in the same match? It's genuinely as if they believe that as soon as we connected to Xbox Live for the first time, we burnt all our address books, deleted our friends' phone numbers and said sayonara to all the people we've ever met, forever. I mean, what's the point? Why go to a party when you can join an Xbox Live Party?

I think a lot of it is dev teams looking too objectively. Sure, sharing a screen is a little inconvenient and you'll always, no matter what, give in to that malicious desire to screenwatch, but the fact of the matter is, it's still a hell of a lot of fun. Why else are Goldeneye and Nightfire still treasured within the hearts of just about everyone who's been playing games for at least five years? Personally I love to see my enemies squirm right next to me, and be able to laugh in their face when I get one of those miraculous kills. Hell, I don't even mind if I'm the victim; it's always worth it. The fact is: Splitsreen isn't dead. It'll never be. Gamers still want it. Just because Live is convenient in that it connects gamers all over the world, splitscreen still has the magic and it's a totally different experience, and one that games need.

But sadly, far too many games are lacking in this. Should I have someone round and we want to play some offline multiplayer, I look at my games pile with shame. The obvious choices are there; Halo 3 (which interweaved splitscreen with campaign, customs and matchmaking PERFECTLY) and Gears of War 1 and 2, but apart from that, what is there? Left 4 Dead 2. And seeing as it's made by multiplayer maestros Valve, that's taken for granted. Excluding Red Faction: Guerilla's 'Wrecking Crew' mode - which isn't even splitscreen, it's pass-the-controller - there is nothing else. Shameful. 

Quite honestly, I don't care and I'm sure barely anyone else out there cares if it looks a little nerdy when you have four guys leaning forward on a sofa, munching Doritos and screaming at each other over a video game. There was a time when this was accepted that this is what games are about. We can only hope this is never forgotten.