The Xbox’s local multiplayer lineup was anchored by Halo, which took much of the spotlight and generally crowded out most other contenders. That said, it had the horsepower advantage over its peers and a very PC-like architecture, so it thrived by hosting the best version of most of the era’s multiplatform games. READ MORE

For the first popular system with four controller ports, the Nintendo 64 has a surprisingly shallow bench when it comes to multiplayer titles. It was an era of behemoths, of a handful of games that simply dominated the landscape. So yes, we’re recommending those, but we also went off the beaten path a bit to bring you some other great experiences on the system. READ MORE

The Wii, more than any system before it, was designed to be a party system. With its easy-to-pick-up style and focus on local play over online capabilities, it became the home for a whole host of new and experimental multiplayer titles. (Of course, it had some normal ones too, and those are also good!) Let’s take a look at the best local multiplayer games the system has to offer. READ MORE

The PlayStation 2, despite its wild success, garnered a fairly weak local multiplayer lineup. There are two main reasons for that. First? Controller ports. Its two competitors didn’t need a multitap for party play, so developers could find a full audience on Xbox or GameCube, and only a fraction of the PS2 audience. Second? While the three consoles were comparable, the PS2 lagged behind just a bit. The horsepower discrepancy meant that PS2 games were optimized for two-player split-screen only, and the same engine could run with four on the Xbox. Still, it managed to be home to some games worth checking out. READ MORE