I recently picked up Burnout Revenge on the Xbox 360 and have been mostly enjoying it.  However, there is one rather important aspect of the game, and the other games in my collection, that has be bouncing off the walls: online gameplay.

The problem is that I've not had the system that long, so whenever I get on, I'm trying to play against people who have learned every nook and cranny, every exploit in the game.  Be it Burnout Revenge or Rumble Roses XX, I always leave with the feeling that I don't belong, that I'm just there to be an easy match to inflate someone else's stats.  It's disturbing, really.  You see, I like playing games.  However, I know that by the time I get anywhere near as good in an online game, the rest of XBL will have moved on to the next big thing, leaving me with no one to play.

Add to this the severe lack of co-op in many games.  The only game that has a fully co-op online mode outside of XB Arcade's Gauntlet is Perfect Dark Zero (though I understand a co-op patch came out for Kemeo), and dreadfully few people play PD0 co-op.  So I only have three choices when it comes to online play: forefit my interests in other games to get better online, restrict myself to (bleh) MMORPGs, or simply not play.

It's kinda sad, really.  It's hard for many gamers to find a good friend to play with, so any form of social play is going to require being online.  However, a new player will always be helplessly restricted, simply because there isn't anyone there who isn't too "l33t" to actually help them play, so online is out for many people too.

This is why I see online gaming never evolving beyond an incredibly tiny niche of over-competitive locker room guys.  The friendly climate necessary for evolution beyond that just isn't there.

By the way, I'm in the "recreation" zone.  I specifically kept away from "Pro" and "Underground" so that I wouldn't deal with... Well, what I'm dealing with.  Looks like MS' matchmaking services have a long way to go.