HT Games
Beginnings
Developers have spent the better part of video game history trying to make multiplayer gaming not only more fun, but more convenient, and, for the most part, bigger. Pong allowed two players to battle it out for pixelated glory, while later game consoles throughout the 1990s would allow for more. The Nintendo 64 in the mid-'90s had four controller ports, allowing up to four people to play. This technique would be mimicked later at the turn of the millennium by Nintendo's own Gamecube and, more rigorously, by Microsoft's Xbox console. While both allowed a maximum of four players to play per machine, the Xbox brought with it and even grander plan: system link, which could potentially allow over a dozen players to join in. But what are some of the best games for taking advantage of this technology?
Halo
The original Halo was released before the advent of Xbox Live, Microsoft's online service that allowed for linking of systems from across the globe. With gorgeous graphics, the game was revolutionary in with its highly artistic merits accompanied by its relatively simple first-person-shooting gameplay. In multiplayer, players are given a multitude of game modes, such as Capture the Flag, King of the Hill and Slayer. Players are given the option of playing as either Spartan soldiers (the game's protagonist) or Covenant Elite, and alien race. Several maps are available, along with a variety of different weapons. Halo has become one of the most popular multiplayer games of all time and can is one of the games by which other multiplayer games should be judged.
Halo 2
The widely successful sequel to Halo, Halo 2 expands upon its predecessor's feats by introducing two major innovations to not only first-person shooters but system link games in general. Dual-wielding became available in Halo 2, which allows players to carry two weapons of suitable size with either hand, thus doubling the capacity for damage. Halo 2 was also able to successfully utilize Xbox Live, a new (at the time) online service that allowed systems to be linked over the internet, thus vastly expanding the capacity of certain multiplayer matches.
Racing Games
Several racing games are capable of system linking. Those games include Colin McRae Rally 2005, Project Gotham Racing 2, Crash Tag Team Racing, Forza Motorsport, Midnight Club 2 and 3, Moto GP 2 and 3, and others. Some games are even capable of playing online using Xbox Live, and such keep your statistics and sets a global ranking.
Shooting Games
Most multiplayer games involve some form of shooting, whether from first- or third-person perspectives (for example, the Halo series is entirely first-person, with the exception of certain segments where a vehicle is used). Some of the more popular games include Call of Duty 2 and 3, Counterstrike, Star Wars: Battlefront and its sequel, and most of the Tom Clancy-endorsed games.
Sports
Even certain sports games are capable of system link gameplay. Such titles are Top Spin (tennis), Amped 2 and 3 (snowboarding), NHL 2K3 and 2K4 (hockey), and NFL Fever 2003 and 2004 (American football).