BACKUP
"Well, duh!" you say? It may be obvious to most team-based multiplayer gamers, but the shooter scene seems to be rife with "lone wolves": people who play for score and not the satisfaction of successful teamwork.
If you're clearing an area of enemies, you want to know that a surprise ambush will only surprise one of you. If the point is to take an objective, you may have to turn your back for some time - backup is extremely important to your success at times like these. Multiplayer games almost always include "bomb plants" and "vehicle repair" actions that render you unable to defend yourself, and it's times like these that it's valuable to have a friend that can give you some breathing space.
REVENGE
Served cold, hot, served at the pool, or on a trampoline - I don't care how it's served; revenge is sweet. And who better to exact revenge than a flatmate, a cousin, a spouse, or a fellow writing staff member?
When you get hit with a cheap shot or you just plain lose a standoff, the punk that bested you must. be. destroyed. What else are friends for, if not retribution?
Andrew's nemesis...meet Jim's RC-XD.
LOOSE COMMUNICATION
Playing with friends is a great way to catch up with what's going on in each other's real lives. Voice chat traffic multiplies when there are more things to talk about than just griping about game lag and claymore mines.
"Hey, tha's a purty nice ban-do-lier ya got there. You get your'n over at Rick's Surplus? Tha's where I got mine."
Back in the SOCOM II days, we had a saying: "If you want to have a record-breaking game, take a few calls." This was based on the phenomenon wherein slurring drunkards and distracted phone conversationalists all seemed to have had superhuman reflexes.
Obviously they didn't, but there's something to be said for the effect that relaxation has on a gamer, even in the middle of a stress-inducing and hectic game. Indeed, having a chit-chat with Andrew made my Black Ops run not only more enjoyable...but even productive at times. Thanks, buddy!
"You see that new VT-16?"
"Yeah, some of the other guys were telling me about, they say it's--...What was that?!"