Black Ops II: The Trend to Kill Rental Servers from PC Gaming

So, I need to write this blog post since I wrote previously about my excitement for Call of Duty: Black Ops II. Well it seems that Treyarch decided to "clarify" there previous statement regarding dedicated servers only a month before release -- which was unknown to me before the game's launch. What Treyarch apparently meant by dedicated servers is that they would be running all of them. What they failed to mention before is that there would be no rental servers for gamers. This is the one aspect, besides playing with a mouse and keyboard, that made the PC version standout to its console brethren. Instead, Treyarch went the way of Infinity Ward and now no longer support the love for renting servers for gamers to enjoy.

Now surprisingly, some people prefer this method. As Treyarch argued, controlling servers prevents hacking since the server files are not distributed to rental server companies. Some gamers see this as a way to even the playing field and prevent people from taking advantage of learning the games code. Others see it as a way to prevent "hegemonic" admins in rental servers from harassing gamers. They believed that admins abused their power on their rental servers because they are usually run by a clan who prefers a specific type of game play, and as a result, prevented gamers from playing the game the way the game was "intended."

I wholeheartedly disagree with these arguments. Hacking will never go away in any facet of the imagination -- heck, I use XIM when playing on the 360 which allows me to use a mouse and keyboard. Having to play with random people in the matchup system employed in CoD ensures that you will eventually run into a hacker. That is why admins were a great asset to gaming: they were able to police such annoying gamers from disrupting the online experience. Rather than having to put up with a hacker, you could directly report it to the admin who would in turn boot the offending player off the rented server.

Also, in my experience, admins on these servers rarely abuse their power. It is not to say that aren't a few problematic admins with a Napoleon complex, it is to say that you are more likely to see a hacker through CoD's match-up system than power hungry admins. These admins were for the most part great at staying in the background only coming to light when people become problematic. In my 8+ years of playing FPS online, I rarely ever have seen enough admins abuse his or her authority to ruin the entire online experience in a similar way people can ruin playing on Xbox Live.

One last gripe I like to address regarding rental servers is that admins will control the type of game play preferred on the server. For example, some people like playing on a "crouch" server where the server's owners discourage run and gunning, and instead encourage a more tactical feel to the game. With CoD's match-up system, this style enjoyed by many gamers is taken away. And for this reason, it only ensures a vanilla style of game play for all.

What is therefore being taken away from the gaming experience is choice. Some people like playing the same map over and over again, like the original Nuketown that had 24/7 servers. Some enjoy playing solely on hardcore servers with various game modes. Some enjoy reducing game weapons the server's owner feels negatively affects a game's balance. Some want the choice of playing with more mature gamers who don't spout out the foulest word they know. Because Treyarch and Activision have done all they can to defeat rental servers for the so-called sake of preventing hackers, choice is thus sent away for vanilla, "hacker-free,"  online experience.

Well hopefully this trend ends. Till then I will play BF3 and Medal of Honor: Warfighter to get my rental server fix. What are your thoughts?