Damn you, Halo! Now, so few games have bots to play against. Yeah, in an era of online gaming, maybe it's dumb to play a game against the computer . . . but god damnit, sometimes it's just fun to blast people away without having to listen to them bitch. I'm getting the Xbox-to-Wii port of Rogue Trooper mainly because it has bot support. Anyone else love killing bots?

bots suck so bad.  good riddance.

back in the day. the bots on perfect dark got destroyed, hahaha. I dont even know any games that have bots.

I love my bots the way I love my cannon fodder... useless and dumb.

"bots suck so bad.  good riddance."

Bots and Splitscreen are what I miss most. Why does everything have to be online multiplayer? What if I want to play with a game with somebody next to me? I used to have so much fun teaming up with a friend and going against a team of bots. And if bots aren't available we could go head to head talking shit to each other's faces. But I guess developers want us to be pussies and say shit over the internet...

100% agree.

I'm not sure why people ever got tired of bots. With the amount of people verbally attacking each other on XBL, I am for bots now more than ever.  
 
I understand that they are stupid and don't always hold their own, but that's one of the fun aspects: they give you some freedom to do what you want while still giving you somewhat of a challenge. I play Perfect Dark Zero from time to time just because it has bots and I grow tired of people on XBL. I wanna shoot stuff and not feel nervous a guy on my team is looking at my a little funny and get blown away by friendly fire. Or you manage to pull off a really great score/moment in a game and then receive messages detailing how much of an "asshole and hacker" you are. 
 
Bring back bots....please?

Bots do not suck.  UT2004 was a great training ground for skilling up.  Bots should've gotten much better since we've moved on to multithreaded/multi core aware engines.  It pisses me off that this generation of console only gamers have almost no knowledge of the best tricks because they've been limited by dumb AI and often entirely bot-less maps.

Yes. There are two competetive FPS games I was every really, really good at, Day of Defeat and Natural Selection, because I could practise maps, aim, reactions etc. in a stress- and pressure free, lack-of-idiots, relaxed AI Bot environment. 
 
And those were modding-bots that were created for fun by random internet people. Imagine what could be done by professional developers with today's tools. O well.

Bots are one of the things i miss. :( Maybe the bot can be revived in 2010?? :D

Glad to see that there are some that feel some sort of appreciation for bots. There are some bots that do not suck, yes. UT2004 bots destroyed me, but I ended up getting better and did really well online and against the bots. I hope they receive a revive or whatever like cooperative modes have received these past few years.

UT3 has bots...play that?
 
Oh, and Horde mode and Firefight are better than tdm and ctf with bots. 

I love bots. Killzone 2 had good support for bots, and AI that was pretty decent to go along with it.
 
Its totally irrelevant to compare bots vs. multiplayer experiences, they ultimately serve a different purpose and provide a different play experience.
I like playing with bots now and then because its a little more relaxed, and in some strange way often more dramatic as large numbers of AI controlled oppents follow similar scripting (to show a kind a cohesion that online multiplayer often lacks).
 
On top of that, bots can be a really good way of practicing, getting used to a game mode or in some cases (like mine - no gold account on my 360) it actually provides the only 'multiplayer' style gameplay that a game delivers. Gears 2 was great for this reason.
Considering that less than half of people with 360's actually use live, bots seem like a essential part of the game package these days, particularly as developers put more and more effort in to elaborate and generally excellent multiplayer maps and modes.
 
On top of that (again), I even use bots in games I own on PS3 and PC (ie. killzone 2 and say, UT3) even though online play is free - thats how much some people like them.
 
BOTS = VALUE + FUN + WHY THE HELL NOT?

Doesn't horde mode and every variant of it basically equate to you fighting bots?

I agree, horde mode is basically bots with a single tactic: Rush you (also firefight). I'd like to compare that to Gears 2 which had that but also had other modes. I really enjoyed fighting the bots for the hill in king of the hill, defending my leader from the bots while taking down their leader, etc. 
 
POINT: The biggest difference between horde mode and multiplayer bot matches is that horde mode does not cater to single players. It caters towards groups of players who want to defend against waves of bots. Playing these modes alone anytime is pretty stressful and generally not too much fun, but playable.
 
I love horde mode, but I also really love multiplayer bots. I want both to coexist and make a comeback. (Yeah, Killzone 2 has bots and now I want a PS3. Also, yup, I'm gonna go pick up gears 2 and ut3. Thanks Epic Games.)

Even stupid bots are great. They give you something to shoot at while getting to know the maps.
 
I used to play CS back in the day with the most basic bots that only had a couple of dozen waypoints per map that they would just cycle.

Bots in Red Faction were so fun to demolish. Dig a huge ass tunnel with the rocket launcher and let them pour in.

I agree. I would like to have bots from time to time if only to mess around with even if the AI is terrible. Maybe only on the PC versions of the game since they're more justifiable when the tools of PC games are available to abuse, but I would like to have them as an option.

I love bots, and I have missed them dearly. Halo 2 and 3 deeply disappointed me with the lack of even rudimentary bots, because I hate playing online with other people. I had Unreal Tournament 1 back in the day, and never, ever played it with another person, just against increasingly difficult bots on all kinds of maps from the interblag. 
 
 I also prefer split-screen to online, but that's a different discussion.

" UT3 has bots...play that?  Oh, and Horde mode and Firefight are better than tdm and ctf with bots.  "

" I love bots, and I have missed them dearly. Halo 2 and 3 deeply disappointed me with the lack of even rudimentary bots, because I hate playing online with other people. I had Unreal Tournament 1 back in the day, and never, ever played it with another person, just against increasingly difficult bots on all kinds of maps from the interblag.    I also prefer split-screen to online, but that's a different discussion. "

Back in the days of Quake 1, bots were my preferred way to play multiplayer for the most part (it was that or a 200-300 ping dial up connection). There were some pretty good ones like the Omicron bot, which had surprisingly realistic play, it had 'personalities' with varying skill levels and strategies, knew how to control the important areas of a map, would trash talk you, the whole nine yards. Much more entertaining than an ice skating lagfest with a bunch of noobs.

Local Co-op is the thing I'm saddest about losing, I realize it's not completely gone but hardly any games have it anymore. 

The enemies in horde mode have more in common with campaign enemies than bots. Bots are meant to be analogous to human players.
 
Bots are great because they can accomplish what every ranking and matchmaking system in existence has failed to do: create a consistent and skill-adjusted experience. 
Gears of War 2 had some of the least consistent bots I had ever seen.  I truly hated them. 
Killzone 2 had effective bots. They went for objectives, shot dudes, used skills, and sometimes flanked enemies.
And I couldn't even imagine playing an RTS without bots.

" The enemies in horde mode have more in common with campaign enemies than bots. Bots are meant to be analogous to human players. Bots are great because they can accomplish what every ranking and matchmaking system in existence has failed to do: create a consistent and skill-adjusted experience. Gears of War 2 had some of the least consistent bots I had ever seen.  I truly hated them. Killzone 2 had effective bots. They went for objectives, shot dudes, used skills, and sometimes flanked enemies.And I couldn't even imagine playing an RTS without bots. "

I loved the bots in 007 Nightfire (for the N64). You could modify so many stats. I would always make strong and slow bots coupled with a few fast and weak, with the occasional camper/rusher/normal in there.
 
And it does suck that most games are now ditching splitscreen co-op.

  ice skating

" @extremeradical said:

" The enemies in horde mode have more in common with campaign enemies than bots. Bots are meant to be analogous to human players. Bots are great because they can accomplish what every ranking and matchmaking system in existence has failed to do: create a consistent and skill-adjusted experience. Gears of War 2 had some of the least consistent bots I had ever seen.  I truly hated them. Killzone 2 had effective bots. They went for objectives, shot dudes, used skills, and sometimes flanked enemies.And I couldn't even imagine playing an RTS without bots. "

Were the bots really that good in KZ2? I have not played the game, but I am going to get a ps3 sometime soon and might get the game. I seen a lot of the first game and the bots did not look too bright. From what you said, though, the bots seem to have improved. "

Truly this the age of online gaming.  Truly.

Counter-Strike bots on hard were hackers, I swear to god.

I like the bots in UT3, the Gears of War 2 bots are hopeless though. L4D AI is horrific also.

I used the Bots in Kz2 as practice before heading online, i thought the Bots in that game where pretty good.

They really should bring them back for when you don't feel like playing online.

" Bots in Red Faction were so fun to demolish. Dig a huge ass tunnel with the rocket launcher and let them pour in. "

Ah, bots. Another reason I love Timesplitters so much. I do agree that most bots are too simple and predictable though. I'm currently working my way into programming Artificial Intelligence. Too bad the big money for that is outside of the video game industry.

" @extremeradical said:

" The enemies in horde mode have more in common with campaign enemies than bots. Bots are meant to be analogous to human players. Bots are great because they can accomplish what every ranking and matchmaking system in existence has failed to do: create a consistent and skill-adjusted experience. Gears of War 2 had some of the least consistent bots I had ever seen.  I truly hated them. Killzone 2 had effective bots. They went for objectives, shot dudes, used skills, and sometimes flanked enemies.And I couldn't even imagine playing an RTS without bots. "

Were the bots really that good in KZ2? I have not played the game, but I am going to get a ps3 sometime soon and might get the game. I seen a lot of the first game and the bots did not look too bright. From what you said, though, the bots seem to have improved. "

I remember some good times with Perfect Dark blasting through shit tons of bots

I too miss bots.

Chalk me up as someone who also misses bots.

Something I really enjoyed about Gears of War 2.

" I like the bots in UT3, the Gears of War 2 bots are hopeless though. L4D AI is horrific also. "

I love killing online but sometimes I just want to jump on Timesplitters 2 and bust through a ton of bots.

oh yea i loved playing timesplitters 2 and just going nuts with bots

" @extremeradical: Hmm, well I sure hope they don't transcend botness. Wouldn't want them to suddenly evolve into real people :P. Just kidding I know what you meant.