Interesting take. I wonder if you’ve ever tried simultaneous two-player mode? Would that also not move it into “fun” territory?
For me, competitive play has been a great blast for years. Together in front of the TV in split-screen, playing cruel tricks on one another. This phase finally faded when these “LAN parties” became commonplace. Everyone just wanted to play shooters. Nobody left to play Lemmings with me.
The second one, I actually found to be a bit of a disappointment. On paper, it is indeed quite the same. Though I felt it lacked focus. Just “more, more, more”, without really thinking what to do with all that.
