Meta challenges ruined modern multiplayer

In the earliest days of online console gaming, I was obsessed with competing in digital competitions. I vividly recall the arcane methods I had to employ to figure out how to get my PS2online to play games like Tony Hawk, Amplitude, and Arc The Lad: End of Darkness online. When the 360 came out and made playing online effortless, I went through the longest period in my gaming career of focusing purely on multiplayer games. Hundreds of hours were spent playing matches of Halo 2, Halo 3, various Call of Duty games, and basically any game that came out with a tacked-on multiplayer mode. I was never the best, but I loved the thrill of competition.