As soon as I spent about a month online, it became impossible to go back to playing AI... I really can't stand battles vrs AI anymore, and the campaign gets tedious after your first two campaigns. As soon as you figure out how Campaign works, the rest is all clicking buttons until your eyeballs bleed.

I get into the sporting aspect of mutliplayer, and the community... some genuinely great peeps online, and good times to be had. Also, there is nothing like a great battle in a good tourney. You want more realism? Play in a sudden death final against a great opponent....I've played a lot of sports, and I can't remember anything causing such a sudden spike in heartrate as when it's deciding time in the middle of a grand melee....

Multiplayer takes on a new meaning once you clan up and get competitive... it's not about winning some battles against some randoms. It's more like shooting some stick with some m8's to get sharp enough for a real match that matters... and then jabbering about the bad moves and the good, or other existential questions on your clan forums....

The new tournament of MTWII, the Clan Community Shield (props to Bedi, and the other admins), has 34 or so clans signed up... it'll be a huge league that will last 6 months at least (sadly, lol)... and there are 3 other major TW tournies, and a collection of smaller tournies.

It's all 'just for fun', of course... the competitive aspects just add some sense of purpose to the play....

And it's easier to convince the wife that it is a legitimate hobby if you have to "practice for tournies" once in a while....