The thing that makes Infinity Ward’s refusal to in any reasonable way cater for non-US purchasers of Modern Warfare 2, and therefore condemning us to unnecessarily lag-filled matches, particularly galling is that when we do occasionally get a good game, it shows us how brilliant it could be.

If only we could get a good game more often.

The game gets you to worry about your stats, to put value on having a high kill/death ratio, or a high win/loss ratio. Then it connects you to a US host – which you don’t discover till the match has started – and you either get slaughtered and your kill/death ratio drops, or you quit as soon as you see that lone red bar, the game counts it as a “loss”, and your win/loss ratio drops.

It makes you care, and then it screws you over.

I saw Bajo on Good Game complaining this week about how unfair this is to PC gamers in Australia. It’s unfair to ALL Australian gamers, and it’s no more necessary on the consoles than it is on the PC. It’s not a matter of giving PC players dedicated servers – it’s a matter of building into all versions of the game an option for players to select matches within their own country.

Unless IW’s aim is to give their US customers an unjustified ego boost by letting them win every one-on-one duel with a non-American. Which would be kind of sad, if true.

Left 4 Dead 2 is out today, not that you’d know it in Australia if you were looking at game-buyers leaving the shops. Most Australians who’ve tried the censored local demo will undoubtedly be staying a long way away from the censored full version. I certainly will.

In fact, I’m not even going to buy it from overseas until I’m sure that those versions won’t automatically censor themselves if they’re played on an Australian console.

And you know what? I’m almost relieved. Although it’s not Valve’s fault that they can’t sell the full version – it is their fault that they’ve censored it as much as they have.

There’s a compromise between the full L4D2 and the version with missing units and magically disappearing zombies. And, in a land where Modern Warfare 2 is sold to 15 year olds, it’s one that should be rated MA15+. Australian gamers should not accept the immersion-breaking kiddie version on the shelves. Even if it makes Valve sad.

Anyway, while they can’t be bothered giving us a local matchmaking option, they also don’t particularly deserve our loyalty either.

It’s official: Infinity Ward could not give a stuff about any customers other than Americans. It’s why, despite the developer of the Call Of Duty game between COD4 and Modern Warfare 2, Treyarch’s World at War, having implemented a very straightforward country filter for players – you tell it you only want to connect to games hosted in your country, and it (generally) complies – IW hasn’t bothered to implement any such feature in their new game.

The result? You can have a lobby full of Australians. A couple of Americans join and, hey presto, they’re the hosts. And you have two Americans with four bar connections, and a room full of Aussies suffering lag. Pour a clip of bullets into the American – he’ll still get you as soon as he turns around.

It’s bullshit. And it’s avoidable bullshit.

It was bad enough IW arbitrarily stuffing up the matchmaking code on COD4 after launch, and then never bothering to fix it for overseas customers (even after Treyarch showing how it could be done), but to release MW2 still lacking a basic local matchmaking feature just smacks of absolute contempt for their overseas customers.

Stuff PC gamers whinging about not having dedicated servers – we just want to be able to play a local match where we don’t lose every single one-on-one with a comparably skillful US player.

I’ll forgive you the crap and illogical single-player campaign, Infinity Ward, because I bought MW2 for the multiplayer. But come on. Cut us a break.

PS I love how, to add insult to injury, the game PUNISHES YOU for quitting a high ping game as soon as you discover it’s high ping. Sorry, mate, that counts as a loss!

Quick question: why is it that the only video series available for free on Xbox Live is “The Guild”, a comedy about World of Warcraft players? As in, a hymn to a game THAT IS NOT ON THE BLOODY XBOX!

Seems very weird. What’s next – a live-action drama about Metal Gear Solid? A paean of love to iTunes?

Hang on a second – Microsoft clearly does let companies release DLC for free on Live. Maps for Battlefield: Bad Company, for example.

So why was Valve allegedly prevented from doing the same with “Crash Course” on Left 4 Dead?

Something about this doesn’t add up.

Okay, I loves me some Left 4 Dead – on those rare occasions I can find a local match and it’s actually playable.

So I’d love to sample a whole extra campaign.

But paying $15 for something that’s free on the PC? What the hell is the justification? Why does Microsoft deserve that cash – particularly given that the version on its expensive network doesn’t provide any of the PC methods for finding a local game? They charge for a crappier version, and think they’ll get away with it just because my laptop isn’t good enough to run the game.

It had better be one SPECTACULAR campaign, that’s all I’m saying.

UPDATE: There’s another issue: I’m rapidly running out of room on my 20GB 360 hard drive. Since I don’t really feel like paying Microsoft’s offensive gouging prices for an upgraded hard disk (particularly when I’ve got a 120GB PS3 sitting on the other side of the cabinet), and I don’t want to download content I’ve paid for, I might just have to start buying cross-platform games on the PS3 instead.

UPDATE (4/10): Still haven’t succumbed to temptation and allowed myself to be ripped off by buying it. I am being strong. I think I’ll be able to resist indefinitely, now. Yay me.