Co-Optimus

E3 2013 has wrapped and the long, hot summer of anticipation has begun. We were granted access to next-gen consoles and THE GAMES OF TOMORROW. Wielding our co-op gaming expertise, we have judged the offerings of industry titans and pugnacious indies. We created the Co-Optimus E3 2013 Game of Show Award to separate the lavish trailers and spectacular booths from real, hands-on gameplay. There are several contenders, but there is only one winner.. To qualify, the game had to have be playable cooperatively. That’s it. These are the co-op games to watch in the months to come. These are the titles that made an impression in a sea of digital escapism. These are our Co-Optimus E3 2013 Game of Show Nominees! Oh, and one standout winner.

Arcen Games' flagship title, AI War, turns four years old this week. Four years! In today's seemingly "churn 'em and burn 'em" world of games, it's impressive that a title has not only maintained its lifespan for that period of time, but the developers themselves continue to support it and release new content for it. In celebration of this occasion, Arcen is offering a bundle deal of all that content for just $6, including their latest expansion: Vengeance of the Machine. It's easy math. 1 game plus 5 expansions = $6.

A fistful of new images from Narco Terror just arrived via an unmarked box thrown out the window of a black sedan. Deep Silver and Rubicon Orgnization's upcoming twin stick shooter is all about guns, drug cartels, kidnappings, explosions, and cheesy 80s action tropes. In short: blinding amounts of adrenaline and fun. And the new screenshots aren't afraid to show it.

Eve Online is entering it's 11th year as one of the only space MMOs in existence. Also this year, CCP launched Dust 514, a free to play first person shooter on the PlayStation 3 which ties into the world of Eve. These two worlds combine to form a massive universe in which over 500,000 inhabit, thrive, and role play. 

The Co-Optimus staff has really taken a liking to Monaco: What's Yours is Mine. The four player online and offline co-op game earned the coveted Editors Choice award for being an all-around great co-op gem. Our staff and community have enjoyed the heck out of this game and we want to spread the joy.

A new trailer has surfaced that details some of the gameplay mechanics of Signal Studios' Ascend: Hand of Kul. In Ascend, you are a Caos, a champion of the gods. You are tasked with ridding the lands of other god's shrines, titans, and creatures. Overall, you are trying to diminish the presence of rival gods and make yours stand above all others. Along the way, you will fight many mythical creatures, conquering them in a brutal fashion.

Space Nomads, the cooperative defense from Loading Studios, has recently launched a crowdfunding drive on Indiegogo. The team is looking for a push to finish out some of the more elaborate features in the works, including fleshing out the explorable terrain, creating flying vehicles, designing a PvP mode, and adding underground areas and ocean biomes. Even more exciting is the alpha demo is available to download!

Remember that time Fable III was given away for free to Xbox Live Gold subscribers? Looks like the deal will officially end on June 30th. Fear not, though, for Microsoft is using the opportunity to kick off its Games with Gold program. Each month on the 1st and 16th until the end of the year, Xbox Live Gold subscribers will get a game for free. Pretty simple. Fable III is short of retroactively shoehorned into the program, but July promises both Halo 3 and Assassins Creed 3, which isn't too shabby.

Announced during the hubbub that was E3 2013, The Crew is shaping up to be one extraordinary game. In development by Ivory Tower studios and published by Ubisoft, the game is a persistent online racer built from the ground-up with social and co-op play in mind. Join in, team up, complete missions and head out for a drive across the USA. But here's the real kicker: the game's world is over 3,100 square miles (5,000 km) in size. The New York map alone is as big as Liberty City from Grand Theft Auto IV. So when you do fancy that drive, you'd better be settled in for the long haul.

We've seen teasers from the Cars, Monsters University and Pirates of the Caribbean play sets. We've seen the franchise-mixing Toy Box Mode in action. We even got our clammy hands on the game during E3. Now it's back to basics with Disney Infinity: a nice, colorful set of screenshots. Ten new images from the upcoming action adventure game show off characters from Toy Story, The Lone Ranger, The Invincibles and more, all hopping about with big grins on their faces as they play together in Toy Box Mode. It's kind of like a sickeningly cute utopia where everybody's just a touch insane.