Co-Optimus

This summer the Xbox LIVE Arcade will be getting another four player third-person shooter called Scourge: Outbreak. Stop me if you've heard this one before: Set in the near future, and small team of specialized mercenaries must take on a secret organization whose mysterious fuel source, "Ambrosia," is threatening the safety of the world. Players will be able to level up their characters and use special perks and abilities. Really? I know several titles have similar story lines, but I finished another upcoming squad-based third-person shooter less than 24 hours ago and this premise seems very familiar. 

Zen Pinball 2 is one of the most played games I have owned on the 360, it is highly addictive and designed to an exceptional standard by Zen Studios.  If the developer can bring this expertise to the upcoming 2 player co-op game CastleStorm, we are all in for a treat.  CastleStorm is out on the 29th May and the Co-Optimus review will follow soon after, for now check out the informative Dev Diary.

There’s no question that PAYDAY: The Heist took the Left 4 Dead formula and produced it into a solid co-op gaming experience. Thus, 505 Games and Overkill announcing that they're translating that into a new PAYDAY web series got us pretty excited, and with only a couple of months until the launch of PAYDAY 2. In addition, there’s actually an upcoming PAYDAY movie coming out too, which sounds pretty intriguing if it’ll be anything like the revealed trailer.

Lately you may have been wondering what the heck to do with your Vita. Perhaps you are like me, having played a ton of Soul Sacrifice, and wondering what kind of games are on your radar in the near future. Well, add a cooperative game to the list of up and coming Vita Titles. Disney Interactive is porting over Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two to the Playstation Vita quite soon. In fact, it will be released next month on June 18th.

It shouldn't take long to remember why you fell in love with Bungie games after watching the new "live action" trailer that teases their upcoming shooter, Destiny. Bungie has a storied past of creating universes from Halo, Myth, and even Marathon - their worlds are always rich with lore, content, and intrigue. If the latest trailer, titled "Law of the Jungle" is any indication of Destiny's future - well let's just say it's destined to fall right in line with the rest of Bungie's franchises.

Contrary to the beliefs of some multi-billion dollar corporations, some people still play games offline. They may not have an internet connection, but they still have taste. Heck, they may even have an internet connection, but maybe they simply don't want to pipe their personal information into the enigmatic labyrinth of tubes and "security" measures that makes up online stores.

The Raiden series is perhaps my favorite SHMUP series of all time, blending fast paced gameplay, slick sprite graphics, and a smooth upgradeable weapon system. Earlier this year publisher DotEmu released iOS and Android versions of Raiden Legacy, a collection of four classic Raiden SHMUP games. This collection is similar to the Xbox 360 version of Raiden Fighters Aces - but includes the classic original Raiden game. Sadly, Raiden 2 is still missing from the lineup.

[Update]: Skyward Collapse is now available on Steam for less than $5.

When we spoke with Arcen Games' Founder/CEO/Lead Programmer/Lead Designer Chris Park last month, he talked about two of their upcoming co-op titles: Skyward Collapse and Exodus of the Machine. Hard as it may be to believe, Skyward Collapse sees its release on Steam this very day, and it brings with it an eight-player cooperative mode. That's a lot of friends to help you create a civilization!

CastleStorm is on the way! Developer Zen Studios recently announced the genre-bending action/brawler/tower defense game will hit Xbox Live Arcade on May 29th. Accompanying the happy date are a few new screenshots as well as a release video, which is about ten seconds of the date flying around sandwiched by twice that time in studio logos. But it's cute, that counts for something, yeah?

Guess what was just released for LittleBigPlanet, LittleBigPlanet 2, LittleBigPlanet Karting and LittleBigPlanet PS Vita? Sony recently rolled out a pack of costumes from Mass Effect (ever heard of it?), which includes skins for Shepard, Liara, Wrex, and Garrus along with a few in-game stickers. Just the sort of thing you needed to remind you that the LBP series still exists!