Editorial

10:21 AM on 6/9/2009 by Staff

There are many different types of games on the market for many different types of people. So, what designates which games can be played together, and which can not? We at Co-optimus.com tend to preach friendly co-op gaming, and notice many of the single player games out there feel somewhat cheated out of a quality co-op experience.

Some games had co-op left on the concept floor, cut out in the final stages, or some that seem to have missed the co-op boat completely. This is the Co-Optimus list of games that we feel could really use co-op for an improved gaming experience.

I wouldn't have fallen out if you were there to catch me!

10 - Fallout 3

The main storyline in Fallout 3 follows a child growing up in an isolated "vault" settlement established after the nuclear Fallout that all but doomed mankind. Suddenly thrust in to the ruined post-nuclear-fallout world in search of their father, it's up to this now-grown-child to solve the mysteries of that vault and their fathers experiments. This child can be male, or female, of any race. This could have very easily had a few minor changes for co-op, that would not have altered the storyline much at all - something like siblings, or even twins growing up together.

Co-op could have allowed players to flank enemy areas to clear them out more effectively, balance classes and powers, and even interact with in game characters with different approaches.

Wait, so there's three of us and only one of them?

9. Mass Effect

Managing a teams armor and stats can be great, but we're all guilty of ignoring one or two characters for the sake of our favorites. Mass Effect didn't have as many team mates as some other similar games, but three primary characters could have been a wonderful three-player-co-op experience. Tweaking those stats to bring each character to their full potential, and coordinating attacks with a friend to do the most damage in the least amount of time. Customizable main characters could have added a new spice to this game, with the added blight of sexual tension, or fighting for the spotlight!

Branching out a bit from shooter game co-op, leveling up individual characters and personalization would certainly add to an already amazing experience.

You wouldn't have many friends wearing this outfit either.

8. The Legend of Zelda Series

Links formula for the last 20 years has been 'underdog beats the odds to save the princess', rinse and repeat. Link has even had computer assistance in the form of an irritating fairy, and a trickster dubbed Midna. In Wind Waker players were even able to hook up a GBA and control Tingle, hardly an ideal situation though.

The one thing Link is missing, is the co-op aspect where a second player does some exploring to help Link out, or a backup character to cover his tail while Gannondorf gets ready for round 9. Mario had a helpful star on the Nintendo Wii, so why doesn't Link at least get a helpful fairy who can go explore areas that Link can't get to? Or, his very own Icarus that doesn't quite steal the spotlight, but offers enough support to be considered Co-op? The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords did the co-op very well why not bring it to his big brother?

Space: the lonely frontier

7. Dead Space

There is a time and place for everything. Horror will usually not function as a team effort if the terrors are based in a characters head like Silent Hill. But, if the scary stuff is not unlike the Alien movies; why not have a whole team of people scared out of their minds? After the "infected" ship Ishimura sends out a distress call, a rescue team is dispatched to help, and their rescue ship is damaged during the mission. While exploring the Ishimura, the rescue team encounters our scary entity called Necromorphs, that kill most of the crew. Key word here: Most. Some of the crew survives and split up from the protagonist Isaac Clark, occasionally reappearing to help. With other survivors built into the story – Co-op was an absolute possibility.

We are aware that the Wii version of the game has co-op, borrowing heavily from the House of the Dead series, which are co-op by nature. However, we'd definitely like to see the original style take a co-op approach sometime in the near future.

See that, two of us!

6. Call of Duty Series

It's always been a mystery to Co-optimus why some squad based shooter games will not allow for co-op. The military's bread and butter itself is Co-op, so why are military games forsaking this tradition to force gamers to play alone? What are squad based games? You're given a character with an optional past and identity, and camaraderie through A.I. support characters. Simple logic would tell you that these squad-mates, your pals, your homies, your family - should be your actual friends, not A.I. The way to beat the A.I. in the impending war is not to join it, but to eliminate it wherever possible.

A step in the right direction is the Zombie modes they've been implementing, but it's not quite enough. Sure we had sort of had a co-op campaign in World at War and it gave us hope hope for Modern Warfare 2. But alas, Infinity Ward would not solve our dilemma, and once again co-op looks to be relegated to an additional mode, leaving the single player to...well single players. We like some story with our co-op, thank you very much.

What do you mean there's two guys standing behind me?

5. The Elder Scrolls Series

  Though the Elder Scrolls story lines tend to focus on a "chosen one" lore, but who says that chosen one couldn't have a handy friend? Hercules was the main character in all of his stories, but had a pal named Icarus there to help out. Icarus never had the god-like attributes that Hercules did, but he certainly didn't hurt to have around. We would like to see the Elder Scrolls at least attempt a co-op form similar to this, that would not compromise their stories, but rather aid the main character in some form or another. If that co-op form comes in the form of side quests, similar to closing extra Oblivion Gates, or clearing out co-op specific caverns, we'll take it!

How many guys do I need to kill on my own? REALLY?!?!?

4. 99 Nights

99 Nights was a beautiful fantasy hack and slash game when it was released. With 7 playable characters in unique armor with unique abilities, it felt somehow lonely to have just your one character on screen with a horde of enemies to take care of. To impress us, this game might have done some fusion hero powers with a co-op partner after you build up your attack gauge, to unleash some of the most impressive co-op attacks Hack-and-slash games have ever seen!

Which way is the co-op? Oh wait....

3 - Killzone 2

On the tip of every co-op craving tongue earlier this year was the hope of Co-op for the PS3 release of Killzone 2. With its first person shooter qualities, and the cry from PS3 owners to even see the light of co-op, this game led us on for months before finally giving up on the co-op. As with many war-shooters, you're given a squad to back up your character. This type of squad shooters should always be co-opable, and with even more than just two players. This could add a level of co-op depth yet unmatched.

Co-op is out there, somewhere

2 – Farcry 2

Farcry 2 features twelve different characters with detailed individual background stories that bring them to a remote part of Africa during a fictional civil war. Whichever character you select of these twelve will be your mercenary through this open world, and the other eleven characters will be bound to your main character in a friendly light, as backup or other story elements. This made us wonder how the developers came to the conclusion to isolate all twelve characters from one another in a single player campaign, rather than allowing a few of them to assist one another more directly in co-op. Take it from the team-up of Cable and Deadpool, even mercenaries can have a co-op partner.

Also, whichever main character you play as has Malaria as an element of this storyline. We hear that stuff is contagious, making a perfect excuse for multiple main characters suffering similarly.

What do you mean, there's no real co-op?!

1 – Grand Theft Auto Series

While GTA IV had some pseudo co-op modes, what Rockstar has always excelled at was their exposition. Their ability to drive a player deep into control of a character is amazing, and Niko Bellic in GTA IV was an engaging fellow. But the game also contained plenty of other great characters, perfectly suitable for co-op. Tack onto that the amazing depth in mission design, taking into account a second player, and you can really get into some fresh territory in terms of gameplay.

With several other open world games adding co-op gameplay, including Saint's Row and Mercenaries 2, Rockstar almost has no choice but to add this to their next GTA game. And while we had hoped to see something in their exclusive DLC for the Xbox 360, it looks like it's not going to happen.

There's still hope for the above games, with quite a few sequels on the way there's plenty of room for co-op. Just look at some of these upcoming and recent titles as examples: Ninja Gaiden Sigma: 2, Red Alert 3, Dawn of War 2, 50 Cent: Blood on the Sand, Resident Evil 5, Fable 2, Lost Planet 2, and Uncharted 2!

Author

Staff

Share: