When we announced that Bioshock 2 was set to feature Co-op, the Co-op gamer in me jumped for joy, but my inner horror gamer was very unsure. The recently released Resident Evil 5 sparked a similar doubt in me when trying to decide if I wanted to play alone, or hook up with a friend.

On the co-op side of things, sharing the experience of a horror game can be like watching a campy zombie movie with friends. Building fond memories of a time with scary monsters after our brains, or precious life force called “Adam”. Co-op has potential for amusing anecdotes to share down the road.

Read The Full Article: Co-op Versus Solo in Resident Evil 5

For really great campaigns that include co-op, it's pretty common for me to play through them twice, both alone and in co-op. I like it when the single vs coop experiences feels considerably different, even if it's the same campaign.

Nice article Kat! I've played a good chunk of this game in co-op mode so far, and went back to play solo in order to shoot more of those BSAA emblems. Let's just say that I'm glad my first experience with the game was in the co-op mode.

Maybe it was because I was playing it on Amateur ('cause if I'm just collecting I don't really care about difficulty), but Sheva's AI definitely seemed to be flawed. Now, in most games "cover me" means "if there's a zombie about to chomp on my steroid riddled flesh, please shoot it." In this game, it seems that "cover me" means "cover me with bullets" as, more times than I count, Sheva stood directly behind me and unloaded a full clip into my back. I'm so glad there's not L4D-type friendly fire because if there was, I wouldn't have gotten past the first level.

2 different experiences? Absolutely. Unfortunately, one made for a far worse game.

What I noticed, and I don't know if it's confirmed or not, but the PS3 version seemed to have a slightly smarter AI. At least, in the demo it did. I played both of the demos back-to-back one day for kicks, and found that in the point where you have to hoist Sheva across to a different building, in the 360 version she stood in a stairwell where I couldn't cover her, and got mauled pretty badly. Then in the PS3 version, she came out in the open, and used obstacles like pillars to cover herself while I picked off the baddies. Bizarre, and maybe just a fluke, but I swear it happened.

Otherwise, I'll be trying this both ways when I actually purchase the game (on the 360, because I'm a sap for achievements) for sure!

I posted my thoughts on this in my review of the game. The "fear" factor of the game comes from the unknown. The cries for help from your partner.

Playing it Solo won't make it more frightening, as as a lot of people have said, it'll just make it frustrating. Beyond the AI you still have to manage Sheva's inventory, command her to pick up certain ammo types, etc.

When I played through on the first time I did so on veteran. I really think this was a major contributing factor to the fear factor of this game. I went through again on amateur and honestly I felt like superman. Especially compared to veteran. On veteran I found myself literally fleeing during certain segments instead of standing to fight on amateur.

The ammo was extremely scarce due to the amount of bullets required to take down some of the games later baddies and there is a finesse to making your bullets count and actually using everything you have to your advantage. (specifically flash grenades)

Also it's worth mentioning in solo, Sheva is much more chatty. Often pointing out what you need to do next or a weak point on a boss while in coop shes pretty silent leaving players on their own to figure out how to take down a boss. (Which I prefer)

From me and a few friends POV the co-op on this is beyond awesome but it is probably the worst game to play alone.

co-op=Off the chart fun,a complete blast of level design and game play balance.

single= one of the worst teammate games I have played.