Beyond Co-Op, March 14th to March 20th

Welcome to Beyond Co-Op, a weekly piece that talks about industry stories that may or may not be related to co-op gaming.

The stories for this week:

- Xbox 360 Getting USB Storage in Spring Update?
- Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker, Skate 3 and Kane & Lynch 2 Dated
- Third Echelon and Sam Fisher Descend on Social Networks
- Activision Announces $15 Price on MW2 Stimulus Pack
- Just Cause 2 and Red Steel 2 Highlight Releases This Week

Metal Gear Solid Peace Walker Bundle, 10 Minutes of Co-Op Footage

Sony and Konami have announced a new limited edition green PSP bundled with the four player co-op Metal Gear Solid Peace Walker game.  The bundle comes with a 2GB memory stick, download voucher for a movie off the PlayStation Network, and a unique piece of content for the game.  The bundle weighs in at $199 and will be out when the game releases on June 8th.

If you'd like to get a good idea of what co-op stealth is like, in portable form anyway, we've got 10 minutes of footage of the game showing off two Snakes doing all the sneaking and stealthing you could possibly want.

Splinter Cell: Conviction Persistent Character System Discussed

GameTrailers posted a nice, long video interview last weekend with Splinter Cell: Conviction creative director Maxime Beland, who was quite eager to blast through a lot of the new features that would be delighting fans next month.

Among them was the Persistence Elite Creation System (PEC), which is basically the Rainbow Six Vegas customization options in a nutshell. It was also included in H.A.W.X., and will appear again in Conviction. Cases like the one pictured above will be a regular sight, serving as a customization menu for you to tinker with your toys.

Transformers: War for Cybertron Preview Through Time And Space

Bigger, badder, and the cleanest co-op Transformers has delivered to date. Transformers: War For Cybertron has everything a fan of the series could possibly want. Story that fills in the origins of our favorite Autobots and Decepticons, 3 player co-op, and transformations at the touch of a button. ArsTechnica.com was taken on a tour of the war-torn Cybertron, and brought back some details for us to enjoy.

Co-Op Not So Casual Friday: Buying The AC/DC Rock Band Track Pack On Black Friday

Today, I'll share with you a harrowing tale of death-defying, madness-inducing consumerism at it's very worst: attempting to buy the AC/DC Rock Band Track Pack. On the day after Thanksgiving, Black Friday, 2008. At a Wal-mart Supercenter. At 4:30 in the morning!

Square Off Co-Op Review

Great music, quirky, awesome animations and art, 4 player co-op and aliens. What more do you need? Well, okay, we agree. There are some other elements that make or break a game, and we'll take a look into those elements with Square Off and let you know what we thought.

Brink Creative Director Discusses Background, Experience System, and Campaigns

It's fair to say that many of us around Co-Optimus HQ (which will be undergoing a few renovations soon) are a wee bit excited about Splash Damage's and Bethesda's upcoming co-op title, Brink.  After all, the last cinematic trailer we saw had us making up all new words to describe the game's co-op.  Of course, while these kinds of details and reveals are nice, there's still been some questions about what players can expect out of the campaign.  Gamespot Australia recently spoke with Richard Ham, the game's creative director, about the game's background, how the experience system works, and the two campaigns players can run through.

[Update] Sol Survivor PC Impressions Added

Earlier this week, Sol Survivor, the indie co-op tower defense title previously only available via XBox LIVE Indie Games, was brought to the PC through Steam and Impulse.  This transition between gaming platforms is more than just a port, though, as the PC version comes with a few community demanded (and needed) enhancements.  We've updated our previous Sol Survivor review with a new page that gives our impressions of this latest version.

Iron Sights, Sticky Cover, and Co-Op: Bodycount Preview

What could be better than a spiritual successor to Black, one of the most interesting and downright fun single-player shooters from the last generation? A spiritual successor...with co-op.

If you're new to Co-Optimus, you may not be completely familiar with our everyday language and attitude. Here's a hint: we love co-op. We claw and scratch for it, and when we get it we critique it to make sure it was given justice. On the chopping block today: Bodycount, which we already confirmed will be getting a separate co-op campaign.

Co-Optimus 3.0 Coming Tonight

Starting tonight around 9PM EDT, Co-Optimus.com will be down, unavailable or just plain acting goofy as we upgrade ourselves to a brand new site. 

What can you expect to find when we come back online around 11PM?  You'll just have to come back and see, but there's literally dozens of new features as well as a fresh coat of paint.  I think everyone is going to be very happy, at least, I hope they are.    

Are you ready to join the revolution?