It's a weekend of cookouts and fireworks in the United States, but that won't stop most of us from gaming!

Nothing says Independence Day than fighting gigantic monsters for gold.  With that Capcom has released a brand new free downloadable quest for Monster Hunter Freedom Unite on the PSP. 

Capcom has released a fresh hot and steaming batch of screenshots for their upcoming two player co-op on rails shooter, Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles.  The game was announced back when Resident Evil 5 released, and is a wii exclusive title that takes players through the story of Resident Evil 2 from a slightly different gameplay style.

Anyone involved in some sort of daily or ongoing operations department knows that there is always a cost of operations to each and every task. A bit of "give and take". This month we apply that principle to Co-Op Couples.

We've established that Trine is worth owning without a doubt in our minds. We're also pretty sure the Xbox audience is quite extensive in the Co-op community, while Trine is sadly absent on this console. So, we would like you guys to speak up! Do something about the release of Trine to the Xbox 360! Joystiq has recently mentioned the possibility that Trine may be coming to the Xbox 360, but it wouldn't hurt to encourage Frozenbyte and Microsoft, anyway!  

Grandmaster Flash is one of the most influential and well known DJs ever.  Today, Activision has announced that the GMF himself is lending his voice and likeness to DJ Hero.  Many consider Flash as the father of modern DJing.

Codemasters has just released a fresh bullet filled batch of screenshots for Operation Flashpoint 2: Dragon Rising.  The four player co-op title is set to be released on the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC this fall.  

I've been a PC gamer for over 20 years now, and building systems just as long.  The one thing that's never changed in all that time is the difficulty that goes into the decision of buying a new piece of hardware for your computer.  This is part of the reason companies like Alienware, Dell, and HP do so well at selling pre-built computers.  

While we've seen some pretty amazing custom levels on PlayStation 3's Little Big Planet, Microsoft's answer to a user generated content game is a bit different.  The toolkit is called Kodu, and it's designed from the ground up to be a visual programming experience.

Reviews Beyond Co-Op Reviews Ghostbusters (Wii) Ghostbusters (360/PS3) EA Sports Active (Wii) Killing Floor (PC) Ghost Squad (Wii)

I have a confession to make, Co-Optimus readers. There is a truly excellent co-op game that I have neglected to play until only recently. My status as editor and resident classic gaming guru is in serious jeapordy. How could I have put off buying a game with "Retro" in the title for so long? How foolish it was for me to overlook Geometry Wars Retro Evolved 2!

Earlier today, we posted our review of Damnation, a highly anticipated co-op title. We went into this review with an open mind, in spite of the other reviews we'd read. It was not our intention to post this less-than-thrilled review on the eve of such terrible news for the developers. We wished the outcome were different both for the review, and developers circumstances. Unfortunately, the Development staff for Damnation have all hit the unemployment lines after recent layoffs.