Over 40 years after his creation, Pac-Man remains a popular character among both gamers and mainstream audiences. The Pac’s legacy lives on in the gaming world thanks to intermittent sequels, remasters (like Pac-Man World Re-Pac), and collections. Pac-Man Museum Plus is the latest collection of Pac-Man games, a sequel to 2014’s Pac-Man ...
Earlier this month, Spanish publisher Meridiem Games promised that physical editions of Fury Unleashed from Awesome Games Studio would be coming in the future. Now we know when those boxed games will arrive: the end of September. Hey, if you've waited this long to play Fury Unleashed, the clever run-and-gun platformer/Roguelike with local and online co-op, then a few more months shouldn't be so bad.
The original Capcom Arcade Stadium is a collection of 32 arcade classics from Capcom spanning 1984-2001. Capcom has a lot more arcade titles than that, though, hence the upcoming release of Capcom Arcade 2nd Stadium. The main collection will be a free download with one included co-op game: SonSon. The remaining titles can be purchased individually or via bundle. Making sense of all the DLC and the scope of the collection can be daunting, so here's a full games list sorted by title, release date, and co-op features.
Earlier this month, Sega announced the Mega Drive Mini 2 for the Japanese market. The new mini console will feature over 50 games, 20 of which will be Mega CD games. Excitement for this type of product largely depends on the included games, so Sega is announcing the Mega Drive 2 Mini's titles in batches. The latest batch of games includes the co-op classic The Ninja Warriors and several ports of arcade classics. Interestingly, an analog flight stick will be available for the Mega Drive Mini 2 as well.
For cooperatively-minded folks like us, Zombies mode is usually the highlight of any Call of Duty game. That certainly holds true for Call of Duty: Vanguard, which has the series' best Zombies mode in recent memory. Things got even better this week thanks to the deployment of "Shi No Numa," Vanguard's third Zombies map (and a returning favorite from past games). We spent a couple of hours in the deadly swamp-based map and had a bloody good time.
Beat 'em ups have always been perfect games for co-op play. It all started with the 1987 arcade release of Double Dragon, a game that popularized co-op in a big way. Technos would go on to release The Combatribes, another quality beat 'em up that never made it quite as big as its forebear. Fast-forwarding to today, the iiRcade version of The Combatribes now supports 2-player online co-op! iiRcade is a home arcade platform for which users can buy individual games, a growing number of which feature online multiplayer.
A while back, Baltoro Games announced that Urban Flow, the traffic management puzzle game, would be heading to multiple platforms after first launching on Switch. Time has passed, roads have been laid and rerouted, and the prediction has finally come to pass: Urban Flow has launched on Xbox. At last, up to four local Xbox players can work together to manage traffic lights, let cars through busy intersections, and avoid deadly collisions.
The Pocky & Rocky series has always enjoyed a cult classic status, with those in the know quietly celebrating each new game's release over the years. Pocky & Rocky Reshrined, which just launched today on PlayStation and Switch, seems to enjoy a fair bit more hype than usual. Perhaps Reshrined's colorful, hyper-detailed 2D artwork has something to do with it. The latest game in the top-down shooting series is quite a looker, and it also features an unlockable local co-op mode.
Bandai Namco's Taiko no Tatsujin is a delightful music game series featuring optional drum controllers. The series always makes for a great time; we had a blast with Taiko no Tatsujin: The Drum Master on Xbox. Drumming with friends is even more fun than going solo, of course, which makes the release date announcement for Taiko no Tatsujin: Rhythm Festival all the more exciting. When Rhythm Festival arrives on Nintendo Switch in September, it will feature 4-player local co-op.
Strange Brigade is a cooperative third-person shooter from Rebellion that doesn't get as much love as it should. Well, the Switch version of the game has at least earned a pair of upcoming physical editions from Super Rare Games. Collectors will be able to get either a standard physical edition or a fancy Steelbook. Considering that Strange Brigade has a fun, adventurous story and great 4-player online co-op, the only strange thing is how long it took these physical versions to come about.
If your summer has been going a little too slow, we've got some good news for you. Sonic Origins, the collection of Sonic the Hedgehog 1-3, Sonic and Knuckles, and Sonic CD, is here. It's an exciting collection because its super-speedy 2D platformers have all been remade in a new engine that adds widescreen support and other enhancements. As always, Sonic 2 features 2-player local co-op, and Knuckles is even playable now.
Final Vendetta from Bitmap Bureau and Numskull Games isn't the easiest beat 'em up around. In our co-op review, my number one complaint is the punishing difficulty. The game offers no continues, challenging players to reach the end on a single credit. As it turns out, though, each stage contains a secret life that can make reaching the horrendous final boss a fair bit easier. We're here to help with directions and screenshots for all the hidden lives!
