It’s been a tough few weeks for me. After losing my job last week, I was having trouble focusing on what I should be doing next with my career. Obviously it’s all about finding my next job, but times are tight and I've been struggling to have things "work out". Luckily, Co-Optimus has been keeping me busy with work while I job hunt. Needless to say, I’ve been doing a bunch of gaming, which has also lead me to falling in love with a series that I had previously chosen to ignore.

Dungeon Defenders, the super popular hack and slash/tower defense hybrid, has had a constant flow of DLC since its launch last fall. Much of the new content; accessories, costumes, and characters, is only available on the PC. However, the four part series, "The Quest for the Lost Eternia Shards," is available on both PC and consoles.

Last month we got our grubby little co-op loving hands on a very charming puzzle platformer called Wyv and Keep. Though it's not quite finished, we were definitely impressed with what we saw. Today, we speak with the game's developers, Jesse and Beau from A Jolly Corpse, about their inspirations for the game, how they got into game development, and unconventional co-op.

We love getting user submissions for Co-Op Couples. There are all sorts of pairs of people out there, with a wide variety of gaming experience (and inexperience). This month, Co-Optimus forum legend "justabaldguy", AKA James, shares a few observations about gaming with his wife.

Torchlight 2 is now up on Steam available for Pre-Order, simply listed with a "Summer" release.  The game is listed at $19.99, but there's a few ways you can get more value for your money.  First, simply pre-ordering the game will net you a copy of the original Torchlight.  Seconds, you can snag a four pack of the game for $60, which is basically giving you a free copy of Torchlight 2!

PlayStation Plus members are once again being treated to a stellar month of perks. Sony's online subscription service is offering up several free games this May. My subscription paid for itself last month, and I'm looking forward to adding to my collection.

Zut alors!  It appears that no matter which nation Amazon exists in, they always manage to leak information about forthcoming games.  The latest Amazonian culprit is Amazon France.  They have revealed that Sony plan to produce a pack containing all three Resistance games on May 16th.  Resistance: Fall of Man, Resistance 2 and Resistance 3 all contained co-op modes.

Ever wanted to know what happened to the TimeSplitters series? After waiting years for additional news on the TimeSplitters 4 development, we discovered that the game’s long awaited return might be sooner than we thought.

A new trailer has surfaced for the upcoming third-person shooter, Starhawk. The game's space western vibe is in full effect as we're introduced to "blue gold," the rift energy that drives the fortunes of men like our protagonist, Emmett Graves. This game is really tickling my fun zone. The beta was a blast and the gameplay footage from this trailer looks amazing. 

Steel Battalion: Heavy Armor, the Kinect-exclusive followup to Capcom's classic mech simulator, won't be released until June. But gamers now have some incentive to order it straight away, thanks to three retailer-specific preorder bonuses. Amazon, Best Buy, and GameStop are all offering unique armor sets with which to deck out your mechs. Capcom has even gone the extra mile to aid players in their purchasing decisions, creating trailers for each armor and explaining their functions.

The House of the Dead 4 is making its console debut on the PlayStation Network. Is it a worthy entry in the series or should it have stayed buried in an arcade cabinet? Find out in our Co-Op Review. BONUS: Leave a comment an win a PSN code for the full game!

Pucker up co-op candy lovers.  We've got a brand new contest for you today for the recently released game, World Gone Sour.  Word on the street is the two player co-op game is pretty solid, maybe even a little gooey - we won't know for sure till Friday when our review goes live - but that doesn't mean we can't share some candy with you today!