Call me a computer game geek, but I do like to look at concept art.  So much imagination and skill is put into designs that may never see the light of day, you have to appreciate the effort.  Frozenbyte Games have proven with earlier images for Trine 2 that they can create stunning art and the upcoming DLC for the game looks to be no different.  A new video highlights some of the concept art and the role it plays in creating a game.  The DLC is planned for release on XBLA, PSN and PC later in the year.

I have no doubt in my mind that the widely praised platformer title, Rayman Origins, will be getting a well deserved sequel in the future. From a few screenshots taken from a marketing survey, the type of game the sequel will be like has seeming been hinted at. So far, it looks like it involves a vast world including Greek gods and dragons, both of which are equally viable in a formula for “awesome”.

We have a new cinematic story trailer for Torchlight 2 today. It features a lady hero, a dude hero, and a lot of the color brown, which is odd. Both Torchlight games are very colorful, and you would think developer Runic Games wouldn't hide that fact. Even though the video has a dull muted color it's full of action. If is looks a little Shank-esque, that's because the folks over at Klei Entertainment lent a hand. Check it out and give us your two cents.

Welcome to Episode 2 of Good Coop. Bad Coop. - a tale of two three friends who love playing games together. After taking a break from from killing insects in Earth Defense Force: Insect Armageddon in the last season, our co-op friends are ready to try their hands in another game - Call of Juarez: The Cartel.

Alright Magic the Gathering fans, it is time to hole up in your painkeep and get battling with a new entry into the Duels of the Planeswalkers series. Wizards of the Coasts has announced Magic the Gathering: Duels of the Planeswalkers 2013, the next version of the popular card combat game which will be hitting all the regular downloadable platforms including iOS. 

Oh, thank goodness. We're almost out of April. This month has been dismal for co-op games. At one point it looked promising, but a few titles got delayed. When all was said and done, we had a paltry eight co-op releases. Three of those were PC ports of games that had already hit consoles. Of the remaining five, three were smaller downloadable titles.  Kinect Star Wars was the only  co-op retail game that launched this month. At least some single player games picked up the slack, or else I would have had to pay attention to my kids. At least next month looks promising. 

Details of Mercenary Ops have been revealed via the launch of the official website.  The game is in development by Epic Games China, otherwise known as Yin Pei Games and is being published by Kalends Publishing.  While our co-op details before touted 16 players, the official website is now saying the cooperative mode will support 8 players.  In it players will " combat the devastation unleashed by multinational, government toppling organizations."

This year at PAX East, the showfloor was bursting with MMOs, Free-to-Play (F2P) games, and F2P MMOs. We went hands-on with some and were shown the demo for others. If you missed our impressions of these games before, sit back and relax while I round them up for you and break them down.

According to Splash Damage CEO Paul Westwood, the 8 player co-op game Brink has sold more than 2.5 million copies to date.  The game was released last year to mixed reviews, though Co-Optimus felt it was a solid title.  

Guys. GUYS! Did you know that there are games out there that AREN'T CO-OP? You did? Yeah, me too. Though we prefer co-op with our gaming, there's plenty of awesome single player or competitive multiplayer stuff out there, too. Each weekend, we take a look at a few of the biggest non co-op news stories that caught our eye.

When looking down the list of Xbox 360 exclusives for 2012 two things become apparent; it’s a short list, but it contains Halo 4, so who cares?  Halo 4 has a planned release of November 6th and although Firefight is no more, the new Spartan Ops mode has been included in its stead.  Keen to keep the hype machine fully rolling, Microsoft has released some concept art for the game and some screenshots. Check out Read More for the new gallery.

This month's Co-Op International column looks at Dodonpachi Resurrection, an ultra-hard bullet hell shoot-em-up. Does co-op make the game any easier? Not really. On the bright side, Rising Star's European Deluxe Edition is region-free and available in English!