The Co-Opticrew is gearing up for E3 2011 which kicks off Monday June 6th with the press conferences and runs until Thursday, June 9th. We've got a loaded calendar loaded with 40 appointments - most of which is to see cooperative titles. Lets take a look at what you can expect in terms of our coverage for the week which includes conferences, demos, and hands-on time with games.
If you're anything like me, when you hear the word "Payday," you probably think of a delicious snack. Okay, not just a simple snack, the best non-chocolate based candy bar ever created. Sony Online Entertainment and Overkill Software are looking to change that Pavlovian response. SOE Executive...
We have great expectations for Hunted: The Demon's Forge. The title has been built specifically for co-op play. Featuring two distinct characters, online and split screen co-op, plus an epic quest, does this action RPG live up to the hype? Find out in our Co-Op Review.
Have you preordered upcoming zombie survival game Dead Island yet? If so, is the retailer Gamestop? If it isn't, you may want to reconsider your options. Gamestop has the exclusive rights to the Dead Island Special Edition which is a fancy name for a pre-order bonus. For a limited time and while supplies last, preorders at Gamestop will be automatically upgraded to the special edition which will score you the Bloodbath Arena DLC ($10 value) for free and before any of your friends. The DLC offers a new arena mode for the game available in both single-player and co-op. Players will battle off waves of zombies where each wave increases in difficulty (sound familar?). You'll be able to bring back the XP and items back to your campaigns, which is pretty sweet. Also provided in the DLC is the exclusive weapon, the brain wave bomb. For those who do not preorder from Gamestop, the Bloodbath Arena DLC will be available for purchase shortly after Dead Island's release. The Dead Island Special Edition will also feature exclusive box art and a blueprint for a special weapon, the "Ripper," which I'm told is the offspring of a baseball bat and a buzz saw.
That picture right there ladies and gentlemen is Nathan Drake in a box. Its the collector's edition of Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception for the PlayStation 3 and it comes jam packed with awesomeness. Nathan Drake statue with realistic half tuck action? Check. Nathan Drake belt buckle? Check. Sir Francis Drake ring? Check. It's like your very own archeological find...that you paid money for. Oh right, it comes with the game too. There's also a whole lot of retailer exclusive mumbo jumbo which you can read about here.
Welcome to Beyond Co-Op, a weekly piece that talks about industry stories that may or may not be related to co-op gaming.
One of the finest co-op beat 'em ups of all time, X-Men Arcade, is coming to a phone near you. The mutant slugfest is now available for iOS devices, for the relatively low price of a dozen quarters ($2.99). Multiplayer is supported for up to four players, and leaderboards and Facebook integrations round out the game's mutant abilities. The game is only compatible with third gen and beyond devices, so iPhone 3G users are out of luck. It's great to see more and more classic games available on a variety of platforms these days!
Would those of you who don't like free stuff please raise your hand. What, none of you? Ok then. Lets talk about a kick ass contest for free stuff going on over at Raptr, the site that helps track your gaming habits. Recently we told you about their new feature that gives you custom news feeds into the games you are already playing from awesome sources like Co-Optimus - now just by following special topics you can be entered to win prizes.
Another weekend has arrived, which normally means lots of co-op gaming for your diligent Co-Optimus staff. However, due to a variety of circumstances, notably preparations for next week's E3, most of the staff are on the go this time around. A good selection of portable gaming is thus in store for many of us.
(This news bit - and its ridiculous, misleading, and super-corny title - is exactly why you name a game Bodycount. It's built-in public relations, and it's so hard for guys like me not to take the bait.)
The latest video of gameplay footage for Rage is action-packed, if you don't count the first two minutes and fifteen seconds. The first couple of minutes introduce characters, setting, plot, etc. That's nice and all, but you really want to see someone get zapped with an electric crossbow. Well, you're in luck! Do you want to see someone take a throwing blade to the head? It's got that too! What about deployable turrets? Everybody likes turrets, right? There's plenty of close up shotgun blasts and explosive crossbow bolts for the whole family to enjoy! (As long as your whole family is over 17.)
The first thing I thought when I saw the above picture was, "Whoa! Spock jacked a plasma rifle from an Elite Covenant! Crossover madness! ," My second thought: "Judging by the bloom alone, the new Star Trek game will be based on the J.J. Abrams movie." Well, I was half right. The new game will continue the story from the J.J. Abrams Star Trek film. Sadly, there's still no word on a Master Chief appearance. While we don't know much about it yet, we do know the game is being billed as a co-op experience where players team up as Kirk and Spock "to stop a legendary enemy race bent on conquering the galaxy." (My guess is something humanoid with minor, yet distinctive changes to otherwise normal homo sapien facial features.) We also know that the game will be at E3 next week, so we'll be able to pick up all the co-op details for our database there.
