The days are getting longer, warmer, and just a bit more busy. Yes, summer is finally arriving and we've got some fun things planned for you all with our Indie-Ana Co-Op feature. Before we get there, though, we thought we'd do a quick retrospective of some of our winter and spring highlights.

There are a fair number of PC games just around the corner, some of which have been 10 years in the making (good to finally see you again Diablo), while others put you and your friends into the shoes of military with the latest tech in Ghost Recon Future Soldier. Your PC may be up to the task of rendering these games in all their glory, but are your mouse and keyboard ready?

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.

This week in Indie-Ana Co-Op we protect the sherbet farms of the galaxy (from whence did you think sherbet came?) from those that wish to take it all for themselves. You know, like space hippies and space squids.

One of the more popular ways indie devs are getting their games out there in front of an ever growing audience of gamers is to team up with a few other developers (some might say they are cooperating) to offer their game as part of some form of bundle deal. GamersGate.com is offering their own indie game bundle, the IndieFort, starting today and going until next Friday, and in their bundle there's at least one cooperative game that caught our eye: Wanderlust: Rebirth.

For "hardcore" real-time strategy fans, the thought of a 4X game, in this case Legends of Pegasus, that combines turn-based strategy planning with real-time strategy combat is likely one of those dream situations. The fact that it also includes cooperative gameplay is a dream situation for us here at Co-Optimus. But sometimes a dream is too good to be true until you've got a little more information. Fortunately, Charles Husemann of Gaming Nexus spoke with Novacore Studios, the game's developers, about what players can expect from this space adventure.

This week in Indie-Ana Co-Op we satisfy our loot-whoring cravings with an Xbox Live Indie Game that provides some enjoyable hack n' slash action in Mega Monster Mania.

The spring gaming season is well underway and we've already seen a slew of co-op game releases, like Binary Domain, Journey, and Shoot Many Robots, where cooperative gameplay was a focus for the game from the start. Yet we've also seen some major AAA releases, like Mass Effect 3, hit store shelves where the addition of a multiplayer component is something new for the series; or an existing series, such as The Darkness II, swap it's formerly competitive multiplayer mode for a strictly cooperative one. Finally, you have the revival of older games that have had their format completely changed - leaving them ripe for the traditional player vs player multiplayer style to which we've grown accustomed - and still maintain the co-op gameplay (we're looking at you, Syndicate).

Last week we had some news about an upcoming indie puzzle/platform co-op title, Wyv and Keep, that's currently slated for a PC release; though plans are in the work to take it to other consoles/platforms. We got a few additional details about what the game’s co-op mode would entail, and this week we bring you a full hands-on preview of the alpha version.

As a fan of any indie co-op title that combines two of my most nostalgic loves (8-bit or 16-bit graphics and puzzle platformers), I've been keeping an eye on a jolly corpse's Wyv and Keep. Described as a "grid-based puzzle/action game starring two young treasure hunters", players control the titular heroes, Wyv (pronounced "wiv") and Keep, as they explore ancient ruins in search of loot and a way out. While the game's been in development for some time, the game has reached that level of development where the developer's are accepting preorders (for just $7.99) and are releasing a little more than just a handful of screen grabs... including a demonstration of the online co-op in action!

Welcome to Beyond Co-Op, a weekly piece that talks about industry stories that may or may not be related to co-op gaming.  We like to take a look around the industry and see what news and links may interest you in the world of gaming.

It was barely a week ago that we brought news of a new 2 player brawler hitting the XBLA, Kung Fu Strike: The Warrior's Rise. At that time, we had only a small glimpse of what's in store with this arcade title that draws from classic Chinese tales of revenge, Chinese calligraphy art style, and, of course, Chinese martial arts. A new trailer, though, provides us with a better picture of how all of these pieces tie together.

At the start of any dating relationship, there are always a lot of firsts. First date; first kiss; first time introducing one another as boyfriend/girlfriend. For a gamer, perhaps one of the more important firsts, though, is first game played together. The question is: which one?

There is a Chinese proverb that goes along the lines of this: "Never admire a man by his strength; judge him in how he uses it." This saying seems to lie at the core of Qooc Soft's and 7sixty's recently announced co-op beat 'em up title for the XBLA, Kung-Fu Strike: The Warrior's Rise. Mixing up equal parts 3D brawler (seemingly in the vein of the Dynasty Warriors series) with a brush art style that is reminiscent of the most recent Street Fighter, Kung-Fu Strike certainly seems to be shaping up to be a solid co-op release title. Little is known at this point, though, about the game beyond its setting, core gameplay mechanics, and that it will support 2 player local co-op (possibly campaign). With a release date of "early this year," this announcement trailer and handful of screen caps will have to slake your thirst for martial arts mayhem until more details arise.

There will be no need to "breach" your 360 or PS3 in order to enjoy the 4 player online co-op mode in Starbreeze's upcoming revival of the PC classic Syndicate. In a move that's a bit different from how they (and many other publishers) are currently releasing games, publisher EA has stated that no online pass will be required in order to play the game with friends. This means that whether you buy the game used or new, you'll have access to all of the content that originally comes on the disc.