This month in our Beyond Co-Op Reviews we take a look at quite a few solid titles. We compare the open worlds of Prototype against inFAMOUS; we look at what happens when Plants and Zombies mix. We also check out Knights in the Nightmare, Bionic Commando and the latest Indiana Jones title.

It seems like all we do is post "deals" lately, but I guess in these tough economic times a lot of folks are interested in them.  That being said you can get yourself a solid co-op game for half price this week on both the Xbox Live Arcade and PlayStation Network in Bionic Commando: Rearmed.  The game normally runs $10, or 800  but is on special for $4.99 or 400 .

The game features a two player local co-op mode for some bionic swinging and grappling action.  Be sure to check out our full review of the game.

Update: It appears that the XBL version isn't 400 points, while the PSN version still is until Thursday.

Microsoft is holding their second annual Xbox Live Arcade Awards, and just like last year, all voting is done by users of Xbox Live.  

The arcade games are broken down into categories, and you have all the usual suspect;  Best Overall Game, Best Graphics, Most Innovative, etc.  There's also a a separate category for Best Co-Op Game, which is a nice treat.

And the nominees for Best Cooperative Multiplayer in an arcade game are....
 

Castle Crashers

Schizoid

Bionic Commando Rearmed

N+

Geometry Wars Retro Evolved 2

So there you have it!  There's even a few of those nominated for best overall.

Make sure you head onto Xbox Live to cast your ballot.  Voting begins tomorrow and runs until March 10th.  More information can be found at the official website.

I know what I'd vote for....

Source: Link

Back in May of last year, the word got out the Bionic Commando: Rearmed would lack online play despite sporting both multiplayer and co-op modes.  Obviously this disappointed us, as it seems to be the case all too often these days, developers get things almost right in terms of a fully featured game. 

It's now some 9 months later and in a post mortem with Gamasutra, Capcom's Ben Judd analyzes the entire development process and the outcome.  Perhaps unsurprisingly Ben sticks by their decision to cut online play.

As frustrating as all the "no online play = no buy" comments were to read, in hindsight, this was the right choice. After seeing the large amount of headaches, additional production time, and cost that comes with adding online, I'm glad we made the choice not to include it.

Ben even pushed the game's developer GRIN to at least include an online co-op mode. 

To give GRIN credit, even though I initially put pressure on them to add in online co-op, they gave it to me straight. They knew that adding online would be a huge amount of risk

Regardless of what he says, I bought this game and played it maybe twice.  If I would have had an online partner I may have taken the time to complete it.  Perhaps I'm the fool for giving them the money.

Source: Link

Capcom seems to be the king of co-op classic remakes with titles like 1942: Joint Strike and Wolf of the Battlefield: Commando 3 both getting an overhaul for next gen systems.  And while the previously mentioned titles always had co-op, Capcom's latest forray didn't.  Bionic Commando: Rearmed takes the classic grappling game and adds a two player co-op mode for the Xbox Live Arcade, PlayStation Network and PC.  So does the game stand the test of time?  Does the co-op mode feel like a worthy addition?  Read our full review and find out.

There are two co-op games hitting this week, one a remake of a classic title, while another is a new game in a familiar series.

Space Siege continues Chris Taylor's "Siege" series which was made famous by Dungeon Siege.  Space Siege is a little more action oriented, but features a 4-player co-op campaign that's different from the regular story.  The game will be available Wednesday, August 13th for Windows PCs.

Bionic Commando: Rearmed is a reimagining of the classic NES game Bionic Commando.  The new game features a brand new 2 player local co-op mode through the game's campaign.  The game will hit PC for $15 or Xbox Live Arcade and PlayStation Network for $10 on Wednesday.

We here at Co-Optimus are quite excited for the upcoming release of Bionic Commando Rearmed, an update of the classic NES game, on both PSN and XBLA.

Courtesy of the Official Playstation Blog via Ben Judd, producer of the game, is the start of some news of PSN version exclusives for the game.

He announces that the game will have DualShock 3 support for vibrating and Remote Play via the PSP.  There is also one other exclusive that he isn't quite willing to part with this time around.  We await with baited breath to see what it is.  Maybe they put in online co-op?  One can only hope.

Sometimes I just don't get why developers continually shoot themselves in the foot.  From cutting co-op completely in Prototype, to not including a co-op mode in the campaign in Ghostbusters - it just doesn't make sense.  The time to cost ratio of something like that has got to be worth it.   And PLEASE don't give me the design decisions excuse. 

Now from the latest interview with Siliconera, the developers of Bionic Commando Rearmed for the XBLA and PSN have let slip there is no online play in the game...none.  Not in co-op... not in "multiplayer"; no online play at all.   You are limited to local play only on a single box.

Unfortunately, since the game was never intended to have co-op or multiplayer we were stuck with a tough decision—either cut co-op out so that people would not complain about the lack of online, or keep it in there as a nice little bonus mode. Don’t get me wrong, I do understand that a majority of XBLA and PSN games come with some form of online in them so we may not have hit that standard, but when people see just how much game they are getting for 10 dollars, I think they will be pleasantly surprised.

Lame-O-Rama.  I'll tell you one thing, they better not release online play for an additional price later.  This game just went from a must buy - to a wait and see. 

I was going to tell you about this sweet contest for the upcoming co-optorific Bionic Commando: ReArmed, but don't bother I've already got the contest in the bag. See that sweet level design there. Jealous? Yeah, that's right, that's my entry and I'm totally gonna win this thing.

Capcom's really into this whole Bionic Commando thing and I couldn't be happier. Now they've just announced a cool little contest for designing your very own "challenge level" level in the upcoming ReArmed arcade title for Xbox Live and PSN. All you've got to do is draw a totally awesome level, i.e. the one I've already done (don't copy it, I know you want to).

All the rules are available here, as well as a diagram of the different components to build your level out of. If you win all you get is your level in the game when it comes out. The contest began Wednesday, February 27th, and ends Wednesday, March 12, 2008. Good luck.