In case you've been hiding under a rock the past few days, and haven't checked out our banner, we're a little bit excited about the release of Gears of War 2 today. In keeping with the theme, then, I decided to go with a classic that was similar in tone to Gears 2. Perusing the list of classics in our database, I found Rush'n Attack. I'm sure there are closer matches to Gears of War, but both games feature macho soldiers, a variety of weapons, and, well, war. I downloaded the demo off of Xbox Live Arcade, and tried it out for a bit. That experience is the focus of Co-Op Classics this week.
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A few weeks back, we had a contest, giving away three copies of Duke Nukem on XBLA. A nice bonus for the winners was the promise of playing co-op Duke Nukem 3D with the Co-Optimus staff. Last Saturday night, one of the winners got together with us for some old school, one-liner spoutin' action. Since Duke Nukem is such a classic, and features co-op, it's only natural that our report on the action would be the topic of this week's Co-Op Classics.
For quite some time now, I've been on the lookout for the oldest videogame featuring co-operative gameplay. Of course, this all depends on your definition of co-op. Here at Co-Optimus, we don't consider team or squad based games to be true co-op; working together against a non-human opponent would count, though. This disqualifies the first titles that popped into my head, like Atari Football and all the crazy Pong clones that featured more than two players. (To my knowledge, you couldn't use an AI player for these games.) The game we'll look at this week may not actually be the oldest co-op game there is, but it certainly predates early classics like Gauntlet and Contra. Mario Brothers may be famous for other reasons, but it's still a solid co-op experience.
This week, we'll mix up the Co-Op Classics formula just a bit. It has certainly been a huge news week, particularly today with the announcement of another class, the Wizard, in Diablo III. Much as the original announcement of the game did this past summer, this got me to thinking about the original Diablo games. Obviously, co-op was a huge factor in the success of these games. So which class combinations are the most effective? I'll give you my take on a combo from Diablo 2, and we'd love to hear from the Co-Optimus community as well. Which class combinations do you feel are the best?
As the resident classic co-op maniac, I found this blog post over at YetiKitn to be very entertaining. The author details some classic co-op gaming moments, spurred on by the recent release of Castle Crashers. Many of the games in this story have appeared on our own column dedicated to the golden oldies, Co-Op Classics. I have to admit, there were several games on the list I was unaware of. (Cowboys of Moo Mesa? I'm gonna check that out for sure!) However, the author loses a bit of geek cred when referring to the Avengers as the Justice League. Bonus points, though, for mentioning Moonwalker, a game from the days when Michael Jackson wasn't just a punch line. What say you, Co-Optimus readers? What are your memories of these games?
Today's featured game is not what most people would generally think of as a co-operative experience. I certainly have more than my fair share of memories of playing against others, and not with them, in this classic title. However, the co-op experiences I had were particularly memorable, and in fact may have saved my life. That may be an exaggeration, but still, co-op probably prevented me getting punched in the nose, at the very least. Let's look, then, at the co-op aspects of what I consider to be the greatest video game of all time, bar none: StarCraft.
It's no secret that I am a comic book superhero fan. Superhero games, then, are usually quite enjoyable for me. Lego Batman came out just this past week; we picked it up, and love it. Over the summer, for a Co-Op night, Marvel: Ultimate Alliance was the game of choice, and I was happy. Way back in the first Co-Op Classics, we looked at my all time favorite, X-Men: The Arcade Game. This gem of a game was even mentioned in the most recent Co-Opticast. Today, we'll dig a little deeper for a title that wasn't quite so memorable, but was still a favorite of mine: Captain America and the Avengers.
This week, Co-Op Classics is all about our trip to the 1984 Arcade. Last week, we gave you a little preview, and now, the full report. Which games hold up the best after 20 or so years? Which are total clunkers? Could I keep up with four 14 year old boys hyped up on soda pop and cheesburgers? (The answer to that one: not really.) Read on to find out!
Co-Op Classics is going to be a bit different this week, and next. Rather than selecting one classic game, we'll have a much broader focus. I have a unique opportunity this evening, and in a sense, it's a bit like going into a Delorean, hitting 88 MPH, and going back in time, to my childhood. I'll be taking a car full of teenagers to a real life honest to goodness arcade. My eldest son turns 14 today, and like any good gamer, he chose to spend his birthday playing video games with his friends. This week, I'll talk about the games featured at this arcade, and next week I'll have mini-reviews for each game, plus some pictures of the "co-opery".
As promised in our last column, we'll take a look at Sega's Altered Beast this week. First gaining fame as an arcade hit, Altered Beast eventually got released for the Sega's classic Genesis system. Back before Sonic (it's hard to remember back that far, isn't it?), Altered Beast was the pack-in game for the Genesis. You'd better hope you sprang for the extra controller, because Altered Beast was a co-op fan's dream.
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Rainbow Six: Vegas 2 on Playstation 3
Super Smash Bros. Brawl on Wii
Gears of War (Windows) on PC
Castle Crashers on Xbox Live Arcade
Pixel Junk Monsters on Playstation Network
View the top Co-Op Games on Each Platform including our family friendly list!
