Whenever you discuss a "classic" in any field, nostalgia plays a large role. The lens of nostalgia makes any old thing you remember look much better than it may actually deserve to be. Today's co-op classic, Twin Cobra, is a good example of this effect.

Could there be a better combination than chicks in chainmail bikinis and zombies?  We think not, especially when we've featured both games in Co-Op Classics!  Brain eating undead and magic wielding warrior women are both headed to the Wii this week, via the Virtual Console service.

Zombies Ate My Neighbors is a fine 16 bit home console gem.  You and a friend can control a spiky haired, 3D glasses wearing boy, or a young lady in short shorts as they, you guessed it, save their neighbors from zombies.  The gameplay is pretty simple, but the style of the game is quite charming, and it's well worth the 800 Wii Points.

Golden Axe is more well known, and for good reason.  It's one of the first and best brawlers from the height of the arcade era.  Swords, sorcery, dwarves, and the aforementioned chainmail bikinis all make for a good time with a friend.  The release is based on the actual arcade version, and will set you back 900 Wii points.

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Finding the earliest example of a cooperative video game has long been a quest of mine.  In this column, we've covered some of the oldest and most important co-op games.  Mario Bros., from 1982, features co-op exactly as we define it here at Co-Optimus. Joust had a form of co-op, too, and it was released a few months before Mario Bros.  Today, we look at an even earlier classic game with cooperative elements: Space Invaders II.

Back in the early 90s, Capcom was the king of the arcade.  The co-op brawler genre was extremely popular, and many of the best brawlers were from Capcom.  Another Capcom gem is the topic for discussion today: Knights of the Round.

A new iteration of one of the top co-op franchises on any system was released this week.  We're talking, of course, of Halo 3 ODST.  The game that started it all was Halo: Combat Evolved for the original Xbox.  Previous-gen consoles are fair game for this column, so let's take a look at the game that spawned what many consider to be the defining FPS series.

Another classic video game console celebrates a milestone this week.  Sega's Dreamcast was released in North America ten years ago this past week, on 9/9/99.  Though the console was short lived, it has developed quite a following, even a decade later.  Many features of the Dreamcast were ahead of its time, most notably a standard modem and internet support allowing online co-op for the first time on a home console.  To celebrate the 10th birthday of Sega's final console, we'll take a look at some of the best co-op games the system had to offer, as submitted by staff and readers.

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Last week, we covered the 20th birthday of the Sega Genesis.  The Genesis is one of the best vintage systems there is, and remains popular even now.  Sega ran a poll to decide which Genesis game would be released to Xbox Live Arcade, and the poll is over, with ToeJam and Earl the clear winner.  It's good to know we have some alien two-player co-op in our future.  But let's not forget some other quality Genesis co-op titles of the past.

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The Co-Op Gods must be smiling today!  For last week's Co-Op Classics, we covered the twentieth birthday of Sega's Genesis console.  You'll recall that Sega is running a poll to see which classic Genesis game will be released next on XBox Live Arcade.  Earthworm Jim had a commanding lead, with ToeJam and Earl, a great co-op title, in a respectable second.

However, due to a "licensing issue", Earthworm Jim was pulled from the poll.  (Don't worry, it's still coming to XBLA.)  The poll was then reset, and runs through Friday.  As of this writing, ToeJam and Earl has a stellar 42% of the votes, which means we'll likely be playing it over XBLA sometime soon.

Don't forget to tell us your favorite co-op title on the Genesis!  It might be covered in this Friday's Co-Op Classics.

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Twenty years ago today, the Sega Genesis was released in North America.  Known as the Mega Drive in Japan, the Genesis was a big hit.  The NES was dominant at the time, but that fabled console was a bit long in the tooth.  With the help of truly superb marketing (Sega does what Nintendon't!), and a certain blue hedgehog, the Genesis became Sega's most successful console.  It was also a great way to play co-op with a friend, with many stellar co-op games in the Genesis library.

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For the past few Co-Op Classics columns, I've been trying to hit some of the key co-op games of the past.  Double Dragon and the first Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles arcade game are on most people's list of classics.  Today, we move on to what many consider to be the most influential game ever.  This game spawned hundreds of clones, and almost singlehandedly birthed an entire game genre, the first person shooter.  A technical marvel, a violent, intense atmosphere, awesome level design and downright scary foes, all wrapped up in a co-op package, make DOOM one of the greatest co-op games of all time.

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