There's one co-op title coming out this week, and it's a recent addition to our database thanks to a Co-Optimus reader.  (Thanks Jamie!)  

Crash Bandicoot: Mind Over Mutant is hitting the Xbox 360, PlayStation 2, Wii, Nintendo DS and PlayStation Portable this week, and should be on store shelves this Wednesday, October 8th.  The game features a 2 player cooperative mode where the other player takes control of Crash's sister CoCo.  There's even co-op specific maneuvers available while playing with your friends.  Unfortuantely the game is offline co-op only.  Fans of the series should definitely give this one a whirl.

Beyond Co-Op is where we talk about other news around the industry that isn’t necessarily tied to co-operative gaming. Each week will see the subjects of the column listed on the front page with more in-depth discussion after the break. If you have any suggestions, please contact us at tips@co-optimus.com with a subject related to “Beyond Co-Op”.

The stories for this week:

- Nintendo DSi Announced

- Penny Arcade Episode 2 Goes Gold, Price Lowered to $15

- Tiberium Canceled

- Wii Punch-Out!! and other Games Announced

- Xbox Live Experience Week 4: Games Store

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Online co-op is becoming the standard for console gaming. However, for handhelds it is still a somewhat untested field. However, Phantasy Star Zero for the DS will be testing the handheld online waters. According to 1up, Sega will be releasing Phantasy Star Zero for the DS in Japan.

The game will be akin to the classic Phantasy Star Online, all the way down to its name, Phantasy Star Zero, aka PS0. Zero will feature the classic action-RPG gameplay, as well as four player online and local co-op. The game will also utilize the touch screen as a PictoChat mechanism, where you can write messages to your teammates. The game is set for release this winter in Japan, with no known American release date. Any other PSO fans out there?

Actually, spiffy may not be the right word.  You can check the trailer for Lord of the Rings: Conquest out for yourself here, and choose your own word to describe it.  The fact that four players can play through the campaign cooperatively via split-screen or online had us watching the title closely.  Given the fact that you can also play through as the bad guys?  That just puts it over the top.  Maiming hairy footed halflings with a buddy for an evening sounds like fun to me.  Hobbits, you are going down!

Guitar Hero: On Tour hits stores this week, and we've got your co-op review here at Co-Optimus.  How's the Guitar Grip?  What about the song choices?  Is rocking out with a buddy in co-op mode as awesome as on the home versions of Guitar Hero?  Read on to find out.

Seeing Star Wars and co-op come together is a thing of beauty. That's why the crew here at Co-Optimus was pleased to find out (via GamesRadar) that the new Star Wars: Clone Wars game for the DS will have co-op. To be specific, the new Clone Wars game (subtitled as Jedi Alliance) has drop-in, drop-out co-op, which is great. It will be interesting to see this form of co-op on a handheld, but nonetheless, it is a welcome addition.

Marvel: Ultimate Alliance is one of the best co-op experiences of this generation, in my humble opinion.  The combination of action RPG gameplay and spandex-clad superhumans makes for a whole lot of over the top fun.  A sequel was announced recently, and it is set to arrive later this year.  A few details about the sequel have been revealed, and though there isn't too much information, it still is worth looking at.

We already knew it was coming, but amongst yesterday's MS/Acti marketing leaks were some further details on the upcoming Marvel: Ultimate Alliance II. The game will be set during Marvel's recent "Civil War" story arc, with players forced to choose sides in the conflict. There'll supposedly be "over 20" playable Marvel characters, including the Hulk, Wolverine, Spider-Man, Venom and the Human Torch, and players will be able to "fuse" two character's powers together to give one character hybrid abilities. The release mentions the game will be appearing on 360, PS3, PS2, Wii, PSP & DS.

The Civil War storyline was quite controversial amongst the comic geek community, but it will be a natural fit for a video game.  Fusing characters sounds odd, but the prospects will fill our daydreams for quite some time.  The Iron Surfer sounds like a winner to me!

Ahh, Nintendo.  You and your special edition, funky colored game systems.  They seem like such a waste, and yet, I still bought a translucent green Nintendo 64 back in the day.  It's even worse with the DS Lite.  In my family alone, we have black, black/blue, and black/red DS Lites.  In fact, I just sold my white DS to get the black one a month ago.  And now, you go and announce a Silver and Black DS, with the Guitar Hero logo on it!  What's a fanboy supposed to do?  Ebay the new black DS, and use the funds to get the super cool silver one, with FLAMES on it?  After all, I'm buying the Guitar Hero: On Tour game anyway.  If I'm going to be rocking out in public, shredding on lead guitar while my wingman plays bass, I gotta do it in style, right?  It's hard to resist, given the combination of my obsession with rhythm game peripherals and the allure of a special edition DS Lite.  I may need to go visit my psychiatrist again...

Part of the Guitar Hero: On Tour track list has been revealed over at Pocket Gamer.  Given the different demographic that the DS serves, it should come as no surprise that GH:On Tour features several songs that are more "pop" than metal.  However, there's still a lot of old school GH to be had on the go in this list.  Check out the list and our commentary after the jump.

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Wizard needs food...badly.  But Wizard doesn't need voice chat, because the Nintendo DS version of Gauntlet will have that feature built in!  According to VideoGamer.com, the game is set to feature a 4-player cooperative mode via Nintendo's Wi-Fi connection with full voice chat capabilities using the DS microphone.

Gauntlet DS will feature 40 levels in the single/co-op campaign as well as deathmatch, team deathmatch, online leaderboards and more!

The original Gauntlet is available on Xbox Live Arcade with 3 player co-op, while Gauntlet II is available on the Playstation Network and features 4 player co-op.

Be sure to check out our brand new gallery feature after the jump.