Another trailer for LEGO Indiana Jones 2 The Adventure Continues has been released.  If you were like me, and guessing that the sequel would be based solely on the most recent Indy film, well, you'd be wrong.  All new levels based on unused scenes from the original Indy trilogy will be included.  Of course, Kingdom of the Crystal Skull levels are appearing in LEGO form for the first time.  The trailer gives us good looks at new heroes and vehicles, plus the level editor.  Gotta love the tagline: "Where there's a whip, there's a way."  (Insert wildly inappropriate joke here.)

Read More...

Image courtesy 1UP
 

Is the music game genre oversaturated?  Some might say yes.  I'd argue otherwise; there's still plenty of good music out there that isn't available in video game form.  In any event, we have some details about Harmonix's upcoming cutesified LEGO Rock Band.  Iggy Pop will be appearing in the game, as the tutorial voice, and also in plastic action figure form, as you an see above.  Iggy's song "The Passenger" will be in the game's song list.

LEGO Iggy is cool and all, but the real good news is that the songs on the LEGO Rock Band disc will be exportable into Rock Band 2.  After this feature was (understandably) left out of The Beatles Rock Band, it's good to see we'll be able to rock out to "The Final Countdown" and "Ghostbusters" (aww yeah!) in non-LEGO form if we want!
 

Source: Link

Amazon is running a deal today on Xbox 360 Platinum Hits.  Buy two games, get one free!  Hard to argue with that value.  There are some co-op gems in there: All three LEGO games are less than $20, before the promotion!  The original Gears of War, Marvel: Ultimate Alliance, and even Burnout Paradise are all available.  Of course there are some single player games included as well, if you want a bit of alone time.  If you haven't checked these titles out, now's a good time!

Source: Link

Lego Indiana Jones 2: The Adventure continues is on its way to a fall release this year.  Soon you'll be creating levels in co-op with your friends, while whipping snakes and tossing out one liners.  We've got a fresh batch of screenshots from the game, complete with a LEGO stubble beard to prove your in game manliness.

Read More...

Star Wars.  Indiana Jones.  Batman.  Rock Band.  Each of these franchises will become part of the LEGO series of games, and now there's a new, lightning-scarred face in that crowd: LEGO Harry Potter.  The prophecies are true, it seems; the game has long been rumored but now it has been formally announced, via trailer (embedded below through the power of the Dark Arts).

The full title is LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4.  Arriving via owl in 2010, we expect it will coincide with the holiday season release of the seventh movie.  Of course, there are three more years to go, so I'm sure we can expect a sequel soon after.  If we could wave our own co-op wand and cast a spell, the game would be transfigured to include four player co-op, and online support.  If they can't give us Harry, Ron, and Hermione to use all at once, we just might start hurling curses!

Read More...

You may recall a story which we ran earlier this year, in which we predicted a Lego game based on Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.  Well, call us Nostradamus, because we are getting exactly that later this year, and it's coming to pretty much every system.

The sequel will be called Lego Indiana Jones 2: The Adventure Continues.  The new content in the game will focus on last year's Indy film.  In case you are thinking that might not be enough content for a complete game, there's more.  For the first time, a level editor will be included.  Building entire levels brick by brick, just like when you were a kid, should be fun.  It remains to be seen whether a level editor alone will be the shot in the arm the LEGO franchise needs.  We're holding out hope for four players, and bring back online co-op please!

Source: Link

Today Warner Brothers and MTV have announced one of the most family friendly co-op games to date - LEGO Rock Band.  The game will combine the multiplayer music fun of Rock Band with the family friendly and light hearted nature of the LEGO Games.  

Currently LEGO Rock Band is slated for a Fall 2009 release with versions for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii, and Nintendo DS.   The song list from the game will also feature more family friendly and upbeat songs.  Here's the first list of what's available.
 

Blur: “Song 2”
Carl Douglas: “Kung Fu Fighting”
Europe: “The Final Countdown”
Good Charlotte: “Boys and Girls”
Pink: “So What”

Read More...

Today, we begin a new series of articles here at Co-Optimus.  You might have noticed that Co-Op Classics went to Fridays biweekly during the holiday news frenzy.  It will keep that schedule, and now, we'll have a new column for you on the off-Fridays.  This column will be dedicated to Family and Casual gaming.  In true co-op fashion, we want your input into the name for the column!  We'll even give you some swag, but more about that later...

Read More...

Fans of co-op are likely fans of Traveller's Tales LEGO series of games.  The titles, based on famous series like Batman, Star Wars, and Indiana Jones, feature two player co-op.  LEGO games are, unsurprisingly, quite kid and spouse friendly, but at the same time enjoyable by your more typical gamer.

Several rumors about the next game in the LEGO series have been floating around.  The most popular rumor was that LEGO Harry Potter would be next, what with the release of the next movie in the series this summer.  A LEGO version of Potter's wild wizarding world would seem both a natural fit for the franchise, and a way to pretty much print money.

It seems 2009 will not see the release of LEGO Harry Potter, though, according to a senior source from Eurogamer.  But a new LEGO game in an old series may be an option.

"You never know," he (TT producer Loz Doyle) replied. "There's always the possibility that we would revisit a franchise. And you never know, it might not be the end of Star Wars, it might not be the end of Indy - we keep our options open."

Producer Nick Ricks added: "There will be a LEGO game in 2009. And I think it's okay to say that you'll be a bit surprised."

The fourth Indy movie wasn't part of the first LEGO Indy title, so perhaps that is a possibility.  As far as Star Wars goes, there's plenty of source material to consider.  Personally, my money is on LEGO Clone Wars sometime this year.  Which is too bad, because LEGO Harry Potter would be far better.  The series is getting somewhat stale at this point, and revisiting old franchises would seem to be more of the same, wouldn't it?  What new series of LEGO games would you like to see?

Source: Link

The current LEGO video game franchise is quite good. The LEGO games are nicely balanced, with appeal to both young kids (who love LEGOs) and adults who grew up with the series that has been LEGO-ified (Star Wars, Indiana Jones, etc.). So, after a hectic week (so hectic that you will notice this column has been posted a day late), I figured some nice LEGO action was good for me. My game? LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy. Did I have fun and relax? Oh yeah.

Read More...