Far be it from us to promote ignorant claims like the one you're about to read, but we just couldn't help it. In truth: palm-to-forehead stories like this belong in other, less scrupulous blogs. And yet, we felt compelled to let our readers in on the irony.

The source link in this post directs to the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood, a group with all good intentions but apparently less-than-intelligent advocates. On February 15th, they plan to announce their 2009 TOADY award to all twelve of the people that actually read their announcements.

Among the candidates for the winner of the category "Toys Oppressive and Destructive to Young Children" is the video game Lego Batman. The redonkulous page of Terrible Toys rails the co-op game for its promotion of the "violent Dark Knight movie series" and for " turning your toy into a video game...instead of deciding what to build next". Unfortunately for those twelve people who take the TOADYs seriously, the page blissfully forgets that the video game is modeled after the real Batman Lego toy sets, which despite being a "creative" toy, also promotes The Dark Knight to children (leaving parents to have the ultimate decision in the matter...*gasp!*).

Click "Read More" for the excerpt and some more gloriously sarcastic commentary (remember to add your own as well)...

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The caped crusader and boy wonder join forces to battle the evil blocky villains of Gotham City.  Grab two controllers, a coke and get ready to do battle.   Does LEGO Batman hold up as well as it's predecessors like LEGO Indiana Jones and LEGO Star Wars?  Read our review to find out.

The only thing we like around here more than co-op gaming is FREE co-op gaming.  Thankfully a new Amazon.com promotion that is catered towards family gaming titled "Family Game of the Month" seems right up our alley.  Thanks to the recent Xbox 360 Price Drops, you'll be getting an Xbox 360 Arcade Bundle for $199 and LEGO Batman for FREE!

So hit this link and get some batty 360 goodness, and help support Co-Optimus in the meantime!

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:

- Warhammer Online Comes Out

- Burnout Paradise Sees Bikes Added

- LittleBigPlanet Goes Gold, Out Oct. 21st

- LEGO Batman/Brothers in Arms Out This Week

- Bungie’s ARG Starting Over Again?

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This week you'll need to make a tough decision, or perhaps if you are rich, and easy one.  LEGO Batman hits just about every platform known to man.  Every single version supports 2 player co-op (local only) but all in drop in/drop-out fashion.  Score!

Sandwiched between all the Bats and Robins is a gun slinging, ass kicking, gum chewing dude named Duke Nukem.  The classic 3D title returns to Xbox Live Arcade this week with full 8 player co-op support online, and the added ability to save replies and rewind gameplay. 

This should be a solid week overall.  Anyone picking either of these up?
 

While the previous LEGO games of LEGO Star Wars and LEGO Indiana Jones were great co-op experiences, nothing is going to be quite like riding side by side with your bat buddy into battle.  Warner Bros Interactive have released over a dozen new screenshots showing off just how you'll be riding into battle in LEGO Batman.  Batmobile?  Check.  Batcopter?  Check.  Alligator!?!?! Check.

Hit the jump for all the screens.

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Well, we are back from E3 and we had some hands on time with a ton of the co-op games on display.  Read on for previews and impressions of LEGO Batman, HAWX, Saint's Row 2, Dawn of War 2, Resistance 2, Halo Wars, and Fable 2.

Shacknews recently showed off a few new screenshots and a video of the upcoming LEGO Batman game.  Hot on the heels of LEGO Indy, LEGO Batman promises more of the clever humor, puzzle elements, and oh so cute versions of characters we all know and love.  The new characters include former Robin Nightwing, the shape-changing horror Clayface, and the man who broke Batman's back, Bane.  LEGO Batman is scheduled for release on pretty much every system known to humankind this September.