In our first interview with Matt Turner, producer for Army of Two: The 40th Day, we covered why he chooses co-op, what’s changed for The 40th Day, and what “organic co-op” means.  In the second part of the interview, we dive a little deeper into the game’s morality system, discuss how the enemies are getting into the co-op spirit, and discover how gun customization can be a co-op activity.  Check it out after the break!

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Game Name: Deathspank
Co-Op: Yes
Publisher/Developer: Hothead Games
Release Date: 2010

While I didn't get any hands-on time with Deathspank, the good people of Hothead games gave a nice presentation for the upcoming title. It was described as being a mashup of Monkey Island meets Diablo, which I'm sure interests some of our group.   Official PR material for the game states 2 player local co-op, but details are scarce.

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The final attendance numbers are in for this year's Penny-Arcade Expo, the and the grand total puts it just over 60,000.  While not a large increase from the previous year, the show was basically sold out for the two weeks prior to it.  There's no telling how high the numbers would have climbed had their not been an attendance limit.

One thing I wanted to mention was just how nice it was to see so many co-op games on display on the show floor.  Not only were they on display, but they were actually playable in co-op.  This is something of a rarity in the past conventions I've visited.  By allowing co-op not only are you getting more people playing faster, thereby creating smaller lines, you're also showing off one of the best aspects of your game in a great social atmosphere.

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Game Name: Brütal Legend
Co-Op: No
Co-Op Type/Multiplayer Type: Online multiplayer versus
Publisher/Developer: EA
Release Date: (R)October 13, 2009

PAX 2009 was ripe with action hack and slash solo style gameplay this year, all slightly different, with a dash of original flare. I got hands on with Brütal Legend, and have to ask that important question: Why doesn't this have co-op?

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Game Name: Sol Survivor
Co-Op: Yes
Co-Op Type: 2 player campaign co-op / 8 player multiplayer co-op (local and online)
Developer: Cadenza Interactive
Release Date: Fall 2009

After I had a chance to demo Max Blastronaut at PAX, I got to play Cadenza Interactive’s entry to the Dream.Build.Play. contest, Sol Survivor.  Like many tower defense games, you build towers to stave off an ever-increasing number and variety of “creeps” from reaching a certain point on a map.  Unlike many tower defense games, however, you can fend off the horde with the help of a friend.

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Game Name: Heavy Rain
Co-Op: No 
Publisher/Developer: Quantic Dream (developer), Sony (publisher) 
Release Date: Spring 2010

The final game I got to play for PAX 2009 was Quantic Dream's upcoming adventure game called Heavy Rain for the PlayStation 3.  More of an interactive movie than a game, players will take the role of ordinary people placed in extraordinary situations.  The standout feature of the game is not only the incredible graphics, but the multiple paths of solving a situation.

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As you all know, the Co-Opticrew and the Colonists stormed PAX in search of whatever we could get our grubby little hands on! We came away with scores of hands-on impressions...and the promotional gear to match. Keep reading to see what Nick, Jason, Kat, and myself were able to haul out of Seattle.

If you happened to catch our first interview with the good folks from Telltale Games, you'll likely remember that we had the opportunity to do two separate interviews with two different groups of folks from the development company that's leading the revitalization of adventure gaming.  In our second interview, we sat down with Mark Darin, Designer/Programmer at Telltale Games and the director for Tales of Monkey Island Episode 2: The Siege of Spinner Cay, to talk about what influenced the making of the Tales of Monkey Island series, as well as how you can find co-op in the least likely of places.

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Elemental: War of Magic is an upcoming Stardock project based on and set in a world of a book by CEO Brad Wardell.  The basic premise of the game is a turn based strategy RPG that's both easily accessible and runs on a large range of system configurations.  In fact, the current goal is to get the game running on a Netbook.  We got some hands on time with the game at PAX and came back with some impressions.

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All images courtesy of SteelSeries.com

We had the great opportunity to meet Bruce Hawver, CEO of SteelSeries gaming gear, this year at PAX. From the very get-go, Bruce was eager to display some of his finest wares, and his great energy comes through in his company's products. From mousepads to headsets to custom drivers...SteelSeries has an impressive pedigree, and we got to see some of the latest hardware available, and hardware soon to be released.

Tucked to the side by the Bayonetta booth, SteelSeries had an interesting promotion going on: gamers could literally smash their own current accessories and receive a discount on new SteelSeries accessories for doing so. Why smash them? This was more than just a publicity gimmick -- Bruce demonstrated for me first-hand that SteelSeries keyboards and mice are nigh unbreakable...hence the violence against more frail competitors' equipment.

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