If a picture is worth a thousand words, then surely the above screenshot could replace the quite lengthy title of the game.  Flames?  Check.  A mercenary?  Yup.  So there it is, Mercenaries 2: World in Flames.  IGN has posted a hands on preview of the game as played in co-op.  Perennial favorites like seamless drop in-drop out co-op make the feature list, and there are a few other nice little touches as well.

Money and weapons earned while playing in the host's game will transfer to your own game, though progress through the content will not.  The game's difficulty will not scale with the addition of a buddy; this is likely not too much of a problem due to the sheer number of enemies and toughness of many of the game's areas.  In co-op, players can resurrect each other, rather than failing the mission and having to restart, which is a tremendous benefit. 

The preview gives details about a couple of the missions from game, which sound quite entertaining.  This quote pretty much sums it up:

It's really quite something to watch a building vaporized and see a mushroom cloud bloom from its ashes.

A rumored list that claims to be the full set list for Guitar Hero: World Tour has been floating around the internet.  There is no official word from Activision as of yet, so you may want to drag out that jumbo sized salt shaker before reading.  If the list is indeed true, there will be some good times to be had, for sure.  (Beat It, Toxicity, Every Breath You Take, and CRAZY TRAIN!!)  However, something about the list seems off to me, personally.   There are several songs that make you go "Huh?" (Why put a ballad like "I Don't Wanna Miss a Thing" in this game, not Guitar Hero: Aerosmith?)  Either way, we feel you'll find the list interesting, to say the least.  Check it out after the break.  Do you prefer this list, or Rock Band 2's?  Let us know!

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Contrary to popular belief, there is a bit of news out there that isn't about Diablo 3, Too Human, or upcoming rhythm games.  We have just posted some screenshots from the upcoming co-op title Mercanaries 2: World in Flames.  The game will feature 2 player drop in/drop out co-op during the main campaign.  Lots of pretty explosions as well as some exotic weaponry are available for your viewing enjoyment.

Hit the jump for the full gallery.

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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!

It's a fine line to walk: no one likes delayed games, and yet, no one likes playing games that are clearly underdeveloped, either.  However, as budgets for games rise, more and more titles are being delayed in order to add features that will make their titles stand out.  As we recently reported, Saint's Row 2 has been moved back to add in 2 player co-op.  Now, Mercenaries 2: World in Flames has been delayed as well, and for similar reasons.  TVG had this to say after talking to developer Pandemic:

We were also keen to find out what Pandemic has been doing with its extra dev team during Mercs 2's various delays. Thankfully, we didn't get the placeholder 'spit and polish' answer that many game developers run with. Instead, Zamkoff explained that the team has been working hard to integrate seamless 2 player co-op into the game. This was certainly a feature that intrigued us last July as multiplayer co-op is far from a shoe-in for open world games.

Mercs 2 will offer online drop in, drop out co-op whenever and wherever you want it.

Once again, another developer sees the need for good cooperative gameplay.  Maybe soon, co-op WILL be a shoe-in for open world games!

Loads of info has been revealed about the forthcoming Guitar Hero 4.  The official title of the game will be 'Guitar Hero: World Tour', and, as rumored, drums and vocals will be added to the Guitar Hero experience.  Yup! That means a 4-player cooperative experience just like that other game.  A few more juicy snippets of information were revealed at Eurogamer:

• Wireless instruments, including the first wireless drum kit
• Drum kit will have 3 pads, two cymbals, and a pedal
• Drum pads are velocity sensitive and less noisy
• A new and improved redesigned guitar
• Online band career mode is fully playable by four people!
• "Battle of the bands" features 4 vs. 4 online

The ace in the hole for GH:WT is Music Studio.  Details are sparse right now, but this mode allows for players to create their own music from scratch.  Player made tunes can be uploaded to the new GHTunes service where they can be shared with others.

Despite our reservations about buying another drum set and/or guitar,  the Music Studio alone has our interest piqued.  You can view the first Guitar Hero World Tour trailer here.  No price details have been revealed yet, but expect the game this autumn!  Be sure to check out the latest screenshots after the jump.

A few weeks ago Vivendi announced a brand new Spyro game.   We knew a only few things about this multiplatform title (PS2, PS3, 360, Wii).  

We know the game is called The Legend of Spyro: Dawn of the Dragon and it will be the first Spyro game available on the next-gen platforms.  We know it will feature drop-in/drop-out cooperative play. 

And now we know that the game will feature a Hollywood style cast with voices provided by Elijah Wood (Frodo Baggins in The Lord of the Rings trilogy) and Gary Oldman (Sirius Black from the Harry Potter films).   Wait you say!  Both Frodo and Sirius were in the previous Spyro games.   And like a cheap TV informercial I have to tell you - "Wait there's more!"  Rounding out the voice cast is  Christina Ricci, Blair Underwood, Mark Hamill and Wayne Brady, rounding out an all-star voice cast.

The Legend of Spyro: Dawn of the Dragon will be available this fall.  I'll be Christina and you can be Wayne Brady!