Not everyone is a gun nut, but just about everyone loves to get their hands on a video game controller. What if you had a dozen controllers to choose from? We took our time bringing you this month's Battlefield Report...take your time reading, and choosing.

Official image from Ubisoft

Believe it or not, Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas 2 is still a pretty popular game. It's actually very easy to find a game to jump into, more so a Terrorist Hunt than a versus match.

It's no secret that I love this game. Really. The controls, the cover system, the weapons, and the character customization make this game one that I can play over and over again. I like it so much that I'm seriously scared that Ubisoft might screw up the next Rainbow Six game if they depart from it so much.

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Two weeks ago, a rumor was on the loose -- a rumor that claimed that Ubisoft was cooking up new Ghost Recon and Rainbow Six titles to be release sometime in 2009.

Now, it seems that at least half of the rumor was fairly accurate: Joystiq reports that among the myriad of planned sequels and new titles listed in Ubisoft's latest earnings statement, a fresh Ghost Recon title will see the light of day before the end of the next fiscal year (March 2010).

The original rumor is supposedly fed by a person on the inside, who advises that a new Rainbow Six is being developed as well, and that both co-op Tom Clancy titles will be revealed "soon" and released in 2009.

Source: Link

If you are looking for a little something extra to play on your day off of work, perhaps a great deal on a top notch co-op PC game will fill the void?  Steam is offering Rainbow Six Vegas 2 for only $9.99 with three bonus maps.

We reviewed this game earlier last year on the Xbox 360 and gave it pretty good marks.  For only $9.99 it's a steal!  Look, I made it the whole post without some lame - "what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas" joke!

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 It's been a crazy and interesting year.  We launched Co-Optimus.com some 11 months ago with two goals in mind - promote co-op gaming and provide co-op gaming information.  Since that time co-op gaming has gone from a bullet point on the back of a box to the main feature promoted by publishers at press conferences.  In total there were over 100 co-op games released this year,  and that my friends is pretty damn awesome.  As the staff looked back over the list it was pretty clear what the standout titles were, but that didn't make the decision any easier for choosing our Co-Op Game of the Year.   

So now I present to you our first annual Co-Op Game of the Year Awards.  Each staff member has picked their respective GOTY followed by the pick for the site.  

I know I'm not the only one excited about Vegas 2, heck it's the second highest in pre-order sales currently. I played a ton of the first Vegas.

I played even more of the co-op mode (mostly split-screen). However, there was always something missing. What was it? You can probably say it with me. Story.

Where was the story in co-op mode? It was stripped down as if to say, what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas... single player mode. Well, fear not, Vegas 2 is quoted as bringing the full, uncut story from single player directly to the co-op, as it should be. For all you co-operators, that means you won't have to play through the games single player campaign just to understand why you're chasing some chick terrorist.

There's an Ubisoft Developer's Diary video up on the official Rainbow Six Vegas site explaining some of the co-op details. They also mention a sweet "jump in, jump out" feature. That way, you can, let's say, jump out, if a scenario looks a little too hairy, and after your friend has taken care of all the terrorist, you can jump back in to share the credit. All in all this game looks like it might just set the next standard for co-op.