A bunch of nice co-op titles are or about to be on sale over on the Xbox Live Marketplace into November. So, for those of you who waited up until now to grab these gems at a good price: your patience is rewarded.

Hey retro gamers out there! If you’re a fan of the old-school, Contra days of the NES and SNES, then 8-Bit Commando is the game for you to check out. Developer 2DEngine went back in time and decided to satisfy our retro hunger, because there’s practically nothing modern going on about this game (and we like this very much).

The Xbox Live Marketplace has some pretty sweet deals on co-op games this week. Trine 2, Shoot Many Robots, and X-Men Arcade are all 50 % off. This trio forms a nice sample of genres. Trine 2 is a beautiful puzzle platformer. Shoot Many Robots is a frantic side-scrolling shooter. X-Men Arcade will scratch that old-school brawler itch. 

Here's a quick bit of information, folks. Shoot Many Robots is half off on Steam until 1pm EST tomorrow. That means you can pick it up for the low, low price of five dollars. The loot-and-shoot sidescroller also has a four pack available for $14.99. Give the gift of screeching metal death to your friends! 

This Sunday, April 22nd, is Earth Day, so we're participating in the planet-saving efforts by playing Shoot Many Robots (XBLA). Well, ok, that doesn't exactly help save the planet, but bear with me. The robots in Shoot Many Robots are fueled by fossil fuels, and we all know burning fuel is harmful to the environment. The more robots we destroy, the better off our planet will be.

That's me, P. Walter Tugnut. Well, my version of Mr. Tugnut. I'm just cruising around my RV with my golden jet pack, sad and alone. My pink hair pick brings little joy to my supafly afro of gloom. My toned calves look magnificent in my fishnet stockings, but there's no one around to compliment them. I do have a giant mini-gun to keep me company, but alas, I've grown weary of her limited supply of ammo. You see, all my friends have gone to bed. I'm a West Coast gamer with an East Coast friends list. 

March was jam-packed with co-op games. April... not so much. Hopefully some smaller titles will be announced as the month goes on, or it's going to be a sad, lonely spring. Aw, hell, I guess we could always go outside.

The spring gaming season is well underway and we've already seen a slew of co-op game releases, like Binary Domain, Journey, and Shoot Many Robots, where cooperative gameplay was a focus for the game from the start. Yet we've also seen some major AAA releases, like Mass Effect 3, hit store shelves where the addition of a multiplayer component is something new for the series; or an existing series, such as The Darkness II, swap it's formerly competitive multiplayer mode for a strictly cooperative one. Finally, you have the revival of older games that have had their format completely changed - leaving them ripe for the traditional player vs player multiplayer style to which we've grown accustomed - and still maintain the co-op gameplay (we're looking at you, Syndicate).

Shoot Many Robots has finally received a PC release date, and it's sooner than we expected. The four player side-scrolling shooter will launch on Steam on April 6th. That's next week, for those of you who aren't sitting in front of a calendar. The PC version is also getting some sweet pre-order bonuses.

The gamers have spoken, and the fine folks at Demiurge Studios have listened. Well, sort of. It appears that many gamers had a hard time getting used to the single-stick controls in Shoot Many Robots. No smart developer wants to limit their game's accessibility, so Demiurge may be adding twin-stick controls to their side-scrolling shooter. Their solution? They're going to have a good old fashioned Stick-Off.  Wait, that doesn't sound right. I'll let them explain:

From the "In Case You Missed It" file: You may have noticed that Shoot Many Robots launched this week.  We gussied up our written Co-Op Review with a sweet video accompaniment.  Maybe you saw it, maybe you didn't.  Either way, here it is again, for your viewing pleasure.  We're really digging this title.  The four player co-op, tight controls, and customizable loadouts really appeal to our inner robot killer.

Shoot Many Robots launched today, and if you haven't noticed, we're pretty excited.  Not only is the game a solid cooperative experience, but it features the Co-Optimus robots Billy, Player 1 Bot and Player 2 Bot as an in game item.  So it's time to celebrate.

Shoot Many Robots is the metaphorical tale of one man's struggle to discover what it means to still be human in a soulless world filled with faceless, servile automatons. Nah, I'm kidding. You shoot robots in the face, and when they don't have faces you just use your best judgement and shoot whatever looks important. Shoot Many Robots. That's what you do. Need to know more? Check out our Co-Op Review.

We're a few minutes away from posting our Shoot Many Robots review.  Here's a little taste of what you can expect.  This launch trailer captures the general idea.  You and three friends shoot robots, score loot, and then shoot more robots.  Our Co-Op Review will be up shortly. Be sure to check out our video review at the end of article.  It has a sexy voice-over.  And check back with Co-Optimus later today for the opportunity to win Shoot Many Robot codes!

I'll make this short and sweet:  If you're willing to spend 25 bucks this week you can get two of the best co-op games of early 2012.