Добро пожаловать (Welcome), comrades!  As Jim highlighted in last week’s “This Week in Co-Op,” sometimes a great co-op experience can be found lurking in the catalog of last gen’s titles.  So this past weekend I dusted off my copy of one such co-op title that was overlooked when it was released, The Red Star, and decided to give it a run through.  With my partner in tow, we stepped into an alternate Russia where two soldiers seek to put an end to a corrupt government being lead by a mystical, and evil, sorcerer known as Troika.

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Dead Space Extraction has us intrigued.  First of all, the previous Dead Space game was fairly well received, though unfortunately it was single player only.  Secondly, the announcement of the game was a bit unclear.  Was it a straight port of the previous game?  Could the graphics capabilities of the Wii keep up?  Finally, Dead Space Extraction was revealed as a two person co-op "on the rails" style shooter.  This announcement caused some controversy, and many lost faith that Extraction would live up to the quality level of the first game.

To us here at Co-Optimus, co-op can cover up many ills, and we expect the experience of prowling around in a dark spaceship corridor, being hunted by horrific alien life forms, with a friend at your side, will be quite enjoyable.  And judging from an IGN video, which we have available for your viewing convenience after the break, the game looks suitably awesome.  Bits and pieces of actual gameplay footage are interspersed with a producer interview.  Check it out, and let us know what you think!

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I covered Wii Shooters a few weeks back for Co-Op Casual Friday.  Nerf N-Strike was clearly the cream of the crop as far as I am concerned.  I thought it was worth taking another look at it for a Co-Op Review.  We'll take a look at each of the multiplayer modes in the game, separating the co-op cream from the rest.

The UK edition of OXM has a juicy tidbit or two regarding the release of legendary shooter Ikaruga on Xbox Live Arcade.  The game was announced long ago, but details regarding release have been unclear.  However, in the magazine, Ikaruga for XBLA is reviewed, earning 9 out of 10.  The release date is listed as "Available now".  If indeed this information is true, co-op fans should rejoice, as the game will support online co-op.  In addition to the standard leaderboards, players will be able to share game replay videos over Live.  Given the game's almost mythical difficulty level, sharing videos with your friends might just earn you some major "shmup cred".  As of press time, it is unknown if the game will support the Xbox Camera.  That would certainly be useful if you wanted to prove you could play co-op by yourself using 2 controllers at the same time.  Before you get too giddy, though, you might want to consider the magazines April cover date and take it all with a grain of salt.  If indeed the rumor is true, though, shooter fans everywhere will rejoice, as they team up to weave a glorious tapestry of destruction in their wake.