We've gotten our hands on a shiny new video of Borderlands in action during the game's 2 player split screen co-op mode.  While we're still waiting on confirmation of the PC version containing the same co-op mode, the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 owners will be able to enjoy the company of friend next to them on the couch as they blow away bandits with 1 of three million weapons.

We're still a month away from release on the title, and videos like this make the way excruciating.  

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Not a couch, but close enough.

Undoubtedly the most asked for feature on our site when a game is announced is "couch co-op."  Couch Co-Op or split screen co-op allows two or more players to play in the same room on the same console with one copy of the game.  It used to be the only way to play a co-op game until online modes came around, but thankfully it's not a complete lost art.

The good news is Lost Planet 2, which features four player online co-op, could see a two player couch co-op mode before release next year.  The game's producer, Jun Takeuchi, had this to say:

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Microsoft has just received a patent for an interesting feature in squad based co-op shooters.  US Patent #7559834 was filed back in 2002, but only just got approved by the United States Patent Office.  From the description, timing and pictures - it appears to be for the 4 player co-op game Brute Force from the original Xbox.  

A squad-based shooter video game allows players to dynamically join and leave the game, while that game is in progress, without the players having to save and restart the game. When a new player joins an in-progress game, a new squad member is allocated to the new player and the screen is split to present a viewing panel for the new player that depicts scenes from the perspective of the new squad member. When an existing player leaves the game, the screen is unsplit to remove the viewing panel for the exiting player and that player's squad member becomes part of the squad being controlled by the remaining player(s)

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Great news couch co-op fans!  We just got word off the E3 show floor from our Colony of Gamer's Reporter that Borderlands, the four player co-op action RPG from Gearbox, will indeed have split screen play.

The rep wouldn't confirm how many players would be able to play - or whether or not local and online players could mix, but it's good news none the less!  Did you know there's an easy way to tell if a game has split screen or local co-op play?  Just look for the icons at the top of the game's detail page!

The above screenshot is taken from Resident Evil 5's same box split screen mode.  It's a mode that a lot of developers seem to leave out nowadays in co-op play, so it's one we shouldn't take for granted.  But the folks over at Destructoid, well lets just say they are throwing a hissy fit about it.  
 

As someone who often games with his significant other, sitting side-by-side on our couch, this was kind of unacceptable. Difficult to see on our "average" 34" high-definition television, it took awhile for each of us to adjust our eyes to the two tiny, individual screens. Items lying around Shanty Town were difficult to spot in the heat of battle, and we'd have to squint to see subtitles. In short, split-screen cooperative play was more frustrating than enjoyable. 

They have a point in terms of usability.  It also depends on screen size as well.  Resident Evil 5 isn't the first game to utilize something like this, in fact, the recently release Call of Duty: World at War utilized the exact same thing.  

But lets look at this further.
 

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When Call of Duty: World at War was announced to have a four player co-op mode as well as split screen play, we were all pretty happy.  Then the Zombie mode was announced and we jigged with excitement.  Finally a Call of Duty game with co-op!   And even though we reviewed the game fairly positively there are some glowing problems, specifically with the split screen mode.

While Call of Duty: World at War isn't a very long game, it's not one that can easily be played in one sitting.  But that's just what the developers are asking of split screen players as there's simply no way to save your progress in this co-op mode.  Even though we pointed out the problem in our review of the game as well as an episode of our podcast, people are still getting bitten by it.

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A feature we are quite fond of has been missing from many games over the past few years: split screen mode.  Just last month, we posted a news item lamenting the apparent demise of couch co-op via split screen.  It seems others have noticed this trend as well, including the MTV multiplayer blog.  Thankfully, not all titles have abandoned split screen, including the highly anticipated co-op lovefest, Left 4 Dead.  In a recent inetrview with Left 4 Dead's lead designer, Michael Booth, split screen was discussed. 

“Split-screen was a pretty huge investment,” said Booth to MTV Multiplayer at a San Francisco event to unveil the zombie mode of the game last night. “It’s hard. That’s the thing.”

 

The reason most studios have abandoned, Booth pointed out, are easy to identify. You’re tasking the hardware with displaying the content on-screen twice. It’s hard enough for most games to worry about just one screen.

Secondly, it creates all sorts of network complications.

It's too bad that just because implementing split screen is difficult, many developers just don't even try.  I can think of several titles recently released that featured co-op, but not split screen, and each of them would have been far better if it had been included.  (Too Human, I'm looking at you!)  Hopefully other companies will follow Valve's example and split screen will become a gaming staple once again. 

Source: Link

Some good news out of the Sony camp today.  One of the more requested features we've been seeing lately is to have split screen co-op play combined with online play.  What does that mean?  That means you and a friend could be playing split screen with other people online as well.  Very few games seem to support this, Halo 3 being the biggest that comes to my mind.

Resistance 2 will support this type of play for its 8 player online co-op mode!  The flexibility that a mode like this supplies is outstanding, so it's great to see a developer go the extra mile to get this done.  Especially since it was a fan request!  That being said it MAY not quite be there from Day 1, the game has gone gold and the feature was only recently completed.  So expect a day 1 patch.

While you are waiting for the game's release, be sure to check out the incredible new trailer posted after the break.  If it doesn't get you hyped up for this game, nothing will.

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Gamevideos is running a new video showing of the split-screen co-op action in EA's Army of Two.  The video shows off some of the tactics needed to survive in the game, including the healing and reviving abilities.  Not only that, we get to see an achievement get unlocked!

View the full thing Right Here on Co-Optimus.

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This week we've got a new co-op game that should be quite familiar to all.  It's the 6th game in the Dynasty Warrior's franchise.  Dynasty Warriors 6 will be available for both the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 on February 19th.  The game features split screen co-op play through in traditional Dynasty Warriors style. 

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