Army of Two: The 40th Day has had a strong showing to date, and the latest previews and media coming out of the Tokyo Game Show are no exception.

We looked at the game's weapon customization back at PAX and came away with some favorable impressions.  Thoughts of iron sights on shotguns, pistols, assault rifles, and rocket launchers danced in Jim's head.  Could his dream become a reality?  Only time will tell, but for now Kotaku has some hands on with the builder.

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PlayStation 3 owners should be getting their hands on the new Lost Planet 2 Co-Op demo any minute now.  The rest of us?  We'll have to settle for these brand new screenshots and trailer straight from the Tokyo Game Show.

The screens and trailer are by far the most impressive we've seen from the game.  The graphics look top notch, and the scale of the game looks huge.  And lets not forget the co-op based combat.  

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Squads, tactics, and co-op... ingredients for success

The news from the Tokyo Game Show keeps rolling in, bringing with it some more good co-op news for PSP owners.  Regular listeners of our podcast likely know by now that Mike and I have touted the virtues of Valkyria Chronicles, an action jRTS game released for the PS3 last year.  The one downside to the game?  No co-op.  Well it seems that that particular problem will be fixed in the sequel.  1Up reported today from the show floor that the upcoming Valkyria Chronicles 2 will feature custom characters, multiplayer mode, and co-op.  When asked about the new co-op mode, director Takeshi Ozawa had this to say:

For me, the biggest difference from the PS3 version is that if you're attacked, there's no way to avoid that. You would just be hit as long as you're in the open. But because you can do coop play and you can move together, one person can be bait while the other moves in a back alley and avoids enemy fire.

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The zombie genre co-op titles just keep on coming, folks.  The latest news is about the latest in the highly celebrated Resident Evil series from Capcom, Resident Evil 5.  The biggest change to the RE formula is co-op, and at TGS 08, the folks over at Joystiq had a chance to check out the co-op.  The article is written in a very interesting co-op style, which it certainly appropriate given how tightly integrated the co-op experience is.  Check out this choice quote:

Here's where the game's co-op really shines though. These were the same levels I'd already played at E3 – with Sheva being controlled by a cold and unloving AI – but newly reimagined by the presence of a human player! As you ran around like mad on the building opposite me, I tried to provide some backup with a sniper rifle. Tried ... you kept pulling them out of view and I think it was too noisy at TGS to really communicate in there. I did hit an explosive barrel at one point, messing up a half-dozen angry (though not quite undead) villagers.

Exploding barrels, the undead, and teamwork - a recipe for success.  Other zombie based co-op titles may have the limelight right now, but if RE5 is as good as it sounds like, we'll all be looking forward to it early next year.

Source: Link

Koei, developers of the moderately fun and forever-ongoing series Dynasty Warriors, is once again bringing third-person hack'n'slash co-op action to the Playstation Portable with Dynasty Warriors: Strikeforce.

Says Koei:
 

Step out and step into a portable Dynasty Warriors® experience unlike any other. Up to four friends can team‐up for a wide range of heroic action‐packed quests. Become one of history’s greatest warriors and work as a team to conquer heavily‐armed fortresses, infiltrate enemy strongholds and more. Spectacular battles await!

Hit the "Read More" link for more info and the world's shortest game trailer ever...

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IGN.com has provided a handy little recreation of Microsoft's official information sheet for Halo 3 Recon, and it includes confirmation of four-player co-op within the standalone campaign.

Also confirmed is the trademark plethora of Bungie features, including Campaign Scoring, detailed stats, replay saves, screenshots, and Forge options for the new multiplayer maps. (Who just mentioned multiplayer on Co-optimus? Not me...)

UPDATE: Most of the same information is available here at Xbox.com, but we'll give IGN credit, since that's where I found it.

You can view the entire fact sheet after the "Read More" link.

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We're not sure if the 4 player co-op mode is what makes this game extreme, but we do know we are extremely excited about this classic remake.  If you played the game on the PSP or DS then you know this game is a great remix of Space Invaders with a splash of a game like Lumines.  Pulsating visuals with a thumping beat make blasting pixelated aliens an absolute joy.  Add in giant boss battles and that's Space Invaders Extreme.

Now imagine all that on a 52" screen with 5.1 surround sound.  Yes please!

The co-op mode supports up to 4 players in which they tackles the arcade levels together with a single pool of lives.  Keep an eye out of this title in early 2009.  And keep an eye on the handful of screenshots of the game after the read more link.

I've always been a huge fan of Arkanoid.  I'm sure you know the game, it's the one with the paddle at the bottom and the ball that bounces taking out blocks above.  It's a classic game since the dawn of gaming and thanks to Taito it's getting an upgrade including 2 player co-op.

I'll be honest, the fact sheet doesn't tell us much about the game, especially the co-op mode. We do know there will be over 100 levels of gameplay, including some sort of level customization option.  As to the 2 player co-op mode...well...I'll let the quote from the fact sheet speak for itself.

Abundant Game Customization: Barrier Type or Player Stock Type game play? A Player 1 and Player 2 collaboration? Customize your game play for variety enjoyment.

Um..yeah.  Thanks.  Seriously though the game DOES have 2 player co-op as evident by the above screenshot.  Speaking of screens, we've got more posted after the break.

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If you haven't heard, the Xbox 360 Dashboard is getting a complete overhaul this fall.  Just announced last night during the Tokyo Game Show Keynote the new dashboard will be released world wide on November 19th.

If you've been following the new NXE you already know that there are a ton of new features coming.  Not only is the navigation getting a complete overhaul, but things like community games, avatars, NetFlix integration, an enhanced marketplace and tons of other features are coming with it.  The best feature though, and the one that you dear Co-Optimus readers will care the most about is something called Live Party.

Live Party allows up to 8 players to join a persistent gaming group that can go between multiple games and play together, chat together, and of course co-op together.  So you have 4 players in your party playing Halo 3 co-op and another 4 players playing Castle Crashers co-op...in an instant the party leader can start a game of Duke Nukem 3D and bring the whole party into the game for 8 player co-op.  Can I get a w00t w00t!?!?

This is a feature that is long overdue.  Bravo for Microsoft getting this to work not only moving forward, but with all existing titles.  Well, at least that's the claim.  We shall see when this launches on November 19th.  

Source: Link

The fabled Halo 3 "expansion" has now been announced as Halo 3 Recon, a complete standalone prologue campaign featuring ODST Marines. So far, no details have been provided, other than that the game will be available for retail in Fall 2009.

As Nick "bapenguin" mentioned in the latest Co-opticast, Bungie has a special place in their heart for cooperative gameplay.  They do not disappoint with confirmed 4 player co-op for the upcoming title.

Consider the Halo 3 racing game ("Halo Kart") rumor debunked, and we'll be sure to splash a new post when the official fact sheet comes down.

In the meantime, check out the official intro here or see the awesome NEW trailer after the "Read More" link.

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