Y-a-w-n.  Well, I'm back from vacation.  Anything good coming out this we-- Oh my lord!  Look at that header image!  Aw, crap!  September 6th must be here.  It's D-Day folks.  As in "d-day" you go to your local game store and drop 180 bucks on games.  Three co-op  heavy hitters come out tomorrow.  It is on like Shao Kahn!    Get pumped!  It's frick'n Fall gaming season, y'all.  Let's do some damn release info.

We poked and prodded, stopping short of threatening violence - but we just couldn't get the co-op details out of THQ for their upcoming action game, Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine.  Finally, mere days before release, we've got the official details of the mode.

In case you missed it, the Warhammer 40k: Space Marine demo has gone live on the Xbox 360 and the PS3.  It popped up last week on the PC for lucky gamers who pre-ordered the title on Steam.  So now you can see if I was full of it when I previewed the game earlier this month.  It's bloody, brutal, and pretty damn boss.  If you like the Jump Pack in single player, just wait until you see it in multiplayer.  It's a thing of blood-splattered, gore-filled beauty.

Co-Optimus recently traveled to THQ headquarters for a chance to play the new WH40k Space Marine game. We managed to pry ourselves away from the action long enough to ask a few questions. Morten Haugaard, global WH40k sage, answered them.

Co-Optimus recently visited THQ corporate headquarters for a Warhammer 40k: Space Marine Community Event. I got to spend a few hours with both the single player campaign and the multiplayer versus modes. Here's what I saw.

Get ready to dive into WH40k: Space Marine.  A single player demo is launching on the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC next week.  Xbox LIVE and PC players will be able to strap on Capt. Titus' big bad boots on  August 23rd.  The PSN will get into the action on the 24th.

Relic and THQ have circled the wagons as far as WH40k: Space Marine co-op news is concerned.  While we may not have any new information on the cooperative front, we do have a nice, shiny developer diary for your viewing pleasure.  It clearly focuses on the single player experience, which is looking rather boss.

There is a great co-op debate going on over at the WH40k Space Marine forums.  An image from a promotional GameStop badge has created more questions than answers.  Let me explain... no, that will take too long.  Let me sum up:  The badge mentions "5 player co-op: Bonus FREE game mode (Day 30 DLC)."  What the hell does that mean?  I'm going to stop you right there.  There has been rampant speculation over this puzzling bit of information.  I've done a little speculating, myself (I'm not proud).  Except now it seems some rumors are being presented as fact.  A new thread popped up on the forums yesterday, and while it may not have all the information we want, it does have concrete information:

I've got two more WH40k Space Marine  videos for you today.  They may not be super-new, but as I said before, I was slacking on my Space Marine coverage, so it's time to catch up.  The first video is a cinematic little adventure that has some interesting plot points, it you're into that sort of thing.  The Orks are after some experimental device, and you have to stop them.  As if you need a reason to kill Orks.  I thought a Space Marine's default setting was "Obliterate." I didn't know he needed a damn reason.  Keen-eyed observers may notice the main character, Captain Titus, is almost always flanked by other Space Marines.  I don't want to get our little co-op hopes up.  I'm just making casual, slightly accusatory, observations.

I thought I had cooled on the upcoming WH40k: Space Marine game.  But every time I think I'm over it, I see a new video that sucks me back in.  We've been trying to dig up information on the co-op for months.  It seems like an announcement regarding co-op details has been perpetually delayed.  The game is scheduled to come out in a little over a month, and there's still no official word on co-op.  

I'll be honest - I've been hounding THQ PR for months now trying to get any kind of details out of them on Warhammer 40K: Space Marine and its co-op mode.  The game is a ltitle more than a month away and we've still not heard a peep about its cooperative offerings, and honestly, that makes me nervous.  Now it seems a Gamestop Pre-Order promotion for the title may have leaked a few details regarding co-op.

I only got to spend a few minutes with Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine from THQ and developed by Relic, but it was all I needed to know this game was going to be a viscerally satisfying 3rd person action game.

There seems to be an ongoing theme in the trailers coming out of E3 today.  They're rated "M," and proud of it.  Some gory games are due out in the year ahead.  This new trailer for Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine is no exception.   Watch Captain Titus slice and dice some orks with friends.  If you look closely you may even see some Chaos critters.  I'm kidding, you don't have to look that hard.  They're near the end, looking all Chaosy.  WH40k: Space Marine will be out on September 6 for the PC, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3.  It supports 4 player online co-op.

E3 2011 kicks off next week in Los Angeles, CA and Co-Optimus will be there all week to bring you the goods on all of the biggest upcoming co-op games and beyond.  Nick, Andrew and Kat will be bringing you news, pictures, video, tweets, and audio direct from the show floor all week.  To kick things off the Co-Opticrew thought they'd talk a bit about their most anticipated titles of the show.  

THQ has unveiled the collector's edition for Warhammer 40K: Space Marine, the upcoming 3rd person action game set in the gritty Warhammer universe.  While details of the cooperative gameplay elements of Space Marine have yet to be revealed, we do know the game will offer some sort of co-op mode or modes.