Here in the UK the sun has finally come out and a summer to remember is just around the corner.  June promises to be a good one this year; a four day weekend for the Queen's Jubilee, a European Cup to look forward to, the Olympic Games on home turf and Babel Rising finally comes out on PSN and XBLA.

May has been a terrific month for fans of classic SEGA games. First Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode II launched last week on multiple systems.  Now four retro collections bearing the 'SEGA Vintage Collections' label are coming exclusively to Xbox Live Arcade over the next two weeks (sorry PS3 users). This Wednesday, the single-player Monster World Collection and Alex Kidd & Co. Collection debut at 800 Microsoft Points a piece. On May 30, they will be followed by Golden Axe Collection and Streets of Rage Collection for the same price.

It is always sad when a potentially good co-op game arrives and turns out to be less so. This was the case with South Park: Tenorman's Revenge.  The 4 player co-op title could have been a great platformer, but poor controls and awkward level design made it a low 2 out of 5.  Rather than rest on their laurels, developers Other Ocean Interactive have come back with a major update that may just save the game.

We here at Co-Optimus have been anxious to play Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode II ever since we learned it would feature the return of Sonic 2-style co-op. The game is now live on Xbox Live Arcade, Playstation Network, and Steam, so teams of players can once again step into the shoes of Sonic and his effeminate pal Tails and take on the dastardly Eggman. To drive the point home, SEGA has released a short-but-sweet trailer showcasing many of Episode II's highlights (as well as the choice bonus content for Episode I owners).

What hath science wrought? Fable Heroes grafts the familiar Fable world onto a beat-em-up/party game with predictably mixed results. Its only hope for redemption: drop-in, drop-out combo co-op!

The latest Arcade Next event on XBLA has had some good co-op action in the form of Fable Heroes, but arguably the best has been saved until last.  With co-op spanning 4 player local and 8 player online, Minecraft: Xbox 360 Edition looks like the most fun you can have with 8 people when no whipped cream is involved.  Out Wednesday 9th for the princely sum of 1600 Microsoft Points, Minecraft 360 may be on the expensive side, but looks packed with entertainment.  Watch the new trailer if you don't believe me.

Wednesday has come and gone - did you pick up either of the co-op friendly titles released on XBLA?  It might be worth downloading the trail versions of Awesomenauts and Fable Heroes whilst you yearn for the definitive co-op review from Co-Optimus.  Whilst we wait no one said we have to be bored, check out Read More for the launch trailers for both games.

The weekly sales on PSN and XBLA are amongst the highlights of my gaming week.  What will appear this time; a selection of co-op friendly titles for next to nothing, or some overpriced DLC reduced to slightly less overpriced?  Admittedly some of the weekly sales are less emphatic than others, but do you know what is a bargain?  A game that is permanently reduced. This has just happened to Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet, now yours for 800 Microsoft Points, or as I like to call it - the price that all download games should be in the first place.

Last month we reported on a rumor that the Golden Axe and Streets of Rage series would be getting new Xbox Live Arcade releases. Those rumors have been all but officially confirmed by Xbox.com product pages for both collections, which showed up and then vanished yesterday. Thankfully a NeoGAF user captured the product descriptions and screenshots for both releases, which are titled SEGA Vintage Collection: Golden Axe and SEGA Vintage Collection: Streets of Rage.

Details are still scarce about Ska Studios' upcoming Xbox Live Arcade exclusive, Charlie Murder. We know it's a four player beat-em-up with RPG elements, which creator James Silva has coined as a brawl-PG. I'm fond of RPG-eat-em-up, myself. Anyway, the game revolves around the members of a band called Charlie Murder setting out to stop the evil band Gore Quaffer and its monstrous minions from doing bad things. That's still a bit vague, but three new screenshots (plus a brief video from PAX East) give us a better idea of what to expect.

Before I get too far into this review, I want to put out a disclaimer of sorts. I am not a huge South Park fan. I've watched only a handful of episodes in the many years the show has been around. That said, this is a video game review, and I certainly enjoyed the South Park tower defense game quite a bit, so I did my best to approach it with an open mind. Coming from a non-fan's perspective, I believe Tenorman's Revenge is below average at best.

For a few brief hours yesterday, anyone who prepurchased Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode II on Steam had the opportunity to download and play a near-complete beta version of the game. Shortly thereafter, somebody realized the screw up, pulled the beta, and deactivated it from users' Steam libraries. Before that happened, several players managed to rush through the game, capturing some lovely new screenshots and videos for all the world to see. They even tested the 2-player local co-op!

Who is the Ultimate Warrior?  For many it will be the former WWF star with that namesake.  However, in my opinion a truly powerful fighter is unlikely to be covered in tassels and face paint, whooping at his enemies. Give me the Barbarian from Golden Axe any day.  The Warrior character in Realms of Ancient War (RAW) follows in these barbarian footsteps.  A new trailer highlights his belief that what you can't say with flowers, say with a sword.  Check out the trailer for some in game footage of this 2 player local drop in co-op dungeon crawler, due some time later this year on PSN and XBLA.  It is certainly looking like potentially one of the best the genre has to offer.

As you all know, Sonic 4 Episode II will be featuring the classic duo of Sonic and Tails, exploring a new age of the Sonic combos these two will bring forth. Collaborative gameplay is the name of the game between Sonic and Tails this time around, using 1 of 3 combos to help players take on the difficult areas of any stage.

Back in January, A World of Keflings developer NinjaBee announced a contest to let fans choose which direction the XBLA game's next downloadable content package would take. Not surprisingly, the candy-themed selection 'Candy for Keflings' bested the rest. Four months later, the DLC has yet to arrive, but NinjaBee has kindly provided a status update and new images (like the one above) to tide us over.