The co-op friendly, independently developed, tower defense title Sol Survivor received a patch last night that added, amongst other things, a new co-op map for players.  Also included in this patch is a new version of the Trial Game that’s available to download from the XBox LIVE Indie Marketplace free of charge.  The Trial Game now includes an in-depth tutorial and a Challenge level that allows players to test their tower defense chops on a mid-campaign map set to medium difficulty.  A full list of all fixes from the patch can be found on the Sol Survior forums.  Be sure to tune into Co-Optimus next week for our review of the game!

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Halo 3: ODST is out this Tuesday, September 22nd, and despite our favorable review of the game, we had one major complaint - no co-op matchmaking.  Thankfully we got you covered with our first of many ODST co-op nights. 

Microsoft's portal into everything Halo will launch on November 5th.  The Xbox 360 channel will be home to exclusive content including podcasts, videos, screens, and events.  

One interesting feature of it is said to be a persistent ranking and accomplishment system tied to the Halo games including Halo 3, ODST and presumably Reach when that launches next year.  Waypoint will also host the Halo: Legends Anime series.  For more info on Waypoint you can follow the team on Twitter.  

You'll definitely want to keep an eye on this, we should hopefully have some great info regarding Waypoint and Co-Optimus in the near future!

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Game Name: Sol Survivor
Co-Op: Yes
Co-Op Type: 2 player campaign co-op / 8 player multiplayer co-op (local and online)
Developer: Cadenza Interactive
Release Date: Fall 2009

After I had a chance to demo Max Blastronaut at PAX, I got to play Cadenza Interactive’s entry to the Dream.Build.Play. contest, Sol Survivor.  Like many tower defense games, you build towers to stave off an ever-increasing number and variety of “creeps” from reaching a certain point on a map.  Unlike many tower defense games, however, you can fend off the horde with the help of a friend.

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Game Name: Max Blastronaut
Co-Op: Yes
Co-Op Type: 4 player drop-in/drop-out local co-op
Developer: Coin App
Release Date: Fall 2009

Coming out of Microsoft’s Dream.Build.Play. contest was one particular co-op title that managed to score second place overall.  Max Blastronaut places you in command of the titular hero who is charged with defending his little piece of the galaxy from the evil Dredge Miners; a group of space farers that roam the universe plundering entire galaxies for fuel and leaving destruction in their wake.  Poor Max doesn’t have it too easy, but fortunately, he can bring along three friends to help take down the Dredge.

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Microsoft has added the first batch of new titles to its Games on Demand service over Xbox Live.  Among them is Saint's Row 2, a two player co-op title we rather enjoyed last year.  The game costs a staggering 3000 , which translated into real world monies is $37.50.   Considering you can get the full retail game for $28 (shipping included) I'm not quite sure you want to hop on the On-Demand bandwagon just yet.

 But, if price isn't a problem and you just want the downloaded convenience, hit this link to add it to your queue.

Update:  Oddly enough, now the link goes to Saint's Row 1, not 2.  Also the price has dropped from 3000 points to 2400 points or $30.  I swear it was there earlier.

Sometimes a relationship keeps people apart. The long distance relationship was always considered difficult, but thanks to modern technology there's no reason to feel apart from your significant other. Our latest co-op couples looks at using co-op gaming, movies and chat to keep connected.

That's right, we're going back to our roots for this month's co-op night!  With all the talk of Halo 3: ODST it's time to get in the Spartan mood with the original Halo 3 and its four player co-op campaign.  Find out how to join us in our monthly Xbox Live Co-Op Night!

The new Xbox 360 dashboard is live this morning for all to download.  You'll be prompted for a system update once you boot your Xbox 360 and connect to Xbox Live.

The update will get you a brand new party system in Netflix, Avatar items and unlockables, games on demand, a full rating system for all content, and enhanced user interface features like a new achievement browser and sortable friends lists.  You may even see some performance improvements.  You can find out the entire change log of updates on Xbox.com.

Which feature is your favorite feature of the update?  What feature would you like to see in future updates?  

Last night we finally got to test out the new Netflix Party feature with the upcoming dashboard update.  It's an interesting concept, one that I think will go a long way if it performs as well as it did last night.

The idea is simple really - get a bunch of people together to decide on a movie and then watch it together over Xbox Live.  The set up looks a bit like Mystery Science Theater 3000, and the results will most likely end up being similar.  With your avatar parked in front of the screen, capable of emoting, well things can get just downright silly.

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