We are but a few short days away from the unveiling of the next Xbox and the rumors are running quite rampant. One thing we do know for certain is that XNA, Microsoft's packaged game development tools, will no longer be supported, though nothing has been stated yet what that means for the XBLIG program. This week in Indie-Ana Co-op, we look at an indie game that shows the value in having a program like this on a console: Rise of the Ravager.

Do you enjoy games that exist simply to test your bladder's ability to hold urine? White Noise Online takes a page from the Slender book of game design and drops you and some friends in a dark, spooky woods with the simple goal of collecting a bunch of tape recorders. Don't worry, though, because you've all got flashlights! Flashlights that do little more than attract the scary thing that keeps appearing just outside of your field of vision.

This week in Indie-Ana Co-Op, we speak with John Common, the creative mind behind the zombie indie co-op game, Dead Pixels. If you haven't had a chance to play it yet, I highly recommend it. It's a bargain at $2.99 on Steam, and a steal at $0.99 on the Xbox. A year after its initial release, the game is still going strong and we wanted to find out from John what's been so successful about the game and what he's learned along the way.

This week in Indie-Ana Co-Op we take a look at Divided, puzzle platformer where the co-op requires a strong degree of coordination between players and the drop-in/drop-out mechanic is implemented in a different way.

This week in Indie-Ana Co-Op we look at a classic co-op game that’s been given a modern remake in Ninja Clash. Strap on your magic lanterns and katanas, it’s time to retrieve your master’s cheese! Don’t question it - just go with it.

The first patch for the Xbox 360 version of SCHAR: Blue Shield Alliance is now available.  The update brings a host of improvements including difficulty balancing, AI enhancements, control tweaks, and general bug fixes.  It's taken quite some time for this patch to finally be available, and your patience is appreciated.  All of these enhancements have been available on the PC version now since release.

Along with the release of the patch, the price of the Xbox Live Indie Game version has been permanently dropped from 240  to 80 .  The PC version has also dropped in price from $3.99 to $2.99 for the regular edition and dropped to $3.99 for the Special Edition.  Even better?  The game is on sale this week for 50% off on PC making it just available for $2.  

SCHAR: Blue Shield Alliance features four player local co-op in a twin stick space shooter that requires plenty of strategy and teamwork to survive.

Valve launched their Steam Greenlight service last week to the masses with the goal of getting a spotlight on promising indie titles.  Once it launched though, the unmoderated service quickly filled with spam type postings and the good content started to get lost in the shuffle.  Valve has since implemented a $100 barrier of entry which should help a bit, but indie developers like Brain Shape Games still need your help to get noticed.

So head on over to the SCHAR: Blue Shield Alliance Greenlight Page and give it a thumbs up and a positive review or comment.  With any luck the game may be available on Steam with it's twin stick space action and four player couch co-op play!  If you want to see what the game is all about you can always hit up Desura and download the demo or even purchase the full version!

This week in Indie-Ana Co-Op we play Overdriven, a 4-player vertical-scrolling shmup. Those gamers out there who are looking for a new bullet hell shooter on the Xbox should definitely apply within.

This week in Indie-Ana Co-Op we take a look at a puzzle platformer that goes retro in a way that we have not seen before: Gameboy style. Yes, the olive green screen of your youth has returned in all of its 2D glory.

Ah, the weekend... A perfect time to catch up on sleep, video games, and gaming news. As the visions and impressions of E3's co-op goodness continued to dance through our heads this past week, there were some interesting news pieces floating around this week that didn't necessarily have a co-op element to them. Fortunately, that's where our Beyond Co-Op feature comes into the picture.

This week, we take a brief look at the teaser for a series that may become the next big horror franchise, the imminent arrival of an RPG sequel based on a much-beloved franchise, a revered gaming icon would like to change his usual development MO, and we learn even more of how, like pimpin', video gamin' ain't easy.

As more and more exciting co-op news from E3 rolls in, we take a look at an indie co-op game that doesn't have new graphics, isn't based upon an award-winning franchise, or even 3D. It just throws hordes of enemies at you and your partner until you can no longer survive. What more could you want?

Now sit right back and I'll tell you a tell, a tale of indie game development. This week we look at SCHAR: Blue Shield Alliance, a game being developed by the founder of Co-Optimus. It's an inside look at the just how someone's mind works during this process. Perhaps it's just a bit too much Live Journal.

The days are getting longer, warmer, and just a bit more busy. Yes, summer is finally arriving and we've got some fun things planned for you all with our Indie-Ana Co-Op feature. Before we get there, though, we thought we'd do a quick retrospective of some of our winter and spring highlights.

We recently received a tip from former Co-Optimus editor extraordinaire, Katrina Pawlowski, concerning a hot new indie game. SCHAR: Blue Shield Alliance is a four player cooperative twin-stick shooter - in space! We've mentioned it from time to time. It's being developed by a few current and former members of the Co-Optimus staff*, along with some other people who I'm sure are equally great.

Kat wanted to inform us about a new contest being held over at the BSA website:

Another day, another Kickstarter.  The competition for your money continues to heat up as more and more independent studios, (even some not) move towards Kickstarter to find funding for their games.  We're currently receiving a handful of these every week asking for coverage.  So now, like you, we have to use our discretion at which ones we want to talk about.  The latest one that piqued our interest is a game called Boot Hill Heroes for Xbox Live Indie Games and PC.  It's being touted as a spaghetti western SNES style RPG with four player drop-in/drop-out co-op.  Yeah - I think we can get behind that.

There's a few items from the press release that stood out to me.  There seems to be a real focus on the co-op aspects of the game, pointing to the fact the menu system was designed so all players can have access to abilities at the same time during co-op play.  The co-op was inspired by Final Fantasy III/VI as well, and from the screens and video, it's pretty easy to see that.