News | 1/21/2012 at 8:57 AM

Beyond Co-Op: January 15th through January 21st, 2012

Welcome to Beyond Co-Op, a weekly piece that talks about industry stories that may or may not be related to co-op gaming.  We like to take a look around the industry and see what news and links may interest you in the world fo gaming.

- SOPA and PIPA Shall Not Pass
- Irrational Games Announces 1999 Mode for Bioshock Infinite
- Alan Wake Out on Steam this February
- SOL Exodus Brings Space Combat Back to PCs in January

 

SOPA and PIPA Shall Not Pass

Unless you were living under a rock this week, the internet was a buzz with talk of SOPA and PIPA.  These two controversial US bills were so broadly written that they could potentially harm legitimate fair use of content.  Further the punishments that went along with it were severe and there was very little power given to people to defend themselves.  So after several websites went "dark" to protest, including Wikipedia, the House and Senate were forced to shelve the bills and rethink them.  Stopping pirates is a noble cause, but lets be perfectly honest, no law is going to solve the problem - only chip away at it.  And like DRM that hurts legitimate customers...so will these bills.

 

Irrational Games Announces 1999 Mode for Bioshock Infinite

Hey you.  Yeah you, you mamby pamby game player.  You think you got what it takes to play a game the way WE used to play when we were kids?  You'll get to test your chops then in Bioshock Infinite's 1999 mode - an extreme difficulty setting that drops a lot of things we take for granted in today's game design and brings back some truly challenging gameplay.

BioShock Infinite’s 1999 Mode will feature an especially demanding gaming experience, forcing you to examine your decisions while going through your adventure in Columbia. With every choice you make, there are irreversible implications, and if your choices guide you down a path not suited to your play style, you will suffer for it.

You're welcome.

 

Alan Wake Out on Steam This February

Alan Wake is finally out on the PC next month, the game which was originally shown off as a tech demo for Intel processors.  The game will support 3D vision and a myriad of other PC tweaks along with including all the DLC from the 360 version of the game.  Remedy has put out an FAQ and System Requirement page for your viewing pleasure.  If you haven't played this one yet, do yourself a favor, and snag it when it becomes available.  

Source:  Remedy

 

SOL Exodus Brings Space Combat Back to PCs in January

I love me some Wing Commander.  I love me some Descent Free Space.  I love the space combat genre.  It's a genre that originated on the PC and has all but died out.  Thankfully some companies are taking a risk and trying to revive it.  Sadly, it's not a new X-Wing vs. Tie Fighter, but SOL: Exodus looks like a solid game.

"SOL: Exodus is a chance for gamers to get back to some real fun in a genre that's lost its luster in recent years," said creative director Chris Stockman. "We want to revive space combat games. People today want epic games and tense, action-packed experiences and we believe we've done that with SOL: Exodus. The game has huge battles and in some cases you are fighting against very large capital ships, which you can take down on your own. It's a blast in so many different ways."

The downloadable game will only set you back $9.99 and then feature mission packs as DLC to increase your content.  The game is out January 25th.

Source:  Joystiq