If there was one thing holding Rock Band 2 back from being the perfect music game, it would have to be the lack of support for wireless microphones.  A patch has just been released that fixes this problem, allowing rockers to use the Lips microphones (also recently released seperately) in a fully wireless environment.  We're pleased with the addition of this feature, but curious as to why it took so long.  After all, wireless mic support was announced last year!

The stories for this week:

A new iteration of one of the top co-op franchises on any system was released this week.  We're talking, of course, of Halo 3 ODST.  The game that started it all was Halo: Combat Evolved for the original Xbox.  Previous-gen consoles are fair game for this column, so let's take a look at the game that spawned what many consider to be the defining FPS series.

If the Co-Optimus staff had an office together, I'm pretty sure it would be filled with the sounds of ODST marines shooting/grenading/rocketing/hammering Brutes and Grunts right about now. You see, we kind of dig it.

 Welcome to a brand new edition of Beyond Co-Op Reviews.  We've given the feature a bit of a facelift, and are going to continue to bring you great game reviews of games that don't necessarily have a co-op mode.  

After the incredibly entertaining first episode of Claptrap's adventures in making Borderlands,  we had high hopes for Episode 2.  Thankfully it delivers as Claptrap gives us the skinny on working with difficult actors.   According to him "it's no vacation" trying to get someone to blow themselves up on camera.  Silly actors.

We know Tekken 6 was getting a 2 player co-op beat em up mode that can be played online, but what we didn't know is that there'd actually be a story involved with cut scenes and more.  The latest screenshots from the game show off some of this as well as a few action scenarios.

Army of Two: The 40th Day has had a strong showing to date, and the latest previews and media coming out of the Tokyo Game Show are no exception.

PlayStation 3 owners should be getting their hands on the new Lost Planet 2 Co-Op demo any minute now.  The rest of us?  We'll have to settle for these brand new screenshots and trailer straight from the Tokyo Game Show.

The news from the Tokyo Game Show keeps rolling in, bringing with it some more good co-op news for PSP owners.  Regular listeners of our podcast likely know by now that Mike and I have touted the virtues of Valkyria Chronicles, an action jRTS game released for the PS3 last year.  The one downside to the game?  No co-op.  Well it seems that that particular problem will be fixed in the sequel.  1Up reported today from the show floor that the upcoming Valkyria Chronicles 2 will feature custom characters, multiplayer mode, and co-op.  When asked about the new co-op mode, director Takeshi Ozawa had this to say:

Everybody loves a good pirate game, and there never seems to be enough around. With the resurgence of such classics like Pirates! and more recently The Secret of Monkey Island, there might just be some momentum in the genre. Enter Buccaneer: The Pursuit of Infamy a PC game from independent developers Stickman Studios. It's all the pirate action, without the pirate mess. Aside from the booty, the best part of pirate games are the ship to ship combat, and that is what Buccaneer is all about.

When Kingdom Hearts makes its way to the PSP, Co-op will come with it. Focused around the characters Terra, Ventus and Aqua, Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep will have 3-player link-up co-op. This particular co-op will take place in the battle realm called the Mirage Arena. This arena will give players the opportunity to replay bosses cooperatively, or select special co-op levels to play through.