Seventeen words. That's all that Arnold Schwarzenegger needed to utter in the first Terminator to become famous. The first two sentences in this paragraph total seventeen words. It just goes to show you that sometimes, less is more. Unfortunately, this is not true with the latest game set in the Terminator world, Terminator Salvation. In this case, less is just less.
The smell of Raiden is in the air. Hot on the heels of our review of Raiden Fighters Aces for the Xbox 360 comes news that Raiden IV will be released this August on Microsoft's console. Published by UFO Interactive, the Raiden sequel will feature 3d graphics, online leaderboards, downloadable content, and of course two player co-op.
It's summer, and that means the video games shelves are filling with blockbuster movie tie ins. The highly anticipated Transformers sequel, Revenge of the Fallen, is coming next month, and the games are due on the 23rd for all modern systems. Right now, it appears that the Xbox 360 and PS3 version will not have co-op, but that's not true of the Wii/PS2 version. Unfortunately, Tformers.com had some hands on time with that co-op, and was unimpressed.
E3 kicks off next week, and with that a plethora of gaming announcements. While we at Co-Optimus hope to hear some great co-op news, it may be hard to top last year's show. We decided to have a little fun today and give some predictions about E3 and what will be announced to the world, both co-op and not.
In what was a truly fortuitous circumstance, the focus of the latest This Week in Co-Op, Relic’s Action/RTS title Dawn of War II, coincided with the latest GFW Live Co-Op Night. Fellow Co-Optimus staff member Mike “pheriannath” Katsufrakis and I decided to get some practice in before things got kicked off, as it had been a while since either of us had played the game. We also have a history with the Warhammer 40k tabletop game and a particular friend that preferred finding, and using, the cheapest strategy possible in that and every other game we played with him. In this case, he liked to use the Tyranids so Mike and I have just a little built up anger towards the ravening, biological horde. The stage, then, for our co-op adventure was set: the Tyranids are invading, the planet Typhon is crying out for help, and we want to kill as many as possible. Blood Ravens… are… GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! A reference to a DS rhythm game from a couple years ago may not bring to mind the most epic of space battles, but we just couldn’t help ourselves. Once Mike and I had cleared the first few levels and gotten to the main portion of the game, we had our groove set and we were tackling problems all over that little corner of the galaxy. With some new issue popping up every few minutes, you have to start wondering if Blood Ravens get called in to rescue cats stuck in trees or help a washed-up basketball player battle a fire-breathing golem (ok, so the latter is feasible).
If there is any one thing the Wii needs more of, it's gore - I mean, co-op. From the developers of the beautiful, yet puzzlingly co-op-free shooter Conduit, we get The Grinder. A game chock full of Vampires, werewolves, and many other nightmare monsters to blow to pieces using the Wii remotes light-gun style gameplay. Not only will this gorefest shooter have co-op, but it will be online supported 4 player co-op. What do you think of when we mention fast paced 4 player co-op with scary things? Yea, we thought so too. High Voltage's Chief Creative Officer, Eric Nofsinger confirms an interesting Xbox parallel.
The 650,000 gun toting Borderlands game has seen major changes this year, and still has a lot left to share before it's September release. After changing the entire art style earlier this year, the game has made leaps and bounds to bring a hands on experience to the table, and we're going to share a bit of that with you now thanks to IGN's pre-E3 preview.
Koei entertainment will be bringing Dynasty Warriors 6: Empires not only to the PAL territories as initially announced, but now to U.S. fans as well! Featuring 2 player offline co-op as well as the original multiplayer mode, Dynasty Warriors 6 is sure to bring familiarity with a splash of new content to your livingroom. From the press release we learn a bit about what new features this game has in store for us.
It's time to dig out the parachute pants and eat some California Raisins. The recently rumored sequel to co-op karaoke game Lips has officially been announced. Titled Lips: Number One Hits, the game will include only songs that reached #1 on the charts. Not much has been said about gameplay changes, making Number One Hits sound more like an expansion, and not a true sequel.
Amazon is having a Gold Box day for Xbox 360 games. That means lots of great games at super cheap prices for a short window of time. We'll update this throughout the day, but I've bolded the clues which I think will lead to co-op titles.
Are you a fan of co-op SHMUPs? If so you probably want to check out Raiden Fighters Aces for the Xbox 360 - we dive deep into the game's co-op mode and come up with a mouthful of nostalgia (and bullets).
MTV Games and Pepsi are teaming up for big summer promotion for Rock Band. Beginning June 2, Rock Band fans will have the opportunity to become winners of an MTV Video Music Award. All you have to do to take home your own prestigious Moonman trophy is shoot a music video of you and your friends playing Rock Band in co-op! There is a catch however, you'll need to be playing along with one of the contest's predetermined songs. Videos can then be submitted to the contest website, where users will vote on which band totally melts faces and will be walking the red carpet at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards.
