Welcome to Beyond Co-Op, a weekly piece that talks about industry stories that may or may not be related to co-op gaming.

If you have been watching television, movies, or reading much of anything on the internet lately, you are likely aware that the latest comic book movie, X-Men Origins: Wolverine, opens today.  It is appropriate, then, for us to look back at the origins of the Marvel Ultimate Alliance franchise.  This series has all the hallmarks of a good Co-Op Casual Friday game: high kid appeal, local multiplayer, and simple gameplay.  The one that started it all for this excellent series of games was X-Men Legends. X-Men Legends came out almost five years ago.  In 2004, the predecessors to the trio of modern consoles were in their heyday, and X-Men Legends was released for each of those systems:Xbox, PS2, and Gamecube .  The X-Men movie franchise had not yet been sullied by the third film (I'm still bitter, even years later).  X-Men Evolution, a successful cartoon series, had ended a good run the year before.  The time was ripe for a good X-Men video game, and X-Men Legends delivered.

Game or Go Outside. The question everyone must face at some point. We suggest gaming outside.

Turtles in Time is arguably the fan favorite of the classic Ninja Turtles games. Well, some (hopefully) good news for Turtles fans everywhere: Turtles in Time gets a 3D remake on the Xbox arcade! According to Ninja Pizza, who gave the demo a test drive, this Turtles in Time remake updated a lot of the things that needed to be updated, and left the rest well enough alone.  

Along with launching a brand new website for Sacred 2: Fallen Angel, CDV has released a handful of new screenshots for the Xbox 360 version of the game which will be released on May 12th.

Just a heads up - but if you head to your favorite version of the PlayStation Store, that is either via the PS3 or PSP, you can find a brand new demo for Patapon 2!

 We previewed Army of Two: The 40th Day last week, and in it we told you about a spiffy new trailer for the game to be unveiled today.  Today is today, ironic I know, and we have the new trailer to share with you.  Ready to see the worst zoo ever?  

It's no surprise that Halo is a monster franchise, a franchise I might add that is very co-op friendly.  Despite four Halo games, (1,2, 3 and Halo Wars) - people have an insatiable appetite to kick Covenant ass with their friends by their side.  

After the enticing preview and the first screen, we now have a better idea of what Borderlands is going to look like thanks to a new batch of screens on the Gearbox forums.  The official Gearbox Twitter account gave us the tip.

Reviews Guitar Hero Metallica FLOCK! Aegis Wing GTA: Chinatown Wars Monsters vs. Aliens The Dishwasher: Dead Samurai Alien Hominid HD Burn Zombie Burn Nintendo DSi Battleforge Co-Opticast Co-Opticast Episode 17: Army of Two: Army of Three Co-Opticast Episode 16: 2 Mikes, 1 Jason Features Spotlight on Jim Innovations in Co-Op Gaming Co-Op Classics: Metal Slug Battlefield Report: August 24, 1942 Beyond Co-Op Reviews for April Army of Two: 40th Day Preview Co-Op Casual Friday: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire Co-Op Classics: Joust Co-Op Couples: How I Stopped Worrying and Learned to Love the Co-Op Ghostbusters Co-Op Interview - 360 and PS3 Co-Op Casual Friday: Samba de Amigo Co-Op Couples: Demo Date Night Ghostbusters Co-Op Interview - Don't Cross the Wii-Motes This Week in Co-Op Onechanbara: Bikini Samurai Squad The Red Star SOCOM U.S. Navy SEALs: Combined Assault Phoenix Wright Rock Band 2 Releases Dynasty Warriors Strikeforce (PSP) Lode Runner (XBLA) Dynasty Warriors Gundam (360, PS3, PS2) FLOCK! (XBLA, PSN, PC) News Three Player Co-Op in Uncharted 2 LEGO Rock Band Announced Borderlands Changes Visual Style Microsoft Extends E74 Warranty

Treyarch has announced via Twitter and the official Call of Duty website that a new map pack is coming down the tubes very soon.

So, Dawn of War 2 has been out for a while now.  An RPG/RTS hybrid, the game has been generally well received, and we think it's pretty great, too.  Now, the soundtrack for the game is available, and even in these tough economic times, the price is affordable: $0.