Beyond Co-Op: February 1st to February 7th
The stories for this week:
This week on Casual Friday, we'll take a look at several games, all in the same genre. Each of these games are for the Wii; Nintendo's console is a fine choice for casual gaming, though certainly not the only option. The unique capabilities of the Wii remote have led to something of a renaissance in an old, but dearly beloved game type: the lightgun shooter. We'll look at several examples of Wiimote shooters today in our quest for the best co-op title in the lot. One of the first things a non-gamer will say when you hand them an Xbox 360 or PS3 controller is "what do all these buttons do?" It can be overwhelming to say the least. Consider the Wiimote, though. The pointer motion is quite natural, and easy to understand. There are lots of buttons, yes, but A and B are much larger and more prominent in a tactile way. The device is a perfect fit for the simple point and shoot philosophy of lightgun games, and Nintendo obviously knows this.
This weekend is the New York Comic Con - and we'll be there to cover the show! Ok, by we'll I mean, I'll be there while everyone else plays games from the comfort of their own living room.
Last night we were lucky enough to get some hands on time with upcoming Activision games for a pre-NY Comic Con event. We examined the ex co-op game Prototype, slashed some bad guys in X-Men Origins: Wolverine, and met our old friend BJ Blaskowitz it's Wolfenstein. While there's no co-op to ...
VG247 reported this week that Rare is teasing unlockable clothing -- and possibly accessory items -- for our Xbox 360 NXE avatars in the near future.
Don't take this post's title the wrong way: I've never viewed Nintendo Wii and DS owners as "casual gamers". To the contrary -- anyone dedicated enough to stand by these consoles while third-party publishers ignore them over and over again is a true gamer in my book.
The original Gauntlet was one of the first, and arguably the greatest, co-op experiences in video game history. The Gauntlet Legends series of remakes was pretty good too. As of late, though, the Gauntlet name has been fading somewhat. Gauntlet Seven Sorrows was seen by many as a step backwards.
Titan Quest has been mentioned in the news recently, mostly because the developers have formed a new studio and are currently creating a spiritual successor. If you haven't tried this co-op action/rpg, now is your chance.
We had hope to bring you some hands on impressions of the latest Marvel Ultimate Alliance game today, but alas Activision didn't have it for show during an event last night like previously planned. No worries, we still have you covered with a brand new trailer from the game.
It was bad enough to have infected zombie dogs, but now zombie gators too? Perhaps he's not infected, maybe he just wants to play fetch. Either way the latest screenshots of the arguably controllable Resident Evil 5 sport lots of water action. Boats, boats, gators, and uh...water make up an area we haven't seen yet to date.
Our love for Left 4 Dead is well documented. The game even won the coveted Golden Billy as the best co-op game of 2008. We've played each campaign over and over. We've beat survivors down as the infected in Versus mode. Now, a few details about an upcoming expansion for Left 4 Dead have been revealed.
Being a couple is tough enough. Being a Co-Op Couple is near impossible. Thankfully, our latest feature reiterates the importance of being as selfless as possible, but without becoming an "Our Home Plays Co-Op" doormat.