Ever since our in-depth preview that included some hands-on time by Mike, our hopes have been high for Lord of the Rings: Conquest. Even though Pandemic apparently removed two players from the four-player co-op campaign, Pandemic's last two battlefield-style outings -- Star Wars Battlefront and Battlefront II) -- allowed enough AI on the playing field at one time that players could band together and play multiplayer matches as co-op partners. Conquest looks like it will be no different: the Live page for the game indicates that up to four players can play splitscreen.

The above screenshot is taken from Resident Evil 5's same box split screen mode.  It's a mode that a lot of developers seem to leave out nowadays in co-op play, so it's one we shouldn't take for granted.  But the folks over at Destructoid, well lets just say they are throwing a hissy fit about it.    

Our first co-op night of the new year is none other than Gears of War 2.  We'll be playing both campaign and horde modes co-op over Xbox Live on January 15th, 2009.  Want more details on how you can join in on the action?  Read on.

We just wanted to wish everyone a very Happy New Year.  2008 was a great year for Co-Optimus.com and cooperative gaming, and we are even more excited about 2009! 

Mysteriously disappearing content...what an appropriate glitch that has sprung up and caused psychological distress to LittleBigPlanet gamers that have purchased and installed the Metal Gear Solid -themed downloadable content made available last week...

We found a special treat in our tip jar today! J3DI from Colony of Gamers sends us word that a low-flying indie open source game has been made available, and all appearances indicate that it has two-player co-op.

Here is the final roundup for 2008.  Despite December being somewhat of a slow month we put out a slew of great content for everyone.  Be sure to check out some of the links below to see what you may have missed!

Anytime any big name title gets a multi-platform release, someone...somewhere inevitably does a side by side comparison to see which version is "better."  With the Resident Evil 5 Co-Op demo released last month in Japan on the Xbox 360 and a recent PS3 version of the demo becoming available with new system purchases; well that time has come.

I've been in love with White Knight Chronicles since I first heard of it.  Now that the game has launched in Japan, we can read some actual, hands-on experiences from those who have played the game.  1UP's preview is especially detailed.  It appears that the main story mode, featuring the enormous robotic warrior we've seen so much of, is just half the experience.  The remainder will be the 4 player online co-op mode.  While playing online, your avatar is the main story mode's character's companion.  You have full control of creating this characters look in the robust creation tools.  All in all, the game plays much like an MMO.

A new preview went up this morning on CVG, and thanks to the watchful eyes of Co-Optimer rafoca, we have some co-op tidbits for you!

Our second Games for Windows Co-Op Night is rapidly approaching. For January we'll be heading into Liberty City in Grand Theft Auto IV on the PC. Be sure to join us on January 13th for GFW Co-Op Night!

 It's been a crazy and interesting year.  We launched Co-Optimus.com some 11 months ago with two goals in mind - promote co-op gaming and provide co-op gaming information.  Since that time co-op gaming has gone from a bullet point on the back of a box to the main feature promoted by publishers at press conferences.  In total there were over 100 co-op games released this year,  and that my friends is pretty damn awesome.  As the staff looked back over the list it was pretty clear what the standout titles were, but that didn't make the decision any easier for choosing our Co-Op Game of the Year.