Welcome to another edition of Beyond Co-Op, the weekly piece where we look at news in the game industry that transcends the co-op only genre. Despite us being in the thick of the Fall gaming season, news has been pretty light, that said, there's definitely a few diamonds in the rough.
This past week tower defense/FPS hybrid Sanctum received both a free update as well as a DLC map pack. The patch, entitled Still Alive, adds a new weapon (the Tesla Gun) as well as two new towers (the Drone and the Accelerator) to the base game. The map pack (entitled Map Pack 2, who would have thought?) gives purchasers access to three new levels (Industry, Chasm, and Invasion) for the price of $4.99.
Tonight is the first Xbox 360 Co-Op night we've had in quite some time. On the plate - Borderlands 2. Many of the staff will be online playing the game with community members of Co-Optimus and Xbox. Be sure to join us!
Almost a year after its PlayStation Network release, Rocketbirds: Hardboiled Chicken is coming to PC. This little side-scrolling shooter features a single player story mode wrought with evil birds, bizarre flashbacks, soaring jetpacks, and blazing guns. It also includes a separate co-op campaign that supports two local players. It's simple and fun, and the two player co-op adds some interesting elements to the platforming. You can read more about it in our Co-Op Review.
We recently brought you news about Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate, an upcoming Capcom title which will allow Nintendo 3DS and Wii U owners to hunt monsters cooperatively across both systems. The latest adventure in the Monster Hunter series is an expanded version of the Wii's Monster Hunter Tri. Touch screen interfaces of both the 3DS and Wii U will offer easy access to the menus and player inventory.
There's a new Sim City game coming next year and it's going to be bigger and more ambitious than any of the previous titles. Among the new features will be cooperative inter-city gameplay allowing players to work together to build bigger and better cities. The PC exclusive title expands on one of the oldest franchises in PC gaming, and from the looks of it, it's going to do it justice.
Serious Sam 3's massive 16 player co-op campaign has just gotten bigger thanks to the Jewel of the Nile DLC. The $9.99 priced pack of content features three "huge" single player / co-op missions, new bosses, new weapons, and of course...more Sam.
Disney Interactive has just confirmed the release date of the Wii U version of Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two, only previously revealing the official dates of the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and Nintendo Wii versions.
A New Super Mario Bros. Wii U has a trailer has surfaced, specifically tailored to showing off the co-op gameplay and visuals we’re looking for on the new Wii U platform.
Mass Effect 3 is getting a large co-op content drop. The "Retaliation" DLC will include a new enemy faction, new Class Kits, "hazard" versions of maps, new weapons and upgrades, and a new multiplayer "Challenge" feature. It's actually one of the more impressive free DLCs I've seen. Yeah, you read that right. It won't cost you a dime.
Dance Central 3 is dropping in a little less than two weeks. You may or may not know this, but there's an actual plot to this iteration of the dancing game. Was there a plot in the other two? Who cares. It's time to strap on your dancing shoes and fuel your flux capacitors. Yeah, that's right. There's a time travel hook in this story. Check out the videos and feel the beat.
Sony has been pumping out some nice compilations of their premiere franchises this year. God of War and Ratchet and Clank have received the bundle treatment. Now the Resistance series will be available as a total package later this winter. The Resistance Collection will include Resistance: Fall of Man, Resistance 2, and Resistance 3. It will also include some of the DLC from parts 2 and 3.
