Hey there, folks! Welcome once again to another edition of Beyond Co-Op, where Co-Optimus looks "beyond the co-op aspect" and brings you some gaming news that doesn't always revolve around cooperative play. For this week’s take, we have a couple of interesting stories on the gaming industry and how their choices affect us as players, consumers, and even developers!

I’m a big fan of Orcs Must Die! and its co-op sequel, Orcs Must Die! 2 (henceforth OMD2). I had a blast with OMD2 when it came out two months ago (as can probably be seen with the 5 out of 5 I gave it), but since then the “other twos” (other big titles that end with the number two) have sucked my attention away from this humorous, action-driven tower defense game. This week, however, I had the excuse of diving back into the game with the recently released “booster pack,” Family Ties .

There's an uprising on our hands.  Certain members of the Co-Opticrew are convinced that Tokyo Jungle should be taking up our time and not the loot of Borderlands 2 or Torchlight 2.  Are they crazy?  With tweets like this from our own Cubninja, I'd say - probably not.

Two of the biggest co-op games of the year are here - Borderlands 2 and Torchlight 2. The crew dives head first into the loot filled explosion of Action / RPG goodness and comes out mostly unscathed.

This week in Indie-Ana Co-Op we look at a game that was born out of frustration, which is an interesting way for game to come into the world. Zytron II is one man's wish to see the side-scrolling shooters of gaming yore return, and he's certainly made a good start at getting that ball rolling.

For the Wii U version only, Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor’s Edge will receive an upgraded game (you could count this as the “Sigma” version of the game). Not only will dismemberment visuals will be included back in the series, along with an improved AI of the enemy demons and ninjas you’ll encounter, the biggest feature going into it will be the addition of Ayane, a female ninja who’s skills are arguably on par with Ryu Hayabusa’s, as a playable character.

It's a good day to be a bug hunter. Today we have a dozen new screens from Earth Defense Forces 4. It's being developed by Sandlot, the same crew who handled the delightfully campy local co-op title, Earth Defense Force 2017. We recently posted a trailer for the alien blaster here. Watch it. It's awesome.

There might not be an NHL season this year thanks to another pro sports lockout, but that doesn't mean gamers can't have their fill of pro hockey. This year's hockey game, NHL 13, from EA sports is almost a complete reboot of the series, bringing what is perhaps the most realistic feeling hockey game to date. But can a simulation of the game create the thrill of it?

Tokyo Jungle arrived on the PlayStation Network yesterday. I picked it up out of curiosity, having heard that I would get a chance to fight a lion with a toy dog, or some such nonsense. As I was cruising the menus I was surprised to see a local co-op mode. The game has been out for a spell in Japan, so it’s no big secret. We missed it though, sorry. 

Castle Crashers is finally gracing the PC with a proper release.  The Behemoth masterpiece co-op game is now out on Steam with full four player local and online co-op support.  It's available on both Mac and PC for $14.99 today and comes complete with all the personality, weapons, and colorful characters as the 360 and PS3 release of the game.

The first official trailer for Call of Duty: Blacks Ops 2's zombie mode is here, not to be confused with the first official teaser trailer.  The heavy metal filled video unveils some key details about the mode which is rumored to be a meaty campaign all on its own.  If the video is any indication, we're in for a wild ride.  (bad pun alert)

The EDF is back and better than ever! Earth Defense Forces 3: Portable launches for the Playstation Vita tomorrow. EDF3: Portable is a portable... port of the cult classic Earth Defense Force 2017. Now it features four player online co-op and the flying PaleWing character from Earth Defense Force 2, AKA Global Defense Force, which was never released in the US. The bad news is that this new iteration of the third person bug buster is only available in Japan (for now).