Some of the most fun I've ever had gaming was during Tuesday night matches of Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter.  We used to play 12 player co-op against the AI, clearing map after map of random waves of enemies.  It's been five years since we've had a proper Ghost Recon game, but the day has finally come and it looks as if Ubisoft has stepped up all the pieces of the tactical puzzle for Ghost Recon Future Soldier.

Here in the UK the sun has finally come out and a summer to remember is just around the corner.  June promises to be a good one this year; a four day weekend for the Queen's Jubilee, a European Cup to look forward to, the Olympic Games on home turf and Babel Rising finally comes out on PSN and XBLA.

May has been a terrific month for fans of classic SEGA games. First Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode II launched last week on multiple systems.  Now four retro collections bearing the 'SEGA Vintage Collections' label are coming exclusively to Xbox Live Arcade over the next two weeks (sorry PS3 users). This Wednesday, the single-player Monster World Collection and Alex Kidd & Co. Collection debut at 800 Microsoft Points a piece. On May 30, they will be followed by Golden Axe Collection and Streets of Rage Collection for the same price.

It’s not that we are surprised by this, but it does make our cravings for a decent, dance game to make a dent in our wallets. As projected by Ubisoft’s 2012 Earnings Presentation, a Just Dance will be making a Wii U appearance to the co-op scene.

Coming to XBLA and PSN with a 1980’s flair, Double Dragon Neon rewinds the side-scrolling beat'em up genre over two decades to bring us a co-op game worthy of a chest bump.

Happy Victoria Day, Canadian readers! According to reputable sources, this holiday traditionally represents the beginning of the summer season. Well, we do things a little differently down here, south of the (Canadian) border.

This month's Co-Op International column takes aim at Espgaluda II Black Label. Not only is the title a mouthful, the game itself is full of bullets! Bullets and flying teenagers with psychic powers, oh yeah. Luckily for shoot-em-up fans, this one's not too tough to import.

Happy first lunch break of the week, CST people! I hope you brought enough to share with everyone. Let's get our Co-Op Release Alert on! 

There was a time when we thought we'd see Aliens: Colonial Marines in the Spring...of 2010.  There was also a time when we thought we'd see the game coming this Fall.  Sadly I've run out of movie quotes to use for the latest delay.  Today, Gearbox and SEGA have announced the "official" release date for the four player co-op game - and that date is - February 12th, 2013.

Now here's a bit of interesting news that just appeared out of nowhere.  Overkill, makers of the 4 player co-op PAYDAY: The Heist and Valve, publishers of Left 4 Dead are collaborating on a new project that is "a blend" of the two aforementioned titles.   Overkill was just recently purchased by Starbreeze, who put out the recent Syndicate title, making this bit of info even juicier.

For denizens of co-op boardgames, Scotland Yard is a name that should have crossed their path.  It is a classic game in which up to 5 co-op partners play police officers as they hunt for the mysterious Mr X around London.  The boardgame is a co-op experience for most of the players, except for Mr X who must run on his own.  The new Scotland Yard iOS for iPad and iPhone aims to remedy this and can be played pure co-op if 5 players chose to go up against the Mr X AI.

With the upcoming release of Dragon's Dogma sans the inclusion of a proper co-operative mode, Capcom fans have been up in arms with the lack of a true multiplayer experience. However, asynchronous co-op could lead to an interesting way of being able to interact with your friends without actually playing at the same time as them.