I'll make this short and sweet:  If you're willing to spend 25 bucks this week you can get two of the best co-op games of early 2012.  

Amazon's deal of the day today is Gears of War 3 available for the low price of just $29.99.  It's a title we felt was one of the best games available last year, giving it an Editor's Choice as well as awarding it our Co-Op Game of the Year for 2011.  With four player campaign co-op and five player online Horde and Beast modes, as well as plenty of couch and online options we couldn't help but fall in love with Gears 3. 

The PlayStation Vita continues it's mobile onslaught with another big release. Unit 13 is from SOCOM developer Zipper Interactive and like that game it's a 3rd person tactical shooter. We go hands on with the title and its 2 player online co-op mode and attempt to recon whether or not it's worth your $40.

It was only last week we brought the official info of the upcoming Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 content drop with it's two brand new Spec-Ops co-op missions.  Now Actor Rob Riggle is bringing you the details of each mission, should you choose to accept it, in the latest video.

Welcome to another edition of Beyond Co-Op Reviews, where Co-Optimus Editors take on non-co-op titles and tell you if they are worth your hard earned cash.  This month we've got a handful of titles that look great on the surface, but might not be so hot once you get underneath.  It's been a surprisingly busy Spring for all types of games and these titles are proof.

Tower defense is one of those genres that's on its way to being done to death. But that doesn't mean there aren't lots of unique and compelling tower defense games. Indie PC title Terrorhedron fits such a description - its truly three dimensional levels and 8-player online co-op certainly deserve a little attention. Said attention should be much easier to receive now that the game is available on several major digital distribution platforms.

Nothing says loving like a fresh and creative co-op game. Even sweeter is getting said game for half off the regular price. Now that Xbox Live Arcade exclusive ilomilo is the Xbox Live Family Gold Pack Deal of the Month for March, anybody with a Gold subscription can put this bun in their oven. For only five dollars, you'll be hard pressed to find a better co-op deal this month - unless something better pops up, of course.

Another month has come and gone, and we're back with a couple Co-Op Classics for your viewing pleasure. Today, we've got a nice contrast for you, with a game from the infancy of the video game era, coupled with a strong entry from the heyday of the brawler. Where else can you find Caddilacs, dinosaurs, and sea wolves, folks? (And what exactly IS a sea wolf anyway?)

Misfits Attic sent us word that their co-op action puzzler, A Virus Named TOM, is now coming to Steam once it's out of beta.  All current pre-orders will be converted to a Steam version.  Sweet!  What's even better?  The plan is for full achievement, stat, leaderboard and possibly even cloud save support.  Huzzah!

Welcome to Beyond Co-Op, a weekly piece that talks about industry stories that may or may not be related to co-op gaming.  We like to take a look around the industry and see what news and links may interest you in the world of gaming.

Diablo III's PVP (Player Vs. Player) system, known as "Arenas" is lagging a little further behind than Blizzard had foreseen. Don't worry, though - we're happy to inform you that it won't be holding up the game's release. The reason? Blizzard didn't rule that the delay of the feature was worth the postponement of the entire game.

Maaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaas Effect Triple mofos.  That's where it's at this weekend.  A large chunk of the Co-Opticrew will be heading to spaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaace to take on the Reapers with Shepard or their co-op buddies at their side.