There used to be a time when game developers added a deathmatch mode to a game simply so they could have the multiplayer bullet point on the back of the box.  It seems though now we've gone a different, and much more preferred method, co-op.  Single player games have been adding a co-op mode to increase replayability and interest, titles like Mass Effect 3 and Syndicate spring to mind immediately.  The latest game to follow this trend is 2K Games The Darkness II which is out early next year on consoles and PC.

"Let me sell you something."  That's the only phrase I can think of when I see the new Xbox 360 Dashboard, which is out now on your console via a free update.  The updated dashboard replaces the "New Xbox Experience" design which came out almost 3 years ago.  The latest iteration puts the dashboard in line with a new design philosophy at Microsoft brought on by Windows Phone 7 called "Metro" - square tiles that bubble up information to the user in a simple and clean design.  There's one problem with the implementation on the Xbox 360 though - it's anything but clean.

That's it!  I've had it!  I'm going to stop declaring the 2011 gaming season officially over.  Every time I prepare to put the Co-Op Release Alert on winter hiatus a new game decides to launch.  This week was looking pretty bleak until this tweet popped up.  Thanks, Frozenbyte.  You've guaranteed a Co-Op Release Alert all the way up until Christmas.  Jerks.

Christmas is coming early, co-op gamers!  Trine 2, the sequel to the excellent puzzle platformer, Trine, has been given an official release date via Twitter!  PC and Mac gamers must have been especially good.  Trine 2 will be available for download this week, on December 7th.  Console games must have been well behaved, as well; Trine 2 will appear on the Xbox LIVE Marketplace and PlayStation Network on December 21st.  Linux users? You must have been bad.  You won't get the game until 2012.

After a skipped column in November, we’re back in December for another edition of MMO Co-Opportunities. It’s been exceedingly quiet on the MMO front of late (thus, the skipped November issue), but this month marks the release of Bioware’s first MMO: the Old Republic. Come, let us gossip and geek out about it.

It's almost 2012 and that means it's time to start talking Halo 4.  The next game in the series continues the story of the Master Chief sometime after the events of Halo 3.  343 Industries and series veteran Frank O'Conner chatted up some of the details of the game with website DigitalTrends.

Konami have announced a release date for their upcoming action game called NeverDead.  It's a game we saw at E3 that caught us a bit off guard, in it you play Bryce - an immortal character tasked with fighting off demonic incursions.  Being immortal does have its downside, namely you can be torn limb from limb and "live" to tell the tale.

Resident Evil is a series that reflects our times; the zombies representing the 21st century obsession with epidemics and the increasing gap between the super-rich and those living in poverty. Another modern global fear is terrorism and the upcoming Resident Evil: Revelation looks ready to reflect this, if its new story trailer is to be believed. Perhaps all these theories are true about Resident Evil - but it could all just be an excuse to go around and shooting cool stuff?

We reviewed Zombie Apocalypse: Never Die Alone a month back, giving it a solid 3.5 out of 5. This may have been some sad news for our PS3-owning readers over in Europe, however, as the game wasn't yet available for them (it's only currently available in Europe on XBLA). But good news! ZA: Never Die Alone will be coming to Europe's Playstation Network on December 14th.

For today only - that's Sunday, December 4th 2011 - you can snag Dungeon Defenders for only $3.75 on Steam.  Better yet, you can snag the 4 pack of the game for only $11.24 netting you three copies plus one free copy for poor friend!  The DLC is also on sale for $75% making it only $1.25 for the New Heroes DLC which includes the new 8-player co-op mode!

Welcome to Beyond Co-Op, a weekly piece that talks about industry stories that may or may not be related to co-op gaming.

A recent Dark Souls patch has plunged some of the staff back into that game.  I'm still not sure how they have time for that game after putting 100s of hours in and all these other great games to play.  No matter a lot of the staff will be hitting up Gears 3 for a community co-op night!  Join us if you are INSANE enough.