Nope, I’m not referring to Andrew’s adorable dogs, sadly. I continue our TWIC play-with-randoms assignment series and take it into the MMO waters. We joke about the hell of public lobbies and matchmaking over XBL and Steam and whatnot (though it sounds like everyone so far on this assignment has had either positive or apathetic experiences - no outright negative ones, interestingly enough), but MMOs have their own special flavor of this hell known as Pick-Up Groups (or PUGs, for short). PUGs are most commonly used for dungeon groups but can be used for more difficult quests or anything that requires a group of people. A lot of MMO players actually play on their own a lot of the time, so they’ll need to hook up with strangers to complete the more difficult stuff.

In the midst of the latest summer releases, one title has quietly come along that has managed to capture my attention and affection more than any other. Jamestown, from Final Form Games, provides the kind of 16-bit co-op experience that feels so genuine it could have been a summer of ’92 release…

It's an action packed month of single player reviews. The game that almost never was is finally reviewed in Duke Nukem Forever. Want more? How about inFamous 2, LA Noire, Witcher 2, Red Johnson's Chronicles, Front Mission Evolved, and Thor. Summer drought my butt.

Magicka has been out for quite some time, but the game is still as fun as ever.  While its launch window woes included almost daily patches to get the game running, it has been slightly longer since the game received an update.  Today the game has received a huge update adding, fixing and tweaking over 70 items.  

If you're looking for a deal on some casual and addictive games, including a few co-op ones, then look no further than Xbox Live this week.  Pop Cap games are on sale, most for 50% off, including Plants vs. Zombies which features co-op play in the campaign and in a bowling mode.  We've got a review of that right here.

We wanted to remind you folks that the Summer of Raptr contest is still going on and you can still win exclusive prizes from Co-Optimus and Raptr just by heading over to Raptr, following us, and leaving a comment below.  

You've probably heard about the improvements to Gears of War 3's Horde Mode.  Buildable barricades, turrets, laser fences, bosses, yup, they're all there.  Have you seen them in action?  No?  Well you're about to.  G4's Kevin Pereira and Epic's Rod Fergusson break down some gameplay footage in this latest video.  The in-game action cuts out a little early, but you can pick it back up around the :34 second mark in the second vid.  If you like your game footage with 35% less awesome, you can stop the G4 video at the four minute mark.  Warning!  If you do that, you'll miss out on a fantastic Lester "Cole Train" Speight appearance, and the announcement of yet another NECA weapon replica.  Hint: It's awesome.

If the retro nature of the above photo doesn't send you screaming from your computer, I've got a little co-op game for you.  Realm of the Mad God is a new MMO co-op bullet hell shooter.  What the heck is that?  Why it's exactly what it sounds like.  It's a new HTML5-based browser game that plays like a shooter and has RPG elements.  I actually did some strait up research and played the game for a spell.  Looks like it has the potential to be a real time waster.  Realm of the Mad God is free to play, but of course there is the option to spend real money on it.  You can complete the game without spending a cent.  All the information you could want is right here. 

Bodycount, to those of us who have been following it, has had a rocky few months at best. Game creator Stuart Black departed the company, public relations fell silent, and now Joystiq has gotten a firsthand look...which didn't seem to impress them much.

Spelunky debuted as a single player, pixilated freeware game a few years ago.  It will soon be making a jump to the big leagues, and by big leagues, I mean the Xbox Live Arcade.  Okay, so not necessarily the majors, but hey, at least now people will have to pay for it.  The XBLA title will feature hi-res, hand painted graphics, a new soundtrack, and best of all, 4 player local co-op (or deathmatch).

Dungeon Siege 3 is out today on the PC, PS3 and 360 - and while the console versions controls are solid and satisfying, the PC version appears to have frustrated gamers if you use anything other than a gamepad.  You know, like a keyboard and mouse.  One Co-Optimus Editor had this to say:

Kat brought you some hands on impressions of Metal Gear Solid Peace Walker HD from E3 2011, now we've got some video of the game from the show as well.  Konami has put out their E3 presentation of the PlayStation 3 title showcasing its updated graphics and interface tweaks.