E3 has come and gone but the Co-Optimus coverage hasn't stopped. You can expect a steady stream of co-op previews, pictures and news from the show over the next few days. Here's some (mostly) booth babe free pictures of the show floor for your enjoyment.
Welcome to Beyond Co-Op, a weekly piece that talks about industry stories that may or may not be related to co-op gaming.
Sure, there's plenty of stuff to to see on the floor at E3, but if you've got "Co-Optimus" on your badge, you can get into special behind-closed-doors sessions and really sink your teeth into a game. That's just what I did at the Deep Silver meeting room, where I got an hour of play time with Dead Island.
One of the surprise announcements of Sony's E3 2011 Press Conference was a brand new TV they created aimed at a budget friendly consumer market. The 24" 3D TV features 1080p support, 3D capabiltity, simulated surround sound capability, and of the most interesting feature - a 2 player mode that allows multiple players to see the full screen each with their own unique view.
Who here wants to play with a little bit of gravity? How about some 2-player co-op third-person shooter? You too, huh? Let me relay to you a little experience I had with a little game called Inversion here at E3 2011.
The developers were just as surprised as gamers were when Star Trek was announced to be in development for 360, PS3, and PC. The title has actually been in development for a year and a half already and is based on the new Star Trek film series created by LOST co-founder JJ Abrahams. So while gamers were surprised that a decent looking Star Trek game was actually coming, developers were surprised it hadn't leaked in that time period.
I only got to spend a few minutes with Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine from THQ and developed by Relic, but it was all I needed to know this game was going to be a viscerally satisfying 3rd person action game.
While we still cry every year to see a true co-op mode in the Call of Duty franchise de jour, you know - one in the actual campaign - we still enjoy the offerings the franchise gives us whether it's a zombies or a Spec-Ops mode. This year Modern Warfare 3 is delivering the latter - though its a souped up version of the two player co-op mode we saw in Modern Warfare 2.
There are some games that are visually appealing, and then there are games that make your jaw drop when you see them. Dragon's Crown is one of the latter. It's no wonder the game is beautiful, as it was developed by VanillaWare, famous for Odin Sphere and Muramasa: The Demon Blade. Dragon's Crown is a first for the studio in many ways: high definition, co-op, and online play.
It's true, we've been getting teased a bit when it comes to the co-opability of the next installment in the Ninja Gaiden series, Ninja Gaiden 3. Well, the teasing officially continues, this time from E3! We've been told that online co-operative and competitive modes (2-8 players) are currently being implemented for the game, and that these modes will both be "rich" and "challenging." Those adjectives are certainly... not... vague? We've also been promised that "new challenges, characters, and missions await those who choose to join the Shadows of the World online!" Well, you're very cryptic, Team NINJA, but I can respect that. Ninja Gaiden 3 will once again follow Ryu Hayabusa, exploring what drives him to fight, murder, maim, and kill. I've heard it will change how fans think about ninjas. Now I just need to figure out exactly how I currently think about ninjas. Hmmm. Ninja Gaiden 3 is planned to release early 2012 on the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3.
Comp-stomp co-op is becoming a fairly prominent form of co-op in PC-heavy genres like tower defense and RTS's, so the combo style game Defenders of Ardania is exactly that in beautiful 4-player compstomp co-op on platforms across the board. The demo was playable on iPad since that version is furthest along, but PC, XBLA, and PSN will host the game as well.
I'll admit, I was a little down when I saw the first trailer for Centipede: Infestation. The franchise was one of my all time favorites form the days of the Atari 2600 and the thought of a modern version of the game, something in the realms of a Pac-Man DX, really made me want to see the game. Instead what was created was a twin stick shooter based in the universe. After getting some hands on time with the game, I'll admit, it's better than I thought.
