Marvel vs. Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics debuted on most platforms last year, followed by an Xbox release this year. Right out of the gate, it was a really impressive collection, hence the high rating in our Co-op Review. Still, it seems that the collection had some room for improvement. This week's update adds local versus modes to each fighting game, graphical enhancements for Marvel vs. Capcom 2, new artwork and music, and more.

In the time before bullet hells, shoot 'em ups featured sharp level design and more deliberate gameplay. Konami's Gradius is undoubtedly one of the finest shoot 'em up series of the 1980s and 90s. Players will finally be able to enjoy many of those games on modern hardware thanks to GRADIUS ORIGINS. The upcoming compilation collects 7 arcade Gradius titles, most with multiple versions to choose from. What's more, four of them will support 2-player local co-op!

As loyal readers know, Earth Defense Force 6 is one of my very favorite games. My wife and I have collectively put hundreds of ours into it, mostly on the Steam Deck, Valve's portable gaming device. Many of those hours were spent in online co-op, a key selling point of the EDF series. Sadly, however, we can no longer play together fro...

The original Bee Simulator has some good buzz among bee enthusiasts, I'm told. Thus, it's no surprise that Untold Tales and VARSAV Game Studios have a follow-up in the works called Bee Simulator: The Hive. This one will combine the content of the original game with an all-new expansion called "The Hive." It will still support 2-player split-screen co-op, so we're ready to bee thrilled by it.

One of 2023's best Castlevania-style platformers was Gal Guardians: Demon Purge from PQUBE. As such, there's a good chance that the sequel, Gal Guardians: Servants of the Dark, will end up knocking our socks off this year too. We'll find out when the digital version comes along at the end of March. Physical collectors won't be left in the cold, however, because the physical PlayStation and Switch editions now have a firm June 12 release date.

Remember how fun Advance Wars: Portrait of Ruin was in co-op? It's not often that you find a turn-based strategy game that's so easy to play AND also supports the co-op. That's why we're pumped for Warside, the upcoming strategy game for Steam from Lavabird and First Break Labs (makers of Cthulhu's Reach). It plays a lot like Advance Wars, and we're dying to play it with friends.

While there won't be a Double Dragon game in Arc System Works' upcoming Super Technos World: River City & Technos Arcade Classics, the Japanese publisher does have something special in store for Double Dragon fans this year... Double Dragon Revive, the slick 3D reboot of the classic co-op beat 'em up, is due out in October. Preorders have opened up and include a free bonus game. To further hype up aficionados, Arc System Works is releasing a series of developer diaries with lots of behind-the-scenes details and images.

Long ago, Technos was one of the big Japanese developers, gifting the Double Dragon series and many other fine games to the world. Sadly, the studio closed its doors in 1996. Happily, however, Arc System Works bought the Technos name and library in 2015 and has produced several quality games since then. 2020's Double Dragon & Kunio-kun Retro Brawler Bundle compiled an impressive selection of Technos' NES games. This year, Arc System Works will follow up with Super Technos World: River City & Technos Arcade Classics.

The original Gal Guardians: Demon Purge is a fantastic Castlevania-style co-op platformer, so it's great news that it'll soon have a sequel.  Gal Guardians: Servants of the Dark will arrive on consoles and PC in March - not too far from now! What's more, PQUBE has released a free demo on Steam that allows players to experience the opening of the game and its 2-player local co-op support.

As a part of the Steam Next Fest event, Forever Entertainment has released a free demo of THE HOUSE OF THE DEAD 2: Remake on Steam. The demo allows 1-2 local players to try the first level of the remake. Join James Taylor and Gary Stewart as they fight stop an army of undead zombies and monsters from taking over the world.

It's a rare treat to see a game that was previously non-cooperative gain co-op support. That's just what happened to Tetris Forever this week. The third game in Digital Eclipse's Gold Master Series (which also contains the delightfully quirky Llamasoft: The Jeff Minter Story) is a collection of new and classic Tetris games from throughout the franchise's history, plus documentary content. The arrival of Super Tetris, which supports 2-player local co-op, pushes the game count up to 21. That's a lotta Tetris!

I don't want to get too big for my britches or anything, but sometimes we games journalists have a lot of sway in the industry. For instance, we just published our Earth Defense Force: World Brothers 2 co-op review today, and on the very same day, D3 Publisher finally updates the Steam version of Earth Defense Force 6. Coincidence? I think not! The update fixes a killer crash that afflicted some AMD Radeon users, reduces load times, and more. You're welcome, EDF fans! ;)