It's no secret that we're highly anticipating River City Girls 2, the sequel to WayForward's seminal beat 'em up RPG. The Japanese version arrived at the beginning of the month courtesy of publisher Arc System Works, but the release date of the North American and European versions has been up in the air. Thankfully, things have wrapped up nicely and WayForward has now announced December 15 as River City Girls 2's worldwide release date.

River City Girls 2 is out now in Japan, but we're still waiting for the official worldwide release date. Something we always look forward to from WayForward games is their memorable introductions. We can already tell you that the animated River City Girls 2 intro does not disappoint. In fact, after watching the catchy opening, we spoke with Adam Tierney of WayForward about exactly how the animation was put together!

If you asked about my two most anticipated co-op games of the year, I'd answer with Warhammer 40,000: Darktide and River City Girls 2. The PC version of Darktide launches this week, thankfully, but things are slightly more complicated for the Misako and Kyoko, the tough girls from River City. WayForward has confirmed that the Japanese and Asian versions of River City Girls 2 will launch on December 1, but the North American release is due later in 2022. That's cutting it close!

Way back in 2010, N-Fusion Interactive released a light gun-style rail shooter on Wii called Martian Panic. Earlier this year, Martian Panic returned on Nintendo Switch alongside the Martian Panic Alien Blaster accessory. The game features a deliberately corny retro vibe, lighthearted humor, and 4-player local co-op. Unfortunately, poor controls an...

Jitsu Squad, one of the fastest and flashiest beat ‘em ups in recent memory, is headed to consoles in December. Among Jitsu Squad’s standout features are gorgeous 2D artwork, a catchy soundtrack, and 4-player local co-op. To learn more about the original PC game and upcoming console versions, we interviewed Dave Baljon and Sebastien Rom...

Hamster's Arcade Archives series offers no-frills versions of numerous classic arcade titles. On Switch, the lineup even includes several arcade games from Nintendo! The Arcade Archives Nintendo titles never go on sale, which makes the current sale super exciting. Co-op classics like Mario Bros. and Ice Climber and non-co-op games like Don...

The Switch is no stranger to light gun-style games, but these games lack a certain authenticity when played without a prop gun. That's where the Martian Panic Alien Blaster from Fun Box Media comes in. Originally bundled with the game, Martian Panic, the blaster turns a Joy-Con into an alien blaster with lights and sounds. It's a unique accessory that works with games like The House of the Dead Remake, not just Martian Panic.

Taito's Bubble Bobble series started out in 1986 and remains popular to this day. Bubble Bobble 4 didn't get the world on first (though I like it), but there will be plenty more adventures for Bub and Bob in the future, including the upcoming Puzzle Bobble Everybubble. Merchandise for this series doesn't come to international markets very often, but Strictly Limited Games currently has a bundle of Bub and Bob plushies available to order. Quantities are already shipping and super limited, so don't delay!

Released to arcades way back in 1991 before migrating to consoles, Joe & Mac: Caveman Ninja is a classic 2D platformer starring two heroic cavemen who must rescue kidnapped damsels from evil cavemen and gigantic dinosaurs. 30 years later, Microids and Mr. Nutz Studio are unleashing an HD remake called New Joe & Mac: Caveman Ninja on all platforms. The PlayStation and Switch versions will launch digitally on November 24, followed by retail releases and digital Xbox and PC versions in December. Like the original, the remake will feature 2-player local co-op!

As the release of  New Joe & Mac: Caveman Ninja fast approaches, things are looking good in the music department. The game itself is a gorgeous HD remake of the classic co-op action-platformer in which a pair of heroic cavemen battle evil cavemen and dinosaurs. Microids, New Joe & Mac's publisher, has recently launched its own record label, Microids Records, with the New Joe & Mac soundtrack among the label's first albums. Other freshly-released soundtracks include Syberia 2, Syberia 3, Arkanoid Eternal Battle, Horse Tales, and a Flashback tribute album.

In early 2021, Dutch studio Tanuki Creative successfully launched a Kickstarter campaign for a beat 'em up called Jitsu Squad. The game has been out on Steam for a while, receiving numerous updates, and now it's headed to consoles. PlayStation and Switch versions are due in December, and publisher ININ Games plans to release an Xbox version later on. That means "jitsu" for everyone!

If there's one thing retro gamers love, it's a good compilation of classic games. As it so happens, Atari and Digital Eclipse have recently released exactly such a game with Atari 50: The Anniversary Collection for consoles and PC. This one collects a staggering array of titles from Atari consoles and arcades past, plus offers some new games to boot. It's a wild mix of games that, thankfully, includes more than a handful of local co-op games.