DRM, for all sorts of media, is a bit of a mess right now, and that's putting it delicately. How many times can you move that song to a new Ipod? Your 360 died; now you can't play XBLA games unless you're connected to the internet? These are worst case scenarios, but the problem is there, for many legitimate consumers. The most recent flaming has taken place over Spore, and it's Amazon reviews.
Resistance 2 is likely the most anticipated game for the PS3 this holiday season. The promise of 8 player co-op earned it a respectable #4 on our own list of hot upcoming releases. Oh yeah, and it features up to 60(!) players at once competitively. It is for these reasons, then, that today's news regarding the beta for the game is noteworthy. Shacknews reports that the online application form for the Resistance 2 beta is now available. You can guarantee a spot in the beta by preordering, or subscribing to Qore (Sony's downloadable video magazine), but what about the more economically minded? Just diddy-bop on over the the official Resistance 2 site and apply. The beta will test multiplayer, including the previously mentioned 8 person co-op. This sounds like a good way to spend some time until the games release on November 4!
In case you forgot, we have an upcoming Co-Op Night featuring Rock Band 2. The game hits store shelves this Sunday, and we'll be playing it all night next Thursday, the 18th. The kind folks at EA and Harmonix have sent along a few items to giveaway including T-Shirts and Stickers!
Slowly but surely, I'm finding a nice comfortable niche here at Co-optimus...and if anyone's noticed, I'm somewhat of a Call of Duty World at War advocate. Call me a "fanboy", though, and in your honor I'll start posting videos of me playing Wii Fit...not a pretty sight.
The preview beta for Good Old Games started this week, and after combing through their list of available (or soon to be available) titles, we have discovered several classic PC titles with co-op modes! All games on the service are sold DRM-free at very reasonable prices, and have been updated to work with XP and Vista. Co-Op Titles:
Being a game developer isn't all that glamorous. Take Ensemble Studios. These folks have developed top tier titles like the Age of Empires series and the Age of Mythology series. They've sold millions upon millions of copies of their games. They are developers of the co-op friendly Halo Wars title coming out early next year. And now, what started as a rumor has been confirmed. After the completion of Halo Wars the studio will shut down.
Just look at those little sack people! Aren't they adorable? Would you like to read all about them, even before the official release of LittleBigPlanet? Sure you would. Kotaku reports that a PDF of the manual was made available at SCEA, but it got yanked very quickly. However, you can be sure of a few things: you can't hurry love, you gotta know when to hold 'em, and you gotta download this kind of stuff before it gets pulled. Thankfully, someone did nab the LBP manual, and you can download it right here. There's a fair bit in there about co-op play; it looks like the implementation of co-op will be pretty smooth. We like that! Just be sure you don't do anything "that would offend your granny", as seen on page 15 of the manual. That's some good advice for real life, too, I suppose.
Everyone loves a good rumor, particularly considering that sometimes they end up actually being true. This rumor is considering a very popular game here at Co-Optimus. According to GameXtract, Left 4 Dead will have specs that open up the game to a wide variety of PCs. The supposed minimum specs are:
Remember when co-op meant split screen, by default? Way back in the stone age, when folks were sending smoke signals to communicate, playing co-op meant playing in split screen. Classics like Goldeneye 64 (pictured above) used this method to great effect. We love online co-op just as much as the next guy (actually, we probably love it a whole lot more), but it's worrisome that many games are abandoning split screen local co-op in favor of online only. This interesting post over at Kwanzoo laments the loss of split screen for many of today's best co-op games. But what current game really gets it right?
Sometimes you find co-op play in places you never expected to look. In our latest Co-Op Couples segment we take a look at how a competitive game like Mario Kart for the Wii can be turned into a cooperative experience.
It was voted our most anticipated co-op title for the rest of the year, so it's totally awesome news that Amazon is running a Left 4 Dead pre-order promotion.
While top down shooters seem to be a dime a dozen these days, fans of side scrolling shooters like the classic game Gradius or the more recent Omega 5 haven't been so lucky. Enter Soldner-X: Himmelssturmer. I can't even begin to understand how to pronounce that, but my guess is it sounds something like saying Soldier Him Less Storm with a mouth full of bratwurst and beer.
