Games Conference in Leipzig has been eventful for the world of co-op. We've shown you some cool Diablo III screens, as well as some info about Resident Evil 5. We've shown you guys some pretty killer videos that make Resident Evil 5 look like a safe bet for co-op fans. Well, I'm happy to bring more news about Resident Evil 5. However, be warned, this news post doesn't come with a bunch of great vids. Sorry folks. However, 1up has posted some info that might be just as important as some cool vids. The article is mainly about how co-op will affect the fear factor in Resident Evil 5. The article quotes RE5 producer Masachika Kawata is saying:

The folks at EA have just released a brand new Co-Op Trailer for the upcoming Mercenaries 2 game on the Xbox 360, Windows and PlayStation 3.  The trailer really focuses on all the aspects of co-op play and how there's seemlessly endless possibilities.  The entire single player campaign can be played co-op and it's true drop-in/drop-out support.  At any time you can simply invite a buddy in and away you go off to destruction.

Just a reminder folks - tonight is our Too Human Co-Op night on Xbox Live.  Interested in joining?  Simply use the match making tools of Xbox Live to find partners or utilize the friends of friends feature for gamertag co optimus!

Today we begin to kick off a new Weekly Column here on Co-Optimus which focuses on co-op games and the co-op couple.  Co-Op Couples play games together as a team.   These folks have broken down stereotypical barriers and enjoy playing co-op games together.  I think you'll see any genre of game will do from Action to RPG and Shooter to Sports.  And while we focus on traditional co-op games, I think you'll find that some of our featured couples actually have found inventive ways to play Single Players games together. Our first article is a bit of an intro article - and it's mainly written for the men of the household.  It's titled "How to Cope with a Loss."

August has been a month of casual or arcade games for me. I've either been busy or sick, so they fill a nice niche for me. So, the approach of Castle Crashers has me excited, and since it's still a week from release, I had to satisfy my arcade game craving. Thankfully, The Behemoth (the Castle Crashers dev team) already had it covered. After all, they have made another XBLA game, and it features co-op. The game I'm speaking about is Alien Hominid HD.

IGN has posted their impressions from some hands-on time with Call of Duty: World at War.  As we reported to you earlier this summer, the fifth Call of Duty title will feature co-op play, for the first time in the series.  The WWII-themed title will let players drive vehicles and work together as a squad, teaming up to achieve objectives.  However, there is an interesting twist to the co-op play that is referred to as "competitive co-op".  This feature adds individual scoring to the game; at the end of each round, the winner is the one who has accumulated the most points for kills, head shots, etc.  This little snippet from the article is particularly interesting:

Blizzard has just sent out a fresh batch of screen shots for Diablo 3.   Currently the game is set to support five players in the co-op based story.   But the biggest revelation from the screen shots is the fact that each class has both a male and a female version of the character - furthering adding onto the MMO-esque nature of the latest Action RPG.   We see both a male and female Barbarian, and some other screens show a Female Witchdoctor (we previously saw a male one). 

If you haven't heard, there's a giant game festival going on in Leipzig, Germany right now.  Capcom has released what can best be described as a "kick ass" trailer for the upcoming co-op friendly Resident Evil 5.  How kick ass?  Well it's got: explosions, dirt bikes, mini guns, zombies, some big executionor with an axe and a weird dude in a bird mask.  Shall I go on?  Ok, there's exploding heads, slimy worm like creatures, decaptations, and a hot girl in a nurse outfit.  Yeah, I think that about covers it.

Link's Crossbow Training meets Sunset Riders in the recent WiiWare release, Wild West Guns.  Load up your sixshooter and call in a "pahdnuh" to defend the innocent townsfolk from flying sombreros, dynamite filled balloons, and a whole slew of bandits.  Does Wild West Guns ride off into a grand sunset, or does it leave a burr under your saddle?  Read the review to find out!

Castle Crashers is one of the games we gush about a lot. The game is a darling to the Co-Optimus crew and, to be fair, we have a good reason to be excited about the game. It is a four player, Golden Axe-style game made by the Alien Hominid guys. That alone should get your heart a flutter. Our constant coverage of the game has made us (and hopefully you) more excited. We've discovered that the game will have 22 unlockable characters, fun stat-boosting "Animal Orbs," and both a cost and a release date.

Good news folks!  Not only did Viva Pinata: Trouble in Paradise get an significant feature upgrade with 4 player online and offline co-op, but it got a price reduction as well! 

Gamasutra recently interviewed the producer and director of Resident Evil 5.  The RE series is reknowned for its high quality, and the previous installment in the series, RE4, was many folks' choice for Game of the Year in 2005.  Resident Evil 5 will be the first RE for next gen (or is it current gen?) systems, which is notable in and of itself.  However, RE5 will feature co-op gameplay, which is a first for the series (not counting the two player co-op in the lightgun style offshoot RE: Umbrella Chronicles).  You might expect co-op to be a last minute afterthought, merely tacked on to the primary single player experience for such a title.  However, in this interview, the creators state that this is NOT the case: