Gas Powered Games and Microsoft are working hard to keep their freemium strategy title Age of Empires Online from being lost to the ages. First off, the long-promised Spring Update is now live and brings metric tons of changes and improvements. Second, the new Premium Celtic Civilization has launched at a sale price of only 400 MSP or $4.99. And if that wasn't enough, all of the main Age of Empires Online premium content has appeared on Steam at extra-low prices as well.

Everyone expects shooters these days to receive downloadable content down the line; it helps keep the multiplayer community going while bringing in the bucks. Gears of War 3 even went so far as to allow players to prepurchase its first four DLC packages at a discount as part of a Season Pass. The fourth and final Season Pass component, 'Forces of Nature' just launched this week. It packs five maps, four character skins, numerous weapon skins, the classic Guardian multiplayer mode, and of course, 250 GamerScore of Achievements. For players without a season pass, 'Forces of Nature' costs 800 Microsoft Points ($10).

The spring gaming season is well underway and we've already seen a slew of co-op game releases, like Binary Domain, Journey, and Shoot Many Robots, where cooperative gameplay was a focus for the game from the start. Yet we've also seen some major AAA releases, like Mass Effect 3, hit store shelves where the addition of a multiplayer component is something new for the series; or an existing series, such as The Darkness II, swap it's formerly competitive multiplayer mode for a strictly cooperative one. Finally, you have the revival of older games that have had their format completely changed - leaving them ripe for the traditional player vs player multiplayer style to which we've grown accustomed - and still maintain the co-op gameplay (we're looking at you, Syndicate).

Shoot Many Robots has finally received a PC release date, and it's sooner than we expected. The four player side-scrolling shooter will launch on Steam on April 6th. That's next week, for those of you who aren't sitting in front of a calendar. The PC version is also getting some sweet pre-order bonuses.

For the past several weeks, I’ve been dabbling in Dota 2. It’s one of those RTS/action games where you take control of a hero unit and defend your base from the opposing team. Though the focus of these games is usually competitive, Dota 2 supports a pretty good co-op mode (probably the best I’ve seen for the genre). Any number of players can form up on a team, fill up the remaining slots with bots, and go up against an all-bot team in good, old-fashioned comp-stomp. The bots are available in five different difficulty levels, so it’s easy to tweak the experience based on whether the players are new to the game or experienced. Of late, I’ve found the co-op mode a great way to blow off some steam.

Strap on your head band and pack your shurikens, we're heading into Ninja Gaiden 3. It's a series known for it's brutal difficulty and satisfying combat. The third iteration is the first to offer multiplayer, including co-op play. Let's slice and dice are way through and find out if this Ninja has come out to play.

The good people of G4TV's X-Play recently sat down with the makers of Starhawk to discuss the game's co-op mode. LightBox Interactive's president, Dylan Jobe, gives Morgan Webb the rundown on some of the third-person shooter's co-op features, which include randomized waves of enemies, rift energy, reclaiming structures, player skills, as well as the build and battle system. 

They say that three is a magic number, but do you know what real magic is?  Playing as a boxing Kangaroo.  This dream is looking like a reality for XBLA users as PEGI have rated some titles under the banner SEGA Vintage Collections which include pugilistic marsupials in the form of Streets of Rage 3.  Also on offer are the co-op friendly titles Streets of Rage, Golden Axe and Golden Axe 3.

New Super T.I.M.E. Force screenshots have been released. But the question still remains: are all of those pixilated characters raging in a space battle of epic proportions involved in a secret a co-op mode hidden within?

A new South Park game will be unleashed on the masses this week. South Park: Tenorman's Revenge features the familiar four versus an army of robot gingers in a side-scrolling platformer. The last South Park XBLA exclusive, Let's Go Tower Defense Play!, was a surprisingly good co-op game. Tenorman's Revenge is being developed by a different studio, but we're still hoping for a solid title. Judging by the video below, the gameplay looks simple and fun. That's all I really need in a platformer, so long as it's executed well.

I've recently joined PlayStation Plus, therefore I'm actually paying attention to the monthly deals. This April looks incredible. Members of Sony's premium service have all sorts of downloadable goodness heading their way. Fans of shooters will be granted early access to the Ghost Recon Future Soldier beta. Action game aficionados will get Shank 2 for FREE. Racing fans will be able to pick up Shift 2: Unleashed for the low, low price of zero dollars. There's a little something for everyone.

Anarchy Reigns, the over the top, stylized action game we have come to expect from Platinum Games has finally found a realease date. Platinum announced the date on their Facebook page, which confirms that the game will be released this summer.