Splash Damage has a tall order. They always have. Since the announcement and unveiling of Brink at E3 and PAX 2009, respectively, they've held strong to their original vision for a game that seamlessly blends single-player, co-op, and multiplayer experiences. This week the internet is abuzz about Brink, and critics the world over are poised to release their opinions into our laps (including one of my favorite critics, Co-Optimus' very own Andrew Gaskill).
This months blog topic takes gamers to the outdoors; or simply outside. I've personally been dragging my DS outside with me, but this weeks blog takes outdoor gaming to the next level in an intriguing idea that I am definitely going to try out with some of my friends this summer. This month: Co-Optimus Community Voice: Gaming Inside and Out.
Our latest hardware review focuses on a premium set of speakers from PC manufacturer Antec. Designed to simulate 3D audio out of 2 speakers, the Soundscience Rokus 3D 2.1 might be perfect for those with limited space for a full 5.1 system. We dive into the system in our latest review.
Indie TD/FPS hybrid Sanctum gets some free DLC next week, apparently including "new content and updates, as well as a map." Well, the map part is clear (which is excellent news, boosting the map count of the game from 3 up to 4), but as for what "new content and updates" details is anyone's guess. Coffee Stain Studios has revealed this is just the first of a group of content updates planned to release over the coming months. I'm fairly confident that one of these content updates will introduce 4-player co-op into the game (Sanctum currently only has 2-player co-op), a much-requested feature that the devs have said is in the works.
Harmonix has confirmed that there will be no new Rock Band game this year. They have no immediate plans for a sequel, but are currently working on new concepts to advance the Rock Band franchise. The good news for all you Rock Band fans out there is that there's plenty of DLC planned for this year instead. Reportedly, tracks from Ozzy Osbourne, Lady Gaga, and the Foo Fighters are planned to be available for download later this month.
If you've pre-ordered Brink on Steam you might want to fire up the service and hit the pre-load button on the game. The download weighs in over 5GB - so depending on your connection - it could take a while. Pre-loading gives you the ability to play the game as soon as its "officially" released, which by the countdown clock on Steam will be Tuesday, May 10th at 12:01 AM. Just fire up your steam client, click on Brink in your library and click pre-load.
Welcome to Beyond Co-Op, a weekly piece that talks about industry stories that may or may not be related to co-op gaming.
Today we have two more videos from Brink's "Get Smart" series. These are older videos, but we haven't posted them here before now. Our "Get Smart" video collection is finally complete! The first video covers general gameplay. It discusses buffs, weapons, and the S.M.A.R.T movement system (Smooth Movement Across Random Terrain). The second video covers objectives, and boy, are there a lot of them. Brink's experience system is based off of completing objectives, rather than racking up huge kill counts. It appears there will be something for everyone, whether it'ss a Destruction Objective, Guard Objective, or Hack Objective, etc.
It's been a little over 24 hours since our last update on the PSN outage. The news that customers' personal information and credit card numbers may have been compromised has turned this gaming inconvenience into a brand name public relations disaster. The fact that it has been over two weeks since t...
Though some have complained about the short duration of Portal 2, it looks like several of the staff are still wrapping it up a couple weeks after its release. The allure of double XP in Black Ops is strong, as well. A few other games here and there round out the weekend here at Co-Optimus. ...
Bethesda's video department must be working overtime lately. With almost daily videos of Brink, and Hunted: The Demon's Forge - as well as RAGE - there's a constant flow of content coming out of the Maryland studio.
Singapore-based developer Rockmoon has built a tech demo using the Unity Engine that takes two people to play in true co-op fashion. One player flies the ship using Kinect-based motion controls and the other controls the guns with an iPhone or iPod. The game is merely a proof of concept, and the developers are unsure if anything more will come of it, but it's an interesting use of two completely different technologies working together.
