It's looking like a good year for co-op as another great co-op franchise is producing its final sequel set for release in the fourth quarter of this year. Saints Row 3 has officially been slated for an "Autumn 2011" release, but no specifics have been nailed down just yet. For those unfamiliar with the insane, over-the-top gangster action of the series, the first two games on Xbox 360 are available in a $30 double pack to catch up on the chronological story - no combo pack is listed for the PS3 or PC, sorry guys. Sure, Saints Row 1 isn't a co-op game - but developer Volition caught on by Saints Row 2 adding the ability to customize your character and play in a posse (of two).

Someone's gotta do the dirty work. On Tuesday it's taking out the garbage. On Wednesday it's picking up the kids. On Thursday it's playing that backlogged single-player campaign. Where does that leave your partner? Hopefully on the couch next to you with a glass of iced tea.

So you logged onto the PlayStation Store and you're ready to buy Bionic Commando: Rearmed 2. You're all excited about playing some couch co-op with your friend/sibling/parent/child/significant other/pet.  Now you just hope your crappy cable connection can hold on long enough to get the game downloaded.  Not only that, you're getting it a full day before those Xbox jerks.  Huzzah.  Then something catches your eye.

Being a fan of all things that take place in giant, customizable war robots, I've more or less kept up with the majority of From Software's Armored Core series, which has been primarily single-player through its franchise. A few years ago we saw an attempt at co-op through a few missions in Armored Core: For Answer where players teamed up on a select number of missions to square off against a foe. After an announcement early last year followed by a whole lot of silence, Armored Core V is looking to bring us the real deal in co-op - not just a mode.

A few weeks ago we brought you a video explaining the "divergent co-op" in F.E.A.R. 3.  In that video we could plainly see some split screen co-op love.  Today we have some dark and dreary new screens.  I don't think the Care Bears will be making a cameo in this game.  

Remember back in December when Epic's Cliff Bleszinski tweeted there would be special unlocks in Gears of War 3 "for those of you who have played other Epic games such as Shadow Complex, UT3, Gears, and Bulletstorm." No? Same here.  Bad news for gamers who do remember that 140 character nugget of unlockable expectation.   The good folks over at TrueAchievements.com spotted this tweet from Gears 3 lead programmer, Joe Graf:

Shazbot. Battlefield: Bad Company 2's co-op afterthought mode, Onslaught, will not be coming to PC, after all. Althought DICE has claimed that they are working too hard on making Battlefield 3 "the biggest launch in DICE's history", I wouldn't be surprised if Onslaught's somewhat low profitability was a major factor. The download-only title Battlefield 1943 has also been canceled on PC, which is no surprise; the hype for it is pretty much dead in the water now that Bad Company 2 has been on shelves for nearly a year.

The original Splinter Cell trilogy is getting re-packaged on Blu-Ray and shipped this March, along with a similar offering for the last-gen Prince of Persia trilogy (starting with Sands of Time). Included in the Splinter Cell Classic Trilogy will be Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory, the first in the series to feature co-op.

Prepare to put down the Yellow Turban Rebellion in 15 seconds flat thanks to some new weaponary in Dynasty Warriors 7 - most notably - the  arm cannon.  The latest trailer for the game gives us a really good glimpse at the gameplay  - which - mostly looks the same as the other six Dynasty Warriors titles.  Ok, so that's not completely fair - there is some real time weapon switching for massive damage, body surfing, and perhaps some co-op maneuvers.

We've been big fans of Monaco: What's Yours is Mine since we first started talking about it early last year.  The game has come a long way since then, making crazy technical advances and getting itself polished and ready for a release...sometime.  The four player co-op crime caper game is one we went hands on with an enjoyed greatly as it went on to win itself the Independent Games Festival Award in 2010.

Pink is the new black

Gluttons for punishment rejoice!  Hardcore title Demon's Souls is getting a sequel, or at the very least, a soul-crushingly difficult spiritual successor.  Dark Souls is being developed by From Software, the same company that created the original Demon's Souls.  It appears that the world will be a single sprawling area, instead of using a "hub" as in the previous title.  Characters will not be shoehorned into a class upon creation, allowing for gamers to explore different play styles.  It appears that the messaging system and co-op style of Demon's Souls will be intact, while the story from this game is unrelated to the previous entry.  How many players will be supported is still unknown.