Co-op games on Next Gen consoles.

S

Silent_Buddha

Legend
I'm wondering how many co-op (not party games) each console has?

It's one of the biggest selling points for a console for me as PC has utterly failed in this area for the longest time even though they initially had strong co-op support. Even the original Settlers way back when had Co-op. Doom had co-op but Doom 3 didn't. Bleh.

Anyway, back last winter I almost got a PS3 but in the end didn't as co-op games seemed to be extremely rare. Instead I just stuck with the X360.

I've noticed that Co-op is starting to grow in popularity again. Yay. But it still seems like the X360 is getting the lions share of co-op enabled games.

I'd be interested if anyone with a PS3, X360 or Wii could pipe in with co-op games they've played on their respective systems and how well the co-op is implemented. Also whether it supports split screen co-op or requires seperate consoles would be nice.

I do NOT want to hear comments about whether X game co-op is better than Y game co-op. Just something about whether X game has co-op and whether it works well. And if not, why it doesn't.

Also not interested in party games or versus games.

Going to have a lot of free time soon so it'll be something fun to do with my cousin. I've played a few of the X360 co-op games (Gears of War for example) but figure this might also be of interest to others interested in Co-op.

Regards,
SB
 
I haven't played many coop games on X360 but the obvious one is RE5. From what I've played in the demo it's really fun. The game works with the headset so you could talk with your partner like if you need ammo from your partner or if you want to tell your partner to act as a decoy or tell your partner to get out of the way so you can throw a grenade in that direction etc. Online coop is much better because you get the whole screen to yourself and your partner doesn't have to be on the screen at any given time. You also have a radar map so you can locate your partner if they're off the screen and you need to find them to get to them if they're in danger.
 
It's really hard to share a pizza over online co-op, or go out to a bar after you get tired of the game.

On the Wii, I think all the "light gun" games have co-op. I've played Resident Evil: UC, which was pretty fun. MarioKart also has team racing. Put all the human players on team racing, and I guess it's kinda like co-op. Medal of Honor: Heroes 2 has a co-op mode as well.
 
Try Resistance 2's co-op. It's like an MMO game since you can have up to 8 players in 1 game. If you have two players locally, you take up 2 slots (split screen mode). The others will fill in the remaining 6.

EDIT: You can try to finish a level with an "army" of 2. It's possible for some maps, but takes patience and skills. ;-)
 
All of the games below were on PS3 Played on a single console and screen.
Army of Two and Resistance are both splitscreen, the others are both characters on one screen.

Lego Starwars - The Complete Saga: The best coop I've played this gen. Co-op works really well and doesn't seem tucked on as you need to control different characters to solve the problems. Funny game full of humor. (Dsiclaimer: I like Starwars (films) well, altleast the older movies whichmay have coloured my opinion)

Lego Indiana Jones: Basically the same as Lego Starwars, but from the overall gameplay experience it seems a bit rushed. (disclaimer: I like Starwars (films) a whole lot better than Indiana Jones (films) which may have coloured my opinion)

Spyro - Dawn of the Dragon: Coop works ok, but afar from that it's not a good game.

Army of Two: Coop works really well, and you will need to coop. An OK game that I would recomend if you are searching for coop games for PS3.

Untold Legends, Dark Kingdom: I'd say that coop works ok, but it is a rather uninspiering hack'n'slash RPG.

Resistance: Coop works ok, it's basically just splitscreen tucked on, but I think it lifted the game one extra notch.
 
Second the Lego games. My wife and I have been playing through Lego Indiana Jones on the 360 and she really loves it. They are great for just picking up and fooling around. I now understand why it was a pack-in game for the holiday.

I have heard good things about Marvel Ultimate Alliance, which I think can do 4 player local co-op.

I picked up GH3 with 2 guitars at an unbelievable price after Xmas. I guess the wife and I should try it together sometime. I guess this is another good genre for local co-op.
 
LittleBigPlanet!

Gears1/2, Halo 3, Warhawk, R6V 1/2, GRAW 1/2, Too Human, Haze, Resistance 1/2, Army of Two, UT3...

I play most of my co-op games online, so my list may not include local co-op.

Edit: Add a fun PSN title called Magic 8 Ball, it's like a physics driven breakout game.
 
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Scott_Arm said:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_cooperative_video_games

You can sort by platform.
Click to expand...

Really a broad definition.

What really distinguishes co-op in this generation is the widespread availability of co-op online.

Of course, all consoles now come with online capability out of the box.

They also have built-in support for more than two controllers (at least the PS3 and X360) instead of requiring a multitap peripheral.

Sports games (which are on that Wiki page list) have just started to offer multiplayer online games. You could call them co-op/competitive modes (online you can only play against human opponents IIRC but offline, you could presumably play the AI as a team).
 
fearsomepirate said:
It's really hard to share a pizza over online co-op, or go out to a bar after you get tired of the game.
Click to expand...

That's true but it's kinda difficult to share pizza if your friend lives hundreds or thousands of miles from you. I'd rather not buy a plane ticket every time I want to play games with a family/friend. With online coop you could play with family members friends in the middle of the night without leaving your home even if they live down the street. It's just weird to have to invite people to your home or go to their home every time you want to play coop.

IMO split screen is so last year...make that last decade.
 
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GRAW and Rainbow Six games on next gen consoles offer great COOP modes and multiplayer modes in general if you like squad based semi realistic semi arcade shooters
 
Gears 1/2, Rainbow Six Vegas: 1,2, CoD:WaW, L4D, Crackdown!, LBP for top co-op games. As Joker stated, Crackdown co-op is co-op done right. That game is literally twice as fun in co-op. Co-op on LBP seems to be really be connection/bandwidth sensitive.

For party games, Rock Band is king.
 
Awesome guys all the feedback here is greatly appreciated. Glad to see much more co-op games available on PS3 than the last time I looked into it. My cousin has a PS3 so that'll give us some things to do on his machine. While I've got the X360 for us to use.

Yeah, I much MUCH prefer local co-op as opposed to online co-op when it's possible. There's just something a little more fun about being able to shoot the breeze or spontaneously break out a table top game like Munchkins in between sessions of PC/console gaming.

It's nice to see virtually every game being released now featuring co-op. I was a sad panda a few years ago trying to find good co-op games on the PC. So this resurgence is like co-op heaven for me. :)

Checked out some of the movies for RE5. Uh, is that really Resident Evil? It looks like it'll be fun as hell, but it also doesn't really look like survival horror now. Looks more like an action game with horror elements thrown in.

Keep the suggestions and comments on games coming. :) I'm using it to prioritize a list of games to get over the next few months. :)

Regards,
SB
 
FIFA. T'is the best coop gaming experience, mostly because other games can't get their act together! In Warhawk for example, it's hard to get a game where all of you in the same room are on the same team and able to cooperative in strategies. It's also hard to find each other and provide support. LBP is fun but there isn't a huge amount of cooperation. Resistance was fun but only 2 players. Booty has been good splitscreen with 2 players but online is busted on PS3 with no comms so no strategies. Untold Legends is a blight on the computer gaming world. I'd be surprised if anyone who worked on that game actually mentioned it on their resume - it really is a dog. :( Marvel Ultimate Alliance is a much better choice for that style of game, except the developers went overboard with the lighting and it's a confusing mess to look at. Still, 4 players on the same box with combination attacks is coop gaming.

FIFA is the only truly cooperative gaming experience we've had where we have to work together on the same team. FIFA '09 provides a fair game at a good pace, unlike older footy games that were either bugged in gameplay or hyperactive. There are still a few crazy pass choices, but it's an excellent game where a goal is celebrated by all as we've all had a part in it.

At the moment we're looking towards Sacred 2 as a coop fantasy romp, though that's only 2 player on the same console. And further head, to the unnamed, undeclared SnowBlind studios fantasy romp (we think) we, fingers crossed, carries on the 4 player on one box, no split-screen play of Champions of Norrath on PS2. If they really work on the gameplay with cross-skill synergy, that could be a gem.

Sadly though, cooperative gaming is severely underrated. Multiplayer focus at the moment is on online and competitive play. Download games tend to be more supportive - Eden (3 player), Booty (4), PJM (2), possibly loads of XB360 titles but I don't know if these are on the same box or online. My friends ask me 'what's the next best coop game coming out' and I answer 'um...well...'. It's sad that gamers don't appreciate the fun of playing the same room eating junk-food :D

Edit : I'll add that Uncharted was a good experience. Even though one player was at the reigns at a time, it was a great game to watch and make suggestions, and then complain about whoever's playing being rubbish, taking over the controller, and then messing it up yourself ;) It spanned a sort of game/movie experience which is recommended sharing.
 
co-op games are great! but the important thing about co-op gameplay is, that a game has to be build around it to excel.

in my experience story heavy, atmospheric games are actually pretty bad suited for co-op gameplay. you often don't pay attention to dialogue and the waiting times during cut-scenes are often unwanted breaks you skip when you have the option to do so.

a great example is gears of war 2. playing the campaign in co-op can be a lot of fun. but there are numerous problems with co-op campaign play. if you play the game first-time with a mate you just lose out on atmosphere. you're also bound to a certain mate for the whole campaign. if you advance the campaign without your mate you might have to replay parts of the game when you join the next time to continue play in the story mode. if you know the game already, the atmosphere might not be as important, but then you have to endure certain stretches that are just not perfect for co-op play. in the case of gears you have the slow-walks during radio contact with HQ, and scenes that are more tense than action-focused (dark tunnel, inside of cave worm, ...).

here shine co-op focused games or game-modes for that matter. in gears you have the great horde mode which suits co-op play perfectly. wave-based gameplay is very well suited for co-op. you have the slower parts when you can discuss strategies and brag about your great kills as well as the heavy action minutes where you really need to work together to advance.

you see similar design elements in the amazing co-op game left 4 dead. you have several events that trigger waves of zombies which provide moments of increased intensity as well as slower parts where you can talk with you mates.

bottom line... for great co-op experience you need special co-op games or game-modes. simply adding an option to play through the story-mode with multiple people is not going to provide great co-op gameplay!
 
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