What games you should make your friends buy.
Fall 2011 will go down as one of the biggest gaming release seasons ever, with some massive games being released, such as Gears of War 3, Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3, Battlefield 3, Forza 4, Batman Arkham City, Saints Row the Third, Assassin’s Creed Revelations, and Skyrim just to name a few, or a lot.
That list just skims the surface of all the games released and we have already taken a look at the Multiplayer Shooters and the RPG’s that were released, and today we are going to look at something a bit more specific, Co-op. We love co-op games, and you should too. It’s always more fun to play with some friends than alone, in your basement, with only some snacks and your controller to keep you company. Luckily for us there were plenty of games released this fall that supported co-op.
So to help you decide which games you and your friends should get, here is a list of the best co-op games of the fall (in no particular order).
Dead Island
Release Date: Sept 7th, 2011
Publisher/Developer: Deep Silver/Techland Games
Co-op Players: 4 player
Dead Island was one of the early games of the Fall release season and set the tone of how great it was going to be. As a first person shooter first, and a survival horror game second, Dead Island took place on a huge Island, with plenty of areas to explore, Zombies to kill, and a decent story to tie it all together. Not only was it a great single player survival horror/action-rpg game, but the drop-in drop-out 4 player co-op during the main campaign, where the XP and items you earned carried back over to your solo game, really topped things off nicely. We had a ton of fun roaming around the island, searching for new areas, new Zombies to kill and being able to level up our characters together. The best way to describe it is that it’s a very similar co-op experience to how Borderlands worked, and just as fun.
You should play this game if: You love Survival Horror and/or Action-RPG games, Zombies and a seamless co-op experience.
You should stay away if: You don’t like exploring, RPG elements, or Zombies.
Dungeon Defenders
Release Date: Oct 16th, 2011
Publisher/Developer: Trendy Entertainment
Co-op Players: 4 player
As the lone Xbox Live Arcade game to make the main list, Dungeon Defenders is part Tower Defense and part RPG, but probably more RPG. It’s been overshadowed by all the big games this fall, but it should not go overlooked. The idea is simple; you have a crystal, and you need to protect it from Golbins, Orcs, Skeletons, Wveryns and other creatures. To do so you have 1000′s of Weapons and Armor combinations, and plenty of Defenses at your disposal. The Defenses range from traps and barricades to pillars that have blades on them that slice n dice anyone who comes near it (it’s as awesome as it sounds). Along the way you are picking up mana (money) and XP to level up your character to help increase your stats and upgrade your weapons and armor. It can become a nasty addiction that is hard to deny. We will regularly go into a night of gaming ready to play some MW3 or Halo, only to end up back in the Dungeon instead. It supports 4 player co-op, and everything you do carries over back and forth between your Solo and Co-op games, in other words, it’s awesome.
You should play this game if: You love RPG’s and/or Tower Defense games, and playing them with friends.
You should stay away if: You like sleeping, having a boyfriend/girlfriend, remembering to eat, or anything else that isn’t playing Dungeon Defenders.
Lord of the Rings War in the North
Release Date: Nov 1st, 2011
Publisher/Developer: Warner Bros./Snowblind Studios
Co-op Players: 3 Players
War in the North was always on our radar for co-op games, but it wasn’t until we actually got our hands on it that we realized how cool it was to play it together. The game is a Third Person Action-RPG set around a squad of 3 heroes and their journey to the North of Middle Earth, while the more popular Lord of the Rings events were taking place in Mordor. As Scott mentioned before, it’s a brand new story in the LoTR universe and it’s not that bad, but the real greatness is found in the co-op. You and 2 friends can each pick a character and run through the entire campaign together. You can all earn XP, level up, find new weapons, and take it all back to your solo campaign as well, and vice versa. That’s what we like to see. This was the only big studio, fantasy game this Fall that had co-op and while it may not be as good as the single player only Dark Souls or Skyrim, it’s the best next thing, and you don’t have to play it alone.
You should play this game if: You love Fantasy games and/or Lord of the Rings.
You should stay away if: You hate the Lord of the Rings books/movies (even though it’s not the same characters or story, you may like this one), or fantasy games.
Gears of War 3
Release Date: September 25th, 2011
Publisher/Developer: Microsoft Games/Epic Games
Co-op Players: 4 players
Gears of War 3 was the final chapter in the epic (pun intended) series, and went out with a bang. With a solid campaign, revamped Horde and Multiplayer modes, Epic Games closed the book on Marcus and crew (so they say). Gears of War 3 supports full on 4 player co-op for the campaign, and Horde mode, which stole the show for us and it’s where we spent most of our time. Gears of War 3 supporting 4 player co-op also made it the only AAA game of the Fall that supported that many players, as all of the rest were 2 player only, so that helps make it one the best co-op games of the fall. I’m not sure if all the other developers only have 1 friend each, but Epic Games seemed to be the only ones who realized that most gamers probably have a few friends, and sometimes those friends also buy the same game and want to play together.
You should play this game if: You love the previous Gears games, Survival modes where teamwork is crucial, and have more than 1 friend.
You should stay away if: You hate the other Gears games, working as a team, or have only 1 friend.
Honorable Mentions
The following games have co-op modes, and are really fun, we just wouldn’t recommend them for co-op specifically over the ones above, but are still worth mentioning.
Saints Row The Third – 2 Player online co-op for the full campaign. It’s quite fun with a 2nd player, but it would have been nice to see 4 player co-op with such a big sandbox to play in. Read our review.
Fusion Genesis – 4 player online co-op for the full campaign. This iss a great game, and was a blast playing with friends, but being a smaller scale game, and space combat, it may not be for everyone. Read our review.
RAGE – 2 player online, but with a shorter, separate campaign from the main story. The separate co-op missions were really fun, but there were only a handful of them, and they were over before we knew it.Read our review.
Halo CE Anniversary – 2 player online co-op for the full campaign. I mean it’s Halo, how could we not mention it in a list of great co-op games. The problem is for the first time since Halo 2, it was 2 player only, and that step backwards doesn’t fly with us. Bring back 4 player co-op in Halo 4 or else….well, nothing, but we won’t like it! Read our review.
Call of Duty MW3 – 2 player online Spec-Ops Missions and Survival Mode. The Spec-Ops Missions and Survival modes are fun, but I would have preferred co-op in the campaign again. Since most of the world already bought the game, more than likely including you reading this right now, you might as well check them out. Read our review.
Crimson Alliance – 4 Player online for the full campaign and DLC. I had a blast while playing Crimson Alliance, and it was definitely great for co-op, but not quite as deep as we would have liked. If you still have some extra points lying around after Dungeon Defenders, check this one out. Read our review.
