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Halo 4's Spartan Ops comes to Master Chief Collection
Halo: The Master Chief Collection received another update this week, improving the game's matchmaking and other functions. The update also added Spartan Ops to Halo 4 in the collection, 343 Industries' cooperative multiplayer mode. Teams of up to four players barrel through missions in the episodic mode, which was purposely not included in the collection's initial 20 GB patch; the developer planned to issue Spartan Ops in December so that it could make "technical enhancements" to the mode. Spartan Ops features 10 episodes, all of which are now available in The Master Chief Collection. The update includes a number of other fixes for the collection, such as hit detection for online multiplayer in Halo: CE and also giving a loss to players that disconnect from matches before a round ends. The patch should also improve roster update times as well as statistic and achievement tracking. It's the latest in a line of updates for the game, which launched with severe online multiplayer issues, among other problems. 343 Industries head Bonnie Ross apologized to players for the collection's issues in late November, recently offering free goodies to affected players, including the Halo 3: ODST campaign. [Image: Microsoft]
GTA Online heists breaking and entering 2015 with new trailer
Grand Theft Auto 5 will get its cooperative online heist missions in early 2015, Rockstar Games revealed today. The developer originally expected to add heists to GTA Online this past spring, apologizing for the delay later in June. As of November, Rockstar said online heists would surface in the game's online world following GTA 5's next-gen launch. As the latest trailer for the game shows, the online heist missions appear to feature a number of vehicles, such as planes and helicopters; you can head past the break to sneak a peek. We deemed the updated edition of Grand Theft Auto 5 the "definitive version" of the chaotic open-world game in our review. [Image: Take-Two]
Bloodborne is less scary with friends
What's better than slaughtering juicy, demonic beasts? Slaughtering juicy, demonic beasts with friends. The Bloodborne trailer shown at The Game Awards on Friday features some co-op dicing and slicing action. Relive the gory glory. [Image: From Software]
Team up with friends in Loadout to take down the Kroad
Loadout has hosted plenty of shootouts between cartoonish, human-guided opponents, but developer Edge of Reality is planning on giving players a chance to work together against a greater evil: aliens. As detailed on the PlayStation Blog, Loadout's cooperative campaign mode will pit sharpshooters against the Kroad, a blue-skinned invading race that's just as savvy with offensive arsenals as humans. Should you want to prepare for the imminent invasion, the above video supplies examples of several Kroad classes. The PS Blog post notes that the campaign will show up "in the near future" on PS4 and PC, adding that the to-be-launched PS4 version of Loadout is due "very soon." [Image: Edge of Reality]
Titanfall update brings co-op to Xbox 360 next week
The Xbox 360 version of Titanfall will receive update number eight next Monday, December 1, Respawn Entertainment announced. The update adds Frontier Defense to the game, Titanfall's cooperative multiplayer mode that arrived on PC and Xbox One just over one month ago. Frontier Defense puts a team of four players in charge of defending a "vital objective" from waves of enemies, which increase in difficulty with each mob. Like the update last month, next week's patch also introduces ranked online play to the first-person shooter, which features Rank Chips that act as "expensive pedometers," measuring players' activity in Titanfall and occasionally doling out rewards. Rank Chips can be turned off at any point, so the ranked play system isn't map-specific. The update also adds new Titan insignias and a full-screen mini-map option to the game. [Image: EA Games]
PlayStation Co-Op Sale: Dark Souls 2, Far Cry 3, Rayman
In the spirit of the money-saving holidays (and Thanksgiving, we guess), Sony kicked off a new Co-Op Gaming sale today that discounts games with local or online multiplayer functionality. The deals end on December 1, and PlayStation Plus subscribers get a bigger discount than other PSN users: up to 80 percent off the price of some games. Of the group, there are ten PlayStation 4 games on sale through PSN this week, among which are Awesomenauts Assemble ($5.39), EA Sports UFC ($13.99), Mercenary Kings ($8.99), Rayman Legends ($19.59), Surgeon Simulator: A&E Anniversary Edition ($6.39), TowerFall Ascension ($7.34) and Trine 2: Complete Story ($7.99). Other notable deals include Borderlands 2 (PS3, $4.54), Dark Souls 2 (PS3, $19.59), Rayman Origins ($13.29 on Vita, $9.79 on PS3) and Far Cry 3 (PS3, $9.79). [Image: Ubisoft]
Titanfall update gets cooperative, adds ranked play
The next major update for Titanfall will land tomorrow on Xbox One and PC, Respawn announced today. The patch is the "biggest update ever," according to the developer's blog, which revealed the inclusion of new modes in the update. For starters, Titanfall players will have a new "Frontier Defense" cooperative multiplayer mode in which teams of four stand their ground against waves of AI enemies, getting assistance from stationary turrets and loadout crates. The other major addition is ranked play, which will be in beta through the end of the month. Respawn's dedicated discussion on its ranked play system for Titanfall notes that players will receive "Rank Chips," which act as "expensive pedometers" that measure players' prowess in the game. Players will have the ability to turn off their Rank Chips as well, so ranked play in Titanfall won't boil down to a separate set of maps or playlists. The update will introduce a multitude of other fixes and improvements, such as the ability to go full-screen with the mini-map, a "sudden death" addition to Capture the Flag mode and seven new Titan insignias. [Image: EA Games]
Fairphone's £250 'ethical' smartphone comes to the UK
While big smartphone makers, like Apple, are actively trying to reduce the amount of conflict materials used in their devices, others pride themselves on being 100 percent ethical. Fairphone is a prime example. After a successful crowdfunding campaign allowed it to develop a new smartphone that meets both ethical and environmental standards, the company is bringing the device to the UK. It'll be exclusively offered by The Phone Co-op, the UK's only consumer-owned mobile carrier, starting at £22 per month with no upfront cost or £250 to buy outright. The Fairphone itself features a quad-core Mediatek 6589 chipset, Android 4.2 (with a custom Fairphone launcher), 8-megapixel rear and 1.3-megapixel front cameras, 16GB internal storage, and a 4.3-inch qHD display protected by scratch-resistant Dragontrail glass. While it's not going to win awards for the best smartphone, it'll meet the requirements of most users. Although it might be impossible to be totally conflict-free, Fairphone works with manufacturers to ensure better working conditions and fairer wages. It also donates three euros from each phone sold to a program that attempts to reduce electronic waste in Ghana.
Have a swinging time with Cloud Knights
The premise of Cloud Knights is simple, players control a knight who must defeat the enemy and occasionally protect another knight. However, Cloud Knights features a control scheme where the knight uses swinging his weapon as his only means of movement. This leads to interesting battles where players have to manage to stay on a platform while trying to take out the enemies. Cloud Knights is compatible with iOS devices running iOS 8.0 or later. Cloud Knights includes 60 levels in the campaign, which vary in the types of enemies, amount of enemies players might face and at the end of each chapter there is a boss battle. Players have a choice is whether they want to face these levels alone in single player mode or with a friend in co-op. Cloud Knights features local two player co-op gameplay as well as a versus mode. In the co-op mode, each player is weakened slightly but are much stronger when they work as a team to take out an enemy. In the versus mode, players get to battle one another, trying to either deplete the other player's health bar or knock them off of the platform. As with campaign mode, versus mode also allows players to go it alone and play against the computer. This is helpful for building up skills for eliminating enemies as players are practicing against one enemy. One downside to Cloud Knights is that a multiplayer mode doesn't make a lot of sense when playing on a phone. However, on an iPad, this mode works perfectly fine. Multiplayer mode is possible on a phone, it is just limiting as two people are trying to see on a smaller screen and control their characters at the same time. Cloud Knights does a pretty good job of keeping the game engaging and fun while also being a good balance of difficulty with each level. Players can get health or weapon power ups by breaking boxes or treasure chests, which is really handy when fighting a tough opponent. Some levels feel a bit too hard when you first get to them but after a couple of tries, players learn more about the platform and enemies which makes the level manageable. While some levels feel like they jump a little in difficulty, players can still get through those with just a few retries. There are four weapon types for players to choose from and the base weapons are all available by the end of the first chapter through unlocks. These weapons can be upgraded the further players progress through the game. Cloud Knights is US$3.99 and I personally wouldn't spend that much for an iOS game with this level of content. It is a fun game with interesting control schemes and would be enjoyable for anyone who likes action games that require some strategy.
Chariot drags the dead to PS4 next week
Chariot, Frima Studio's cooperative platformer, will launch on PS4 next week. The game will arrive on Tuesday, September 30 in North America for $14.99, though European players will have to wait until October 22 to dig into the game. The platformer has two local players (or one solo player) working together to carry a king's coffin to its resting place. However, the king's ghost is particular about where his body winds up, so players must overcome physics-based obstacles to satisfy "His Majesty." The playable characters in question are the princess and her fiancé, who "gather gold and precious gems to decorate the sepulcher" while traversing Chariot's underground environments. The developer opted for local multiplayer only with Chariot, as "direct communication is very important in the game," and that "the tricks you'll need to do with the Chariot requires a lot of precision and we felt that precision might be lost because of the latency online." [Image: Firma Studio]
Killzone: Shadow Fall drops three new multiplayer maps
Sony dished out three free maps for Killzone: Shadow Fall today, the publisher's FPS that launched with the PS4 last November. One of the maps is The Statue, a competitive affair that takes place at a Scolar Visari memorial statue surrounded by scaffolding. A trailer for The Statue map can be found after the break. The other two maps, The ATAC Tower and The Canal, feature cooperative multiplayer action. Players that want to check out those two levels must also own Killzone: Shadow Fall Intercept, either in its add-on expansion form or the standalone version. The DLC launched in June, while the lone Intercept download arrived last month. For an extensive look at Intercept, check out our archived stream of the DLC from July. [Image: SCEA]
Show us your co-op gaming space
When I first mentioned on Twitter (@Sliwinski) I planned on getting a second PlayStation 4 to set up for a couch co-op dual screen Destiny experience, I expected the standard vitriol of the internet. Surprisingly, many of you responded that you were already doing this! Whether it was because of roommates, spouses, significant others or children, you were already rocking the multi-screen co-op console/PC experience. Have you got a custom co-op space of your own? Show it off! Send us a pic so we can add it to our gallery we'll put together here on Joystiq. (Bonus points if you get your pet in the pic.) Be sure to let us know why you decided to do it! How important is a local co-op set up in your gaming life?
Dragon Age: Inquisition 4-player co-op revealed, separate to campaign
BioWare revealed the third Dragon Age game mirrors the third Mass Effect by introducing four-player online multiplayer on top of the single-player experience. An IGN preview reveals the co-op in Dragon Age: Inquisition runs separate to the main RPG campaign, with players ditching their Inquisitor robes to team up in randomly generated mini-dungeons that take around 20 to 30 minutes to complete in total. There'll be three multiplayer campaigns at launch, each generating a level made up from 5 of 10 smaller, pre-designed areas. Players will see different areas in different orders, with variables like the types of enemy encounter changing across different sessions. Also, rather than playing as the Inquisitor, you and your buddies are lackeys for the main hero. As Bioware's Mike Laidlaw told IGN, the studio's attempted to infuse the mulitplayer heroes with personality: "They're kind of like mini followers, and they banter among themselves." Update: Check out the reveal trailer below the break.
PS4's Share Play limited to one hour increments
When Sony unveiled its upcoming PS4 Share Play feature during its Gamescom 2014 press conference on Tuesday, a few questions remained as to how it would operate. The "virtual couch" feature allows PlayStation Plus members to play any PS4 game of choice with a friend that doesn't own the game over PSN. As Sony explained to GameSpot, Share Play is limited to 60-minute play sessions, though there's no limit on the number of times friends can play the game. Planned to launch this fall as part of system software update 2.0 for the console, Share Play will be an inherent feature for any PS4 game, as "there is no need for developers to do anything for their games to be compatible with Share Play," Sony's Shuhei Yoshida told Famitsu (as translated by Kotaku). However, a Sony representative said that the "visitor" that doesn't own the game technically "takes over the host's account," so a friend that's getting a taste of your gaming library is not able to save their play data to their own account. Rather, save files will stay with the hosting player.
Payday developer reveals co-op Walking Dead game
Payday series developers Overkill Software and Starbreeze Studios revealed that they are working on a Walking Dead game of its own. The Walking Dead creator and Skybound Entertainment CEO Robert Kirkman said the new take on the zombie survival series is the "co-op game that all of the Walking Dead fans have been waiting for" in a Payday 2 Steam community update. Starbreeze CEO Bo Andersson Klint said the developer "will bring The Walking Dead into the world of first-person shooter co-op games," and that it will be "gameplay focused, ferocious and bring chaos to the traditional industry model." While the developer did not specify the game's targeted platforms, it did mention that it will be powered by Starbreeze's Diesel engine, "updated for the next generation." It is expected to launch in 2016, which is when "Washington falls," according to the announcement trailer. [Image: Overkill]
Sacred 3 now available to pummel with friends
Deep Silver's hack-and-slash game Sacred 3 is now available on PS3, Xbox 360 and PC via Steam. The top-down brawler pits players and their co-op partners together against "hordes of grimmocs, brute beasts, legions of mercenaries and undead wizards." Oh my! As indicated by its name, Sacred 3 is the third game in the arcade-style action series, the first of which was originally developed by German studio Ascaron for PC in 2004. Announced in February, the latest game drops players into a war for the series' primary locale, Ancaria. Players choose one of four different heroes with varying skill and weapon sets, upgrading their characters and using special co-op combat arts to tackle bosses. Up to four fighters can adventure together online, though co-op action is limited to two players locally. [Image: Deep Silver]
Hyrule Warriors has couch co-op, no online campaign
Nintendo's upcoming Zelda-themed brawler Hyrule Warriors will not support online co-op campaign gameplay, a Japanese-language promotional Twitter account revealed this week. A local team of players can still play through Hyrule Warriors' campaign in an offline co-op multiplayer mode, which assigns one player to the Wii U GamePad's screen while the television displays their partner's character and viewpoint. Hyrule Warriors will feature online play in some capacity, but its core campaign is strictly offline-only. News of Hyrule Warriors' lack of online play comes shortly after publishing partner Koei Tecmo confirmed that the upcoming Samurai Warriors 4 will feature cross-platform online multiplayer gameplay for the PlayStation 4, PS3 and PS Vita. Online play has been a standard feature for Koei Tecmo's Warriors series and its spinoffs since 2011's Dynasty Warriors 7. Hyrule Warriors launches in North America on September 26. [Image: Nintendo / Koei Tecmo]
Co-op's trolley-mounted tablets want answers
Tablets are everywhere these days -- so much so that bolting one to a shopping trolley isn't even a novel idea. Sainsbury's previously used slates to keep shoppers entertained while ambling the aisles, and now a new trial at a handful of Co-operative Food stores wants customers to get more interactive with trolley-mounted tablets. Unfortunately, they don't sound like they'll spice up your weekly shopping routine much, given the tablets will ask for your feedback on store layout and product selection, as well as solicit your opinions on "a series of societal issues" like sustainable food. Basically, it fires market research questions at you. Beyond the novelty factor, we doubt many shoppers will be interested in completing a survey while they're struggling to find a ripe avocado, but at least it's something to keep the kids distracted.
Bayonetta 2's co-op mode bets on your success
Platinum Games' Wii U-exclusive sequel Bayonetta 2 will include a two-player mode. That much was revealed at E3 2013 by Nintendo, and further details on the game's online multiplayer offerings are now available via Famitsu (translation courtesy of Siliconera). The game's "Tag Climax" mode allows players to team up online with friends, strangers and CPU partners to annihilate waves of enemies and large bosses. Online quick matches will also feature a betting system, in which players can wager in-game "Halos" to challenge their partner in a scoring contest to see who will rack up the most points in a match. The in-game currency can then be exchanged for additional weapon variations, accessories and techniques. Players will have the ability to pick their characters and weapon/accessory loadouts of choice as well as stages and their respective difficulty levels, with tougher matches resulting in higher Halos payouts (but at a steeper cost of entry). The equipment players carry in to Tag Climax mode is based on their progress in Bayonetta 2's main story mode as well. The game is slated to launch this October.
Original Spelunky gets online co-op mod
Before Spelunky became a household name on XBLA in July 2012, it arrived on PC in late 2008 in its original low-res state. Source code for the original game was made available one year later, and just now received a new mod called Spelunky SD courtesy of Ukrainian developer Vadim. The mod adds, among other things, online cooperative multiplayer to the first version of the game. In what started as a weekend project, the developer spent three months fine-tuning the mod for its first public release late last week. He tweaked the original game in a few ways, adding elements such as "sounds fading off-screen" or making enemies blink when they're about to get up off the ground. Vadim fixed a few bugs as well and made input precision "slightly more forgiving" in the game. The Spelunky SD mod is available to download through GameJolt. [Image: Mossmouth]
