co-operative
Latest
Valve vet Chet Faliszek and Riot's Kim Voll form a co-op game studio
Half-Life 2 writer Chet Faliszek and Riot Games veteran Dr. Kimberly Voll are launching a new game studio with a focus on co-op titles. Dubbed Stray Bombay, the venture will leverage Voll's AI prowess to power "not just enemies but...the entire experience," according to the duo's new blog post. Faliszek, meanwhile, will tap into his wealth of work for Valve's co-op titles like Portal 2 and the Left 4 Dead series.
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.
League of Legends update bringing sharper AI, new bots
League of Legends is well known for its challenging team-based gameplay and its rather steep learning curve, leading many users to play co-operatively against AI in order to hone their skills. In addition, co-op vs. AI is "the primary game mode for a surprisingly large percentage of users" according to senior producer Mark Norris. In light of this, Riot Games is bringing a huge new update to League of Legends' AI matches. For starters, Riot will be introducing AI bots for a whopping 40 of the game's champions, allowing players to test their mettle against a wider variety of opponents. In addition, the AI itself is in for an update that will allow bots to behave more like their human counterparts by utilizing predictive targeting for skillshots (such as Ashe's ultimate) and employing a great deal more strategy than the current bots. Of course, there are still some things that bots can't do (such as intelligent jungling), but Norris suggests "that's actually a huge advanced area that we do want to look at and get into, that we're in the the real rudimentary stages of trying to figure out right now." For the full details on what awaits players in the upcoming AI update, just click on through the link below and read the full story.
Splinter Cell: Conviction videos feature co-operative espionage
If you were hoping to infiltrate this post about Splinter Cell Conviction and find anything short of three trailers, then prepare to be totally satisfied. Ubisoft's established a correspondence with Joystiq, deploying three fresh new videos from April's Badass: The Game -- and like that totally accurate and brief description, these videos will bash your face against a mirror and leave you bleeding for dead on a men's room floor. OK, not really, but we're painting a picture, so work with us here. A picture with words. Above, you'll find a brief overview of how the co-op game fits into the story and the four additional gameplay modes, but you'll need to sneak on past the break for the next two pieces of intel: one video is a closer look at Deniable Ops, while the other documents Persistent Elite Creation, the special series of challenges within the single-player and multiplayer framework. Basically, it's a fancy way of saying "unlockable junk for your stuff." %Gallery-80549%
Haze PSN demo hits in Europe, coming to US tomorrow
It's been a long time coming, but Ubisoft's Free Radical-developed shooter, Haze, has finally been given the demo treatment, with the publisher sending word that a single and multiplayer-flavored demo is now available over PSN in Europe and that the same hors d'oeuvre will make the rounds in the U.S. starting May 8. As if offering apology for Haze's numerous delays, the demo will include both a sampling of the game's single player campaign called "Salva Region," as well as "drop-in drop-out" co-op multiplayer for up to four players online or over a LAN, or with two players via split-screen. We're sure that there is some "coming out of the haze" joke to be made here, but honestly, after months of waiting we're simply all joked out.
Haze gets May demo, slightly earlier release
Haze's hazy path to becoming an actual, released game became a little more concrete today, with Ubisoft's announcement of a May PSN demo and yet another new release date for the somewhat issue-prone first-person shooter. Surprisingly enough, the new May 20 date is actually three days earlier than the previously "definite" May 23 release (though that may have applied to Europe only). It might not seem like much, but after more delays than we can count (not literally), any move in the other direction is a welcome announcement. Will this release date be the final one? As the Magic 8-Ball might say: "Outlook hazy, try again later."
Co-Optimus helps gamers find friendly games
Stop us if this situation sounds familiar. Your significant other decides that they'd be interested in playing a game as long as they can play with you, but you have no idea what co-op games are available -- other than your general shooter titles. Thankfully the team at Co-Optimus has compiled dedicated their entire site to promoting co-operative titles. If you're looking for information on which co-op experiences exist in the world of Xbox 360 or any other console, we recommend you check it out. We stress one point though, significant other and friends are not included.[via Gamescore Blog]
New site chronicles co-op gaming
Sometimes you just get tired of killing your friends. Many game-makers might find this shocking, but it's true -- sometimes you want to band together with your buds to take on the world (or the computer-controlled AI, at least). Unfortunately, unless you're willing to scour the web for news of co-op modes, you might find you can't get no cooperation if you tried.Enter Co-optimus, a new site founded by Evil Avatar Editor-in-chief Nicholas Puleo to gather together information on all forms of co-operative gaming. The site currently lists over 120 co-op games for current systems, including over 100 released in 2007. It's a great resource, but we're a little bummed that the site doesn't list older systems yet. You haven't lived until you've seen a "co-operative" game of Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers turn into a battle to throw your partner into as many enemies as possible. Good times.
Couch co-op gives way to internet teamplay
Co-op mode in video games is often a very popular feature, probably because of the added intensity of competing with A.I. in partnership with a friend. Games like Halo and Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory become entirely different (and better) games when played in co-operative mode. Of course, the early innovator was Contra, which, without a co-op mode, would have been just another side scrolling shooter. With the greats of the co-op gaming genre in mind, Vic over at Bits & bytes & pixels & sprites has written up a feature calling for a next-generation renaissance in co-operative games. Couch co-op has never been an assured feature with games, especially recently. Since 2000, developers on the PC platform have clearly ignored the co-op mode in favor of dedicated multiplayer modes with big name first person shooters like Half-Life 2, Doom 3 and Quake 4 skipping on the mode. Games with teamplay orientated multiplayer modes like Counter-Strike and Call of Duty have picked up the fundamentals of co-op based games and thanks to their easy accessibility over the internet, have become wildly popular as a result (especially in comparison to the limit of 2-4 players in a usual co-op game). There will always be developers that include couch co-op modes in their games (Bungie, Blizzard and Ubisoft come to mind), but there's unlikely to be a massive resurgence in the number of couch co-op games mainly due to an internet based takeover of team based gameplay. [Thanks, Daniel Zuccarelli]
