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Explore the Fallen Frontier with friends
Moonshot Games released a new trailer for the newly announced Fallen Frontier, highlighting the title's co-op gameplay. It's a combination of careful positioning, precision shots and oh my god that guy just shot a grappling hook. If you're at PAX East, you can try it at booth 759.
League of Legends adds Co-op vs. AI mode
Riot Games has announced that a new mode has been added to League of Legends. The new Co-op vs. AI mode allows players to team up against an opposing group of computer-controlled opponents. The mode features "newly overhauled" AI and two levels of difficulty, and still awards players with XP and IP (points used to make in-game purchases). Riot's Travis George promises the AI will "put up a fight" and will use "coordinated teamwork and advanced tactics." In case you don't believe him, Riot posted a video recap of a recent match played by its own staff, in which the people who made the game lost handily to their own creation. Find the video after the break.
Call of Juarez: The Cartel to feature three-player online co-op
Ubisoft's Call of Juarez: The Cartel is all about threes. Not only is it the third game in the series, it features three main characters: a "gang-affiliated street kid," a "DEA agent with a chronic gambling habit" and a "brutal LAPD detective." Each character is said to have a unique campaign story and ending. Perhaps the most exciting feature of The Cartel is the ability to play as all three characters in online co-op; in which Ubisoft teases there will be a "twist" in the storyline. Get your first look at the unlikely "task force" in the trailer after the break.%Gallery-115845%
SOCOM 4 co-op preview: Hey, hey, the gang's all here
The final major piece of Zipper Interactive's plan to put SOCOM back on the map -- five-player co-op -- has been fully declassified and I've given the latest Navy SEALs game, due April 19, a shakedown. Sony revealed at an event Tuesday evening that the cooperative mode will eschew a traditional "play through the main campaign together" setup in favor of letting players create their own full, multi-stage campaigns using a set of six maps and the ability to randomize normally scripted events on each play-through. I experienced some of this when playing through the same map more than once, with various difficulty and enemy density settings in effect. It was easy to tell that, while your group of friends might get used to the map layouts, the challenge you'll face will never be a known quantity. %Gallery-117449%
Battlefield 3 to have dedicated servers, leading on PC
Game Informer's cover story on Battlefield 3 reveals DICE's plans to support dedicated servers, and delves into some of the particulars of its multiplayer offering. Once again, you'll be able to select between four classes -- executive producer Patrick Bach calls this number "the sweet spot" -- and Bad Company 2's four-person squad mechanic will be expanded, though no specifics are given. "Squads are really easy to set up, but how can you take that further? We have some really cool things that we'll show later when it comes to dictating how you play with friends," Bach teases. Furthermore, due to BF3 using a new version of DICE's game engine, Frostbite 2.0, mod tools won't necessarily reflect earlier Battlefield mod functionality. "We will not deliver mod tools in the way that we delivered them for Battlefield 2," Bach says. "Creating mod tools today -- dumbing them down -- takes a lot of energy and what we are discussing more every day is, 'Where do we put our focus?' Right now our focus is to create the best possible multiplayer, single-player, and co-op game -- the core game of Battlefield 3. We're still discussing how we handle modifications of any kind," he adds. And though the third Battlefield title will arrive on launch day in Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 flavors, the game's primary development platform is the PC. "We won't make it for console and port it to PC -- that's not how we do things," Bach says. "We're focusing on PC first, and then we fiddle with it to fit it onto consoles." Frankly, we wanna fiddle with it wherever it is.
FEAR 3 co-op trailer shows a slight imbalance
We foresee one major problem with the co-op mode for F.E.A.R. 3, previewed in the video below: One of the characters looks way more fun to play than the other. Who would you like to be: the standard, cover-based first-person shooter guy? Or the telekinetic, intangible ghost-killer?
Halo: Reach co-op hard drive requirement unresolved, no ETA on fix
Following the launch of Halo: Reach, we reported that the game's co-op functionality requires an Xbox 360 hard drive. This was of particular concern to those who had purchased one of the newly released 4GB Xbox 360 S models. At the time, we were told that the issue was "temporary" and that Microsoft was "working to resolve it." Repeated attempts to confirm with Microsoft when the situation will be resolved have been met with assurances that the company would let us know when there's an update, though no further details have been provided. It's currently unclear if and when the issue will ever be fixed, so consider this a PSA: If you've been holding off on picking up Reach until this particular shortcoming is addressed, you may want to start shopping for hard drives instead.
Uncharted 3 interview: The difference with Drake
Just what was that puzzling David O'Russell quote, referencing a "family dynamic" in the Uncharted movie, all about, I asked Uncharted 3 game director Justin Richmond at a recent press event. He laughed. "First of all, all that stuff was denied by David O. Russell," Richmond said. "He actually called us up and was like, 'I don't know what these guys are talking about.'" And Mark Wahlberg isn't anywhere near to being confirmed to play Nathan Drake either -- it's just Hollywood scuttlebutt, apparently. Still, I dutifully told Richmond that the Joystiq Biomass had chosen, and Nathan Fillion has our vote. Message received, Richmond responded. With that important tidbit out of the way, we moved on to discussing the game: Uncharted 3 has the Cintamani Stone-sized task of living up to its predecessors, and Richmond and his team are busy implementing improvements across the board, subtle as they might appear. "The big thing is that we switched lighting engines between [Uncharted] 1 and 2, and we're keeping the same lighting engine now," he explained. "So we've already got all of those advancements. Now we're just refining them." %Gallery-111529%
Journey preview: Souls searching
I laughed when I first saw the scarf worn by Journey's main character. I couldn't help it -- the flair it adds to the enigmatic avatar renders the figure distinctly more charming than spooky. The scarf serves a more functional purpose, too: It's a gameplay meter, measuring your character's ability to fly. The scarf depletes as you fly; fill it back up -- and even lengthen it -- by completing puzzles and discovering secrets, among other things. There's actually a variety of scarves to be collected and equipped throughout the gameworld. Scarves, however, are not the focus on thatgamecompany's third PSN-exclusive, Journey. The focus, creative lead Jenova Chen told me at a recent press event, is to enable unique online experiences. "Everyone's on a journey towards a goal, and everybody travels through a similar landscape," he said of the game. "And at some point, their paths cross each other, and then they could be playing together." %Gallery-110295%
Rumor: Killzone 3 to include split-screen
According to an image from NicaGamerz of an alleged Killzone 3 preview build, the third Helghast murder simulator will allow for split-screen co-op -- a function that previous entries lacked. Sony of Europe gave VG247 an official "no comment" on the possibility, but also didn't deny the rumor. However, earlier this year at E3, president of SCE worldwide studios Shuhei Yoshida spoke to us about Killzone 3's 3D functionality, saying, "We were going to give players two screens anyway, for some mode ... for some gameplay anyway." Split-screen, perhaps? Given that Killzone 3 is a 3D title and its video is already being rendered twice for the 3D effect, the possibility of split-screen is a bit of a given. As for whether the split-screen will allow friends to take the game online together is unknown, but it seems players will at least be able to shoot up yellow-eyed baddies on a couch together. Let's put it this way: we're giving today's news the "rumor" tag, but calling the possibility "very likely."
Darkspore trailer offers a glimpse at four-player co-op
Not only are friends great when you need bail money at 4 a.m. (don't ask), but they're also good for fighting monsters and stuff in Darkspore. At least, that's what we hear from people who actually have friends.
Dead Nation voice chat coming 'soon'
Saying that the developer "sincerely apologise that voice chat is not available in Dead Nation's online co-op mode," Housemarque CEO and co-founder Ilari Kuittinen writes on the EU PlayStation Blog that the zombie-filled, twin-stick shooter will be updated with the feature "soon," with the team "currently working intensely to introduce it as quickly as possible." While Kuittinen admits in his post that the lack of voice chat is "a major issue for some players," he goes on to say, "we think that releasing Dead Nation has been the right decision as the game is still great fun." We'd have to agree with that last part -- about it being great fun -- but have to wonder how much shipping without such a integral element to online co-op was worth compared to missing out on holiday sales.
Lara Croft co-op patch arrives for PC
PC players of Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light despairing about the lack of online play can now see a bit of sunshine coming in through a crack in a cave wall. Just one day after the release of the co-op-enabling patch for the PSN version, developer Crystal Dynamics tweeted that it's now available through Steam as well. Since PC gamers have been waiting the longest (by an admittedly slim margin), your PC pals should be the happiest about the arrival of online play. You should notice an extra spring in their steps leaps across chasms and an unmistakable joie de vivre in the way they clamber up walls using your ad-hoc spear handholds.
NBA Jam on PS3 and Xbox getting day-one online multiplayer patch
NBA Jam ballers on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 need not worry about online functionality -- aside from "Classic Mode" being available out of the box, the patch adding online versus and co-op to the rest of the modes will be available at launch. Get an early look at what it'll add after the break.
The Last Story has competitive and cooperative online play
Yes, it's still on the Wii. The latest Jump magazine, summarized by Andriasang, reveals two online game modes for Mistwalker's surprisingly exciting action RPG, The Last Story. The competitive mode is a battle arena, and the cooperative mode has players teaming up to fight tough monsters -- reminiscent of a certain phenomenally successful series about hunting monsters, perhaps. Both modes support up to six players and are accessed through the game's "Raid Lobby" area. With players meeting their pals on the internet, it makes sense that you can customize your character. Andriasang notes that players' armor and equipment is visible on their characters, and items can be "painted" to customize their color. The Last Story will be released in Japan on January 27. No plans have been announced for a launch outside of Japan.%Gallery-107120%
Dead Nation promises online co-op at launch
Tackling an inexhaustible undead force all by yourself just isn't a wise endeavor. Super Stardust developer Housemarque has announced that its PSN top-down scourge shooter, Dead Nation, will let two players meet in the place where barely human husks lunge violently at any signs of intelligence -- you may know it as the internet. "Originally, online co-op wasn't going to be included as a launch feature, as the schedule and resources didn't allow it," Housemarque CEO Ilari Kuittinen wrote on the PlayStation Blog. "However, after many late night play-testing sessions and long talks with Sony Computer Entertainment, we decided that this was a must-have feature and it would be unfair to you if we launched without it!" You see, Ms. Croft? It's not that hard. "At this point, our coders went from working 12-hour days to working 16-hour days, as well as weekends!" Oh ... well, uh ... this is awkward. Housemarque has yet to announce Dead Nation's launch date, though we know that it will cost $14.99.
Call of Duty: Black Ops getting 'brand new zombie experiences'
Treyarch has finally decided to unveil "one of the most anticipated features and worst kept secrets" in Call of Duty: Black Ops -- Zombies. "Zombies have been such a hit with our community that we were committed to bringing brand new zombie experiences to Call of Duty: Black Ops," studio head Mark Lamia said. The mode will once again pit four co-op partners against wave after wave of encroaching undead, joining the new "Combat Training" mode which features up to six person co-op against enemy AI. Four of the zombie-based maps from Call of Duty: World at War are being remade for Black Ops and will be packed in with the Prestige and Hardened editions of the game. The release doesn't detail how many maps the mode will be getting in total, or how much the aforementioned remakes will cost folks who don't purchase the Prestige or Hardened editions, but we've reached out to Activision for clarification.
Halo Reach requires hard drive to play in co-op mode, Microsoft working on this 'temporary issue'
The Halo series has always been about addictive multiplayer experiences, so it's most disturbing to find out that campaign co-op gaming on the latest title is a non-starter for people without a hard drive attached to their 360. An issue has been identified by users of the 4GB Xbox 360, whereby attempts to team up on the baddies with your buddies -- whether locally or via Xbox Live -- is met with an error message saying that a HDD is "required for this game type." This affects both Halo: Reach and the earlier Halo: ODST. Adding extra memory via USB has been found to be ineffective, but at least Microsoft has stated that it's aware of the limitation and is "quickly working to resolve it." Standard multiplayer is predictably unaffected, so we suggest taking your rage out on some newbies while the MS techs figure out their caching algorithms.
Fable 3 preview: A second date with co-op
We know Fable 2 didn't quite get co-op right. To hear Peter Molyneux talk about it, it was a "poorly implemented feature." And that's where Fable 3 comes in. The threequel promises to fix three specific shortcomings of Fable 2's co-op experience: bringing your hero into another player's game; returning to your game with the gold and items you earned; and (yes!) detaching the camera. First, the henchman problem. Since the concept of co-op was introduced into Fable 2 later in development, the game's quests were never designed to accommodate two heroes with all of their possible abilities and characteristics. Instead, when joining another player's game, your carefully curated hero would be replaced with a generic henchman. Hardly the kind of experience that drew players to Fable in the first place. In Fable 3, you take your hero – weapons and all – with you into a friend's game. %Gallery-102560%
Fable 2's co-op shortcomings as explained by Molyneux
"I think we're taking a poorly implemented feature in Fable 2 and really making it shine in Fable 3." Peter Molyneux's enthusiasm, equally infamous and infectious, doesn't necessarily extend into the past. The creative director of Microsoft Game Studios Europe guided us through Fable 3's improved co-op design during a Friday morning TGS session, eagerly contrasting new features with some earnest recollection of the previous game's shortcomings. "Well, to be honest, the problem we had -- it was a bizarre problem -- is that every time you do something different, and this will sound horribly mechanical but it comes down to this at all times ... When you create a different version, then that needs a complete test pass," Molyneux explained. "So we had in Fable 2, because co-op came in quite late, couch co-op and we had [Xbox] Live co-op. We hadn't really planned for the fact that we were going to have to do a test pass. An entire test pass for the single player; an entire test pass for the couch co-op; an entire test pass for the Live co-op." Intent on adding online co-op to Fable 2 within a limited time frame, Lionhead Studios essentially went for a prudent two-for-one deal: take the working couch co-op online. "We could save a whole test pass if we made Live and couch co-op almost identical in Fable 2, and we were kind of running low on time so we had to do that," said Molyneux. Since the game essentially believed it was running on one screen, both players had to relinquish control of the camera -- and one had to settle for playing as a generic impostor in place of a true hero. In Fable 3, you're allowed to take your hero into someone else's game, along with your upgradeable weapons, abilities and fluffy, canine companions. You can marry your co-op partner, divorce them, go into a business partnership and even play pat-a-cake with them. And -- finally -- both players have a fully controllable camera. This is how the best internet romances start.
