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Co-operative horror shooter ‘GTFO’ hits Steam Early Access
After it was first announced three years ago, co-operative horror shooter GTFO is now available through Steam Early Access. If you haven't heard of this one before, it attempts to scratch the same itch as titles like Left 4 Dead, pitting you and three friends against hordes of monsters inside of an oppressive and dark underground facility. 10 Chambers Collective, a studio that includes several designers who worked on the Payday series, developed GTFO.
‘Streets of Rage’ comes to mobiles with local multiplayer
Sega Mega Drive classic Streets of Rage is now available on mobile, thanks to the Sega Forever retro games service, so you can get your dose of denim-clad muscle brawling wherever you are. It also supports local, two-player co-operative raging over Wi-Fi, and works cross-platform between iOS and Android, so you can also bring a touch of nostalgia to your holiday celebrations by battling your siblings and then getting into trouble with your mom when one of you punches the other IRL.
'Halo' will bring back local multiplayer
When I critiqued Halo 5: Guardians, the lack of split-screen co-op was low on my list of gripes with the game. But that's not to say it wasn't a problem. In the lead-up to the 2015 game's release, developer 343 Industries crowed that there were no sacred cows on the road to hitting 60 FPS in the campaign mode -- including the local co-operative play that'd been a part of the series since 2001. That's changing, though. "I would say for any [first-person shooter] going forward we will always have split-screen," 343's head Bonnie Ross said recently at the DICE summit in Las Vegas, according to Polygon.
Abduct four pals for couch co-op in PS4's 'Alienation'
What's better than mowing down (virtual) alien hordes with a buddy sitting right next to you? When it comes to video games, not much. That's why the fine Finnish folks at developer Housemarque are adding local co-op to the top-down, xenophobic shooter Alienation next week. Come July 5th, up to four players can join in on the same-screen mayhem according to a post on the studio's blog. That's not all either, because the update also brings in a competitive play system dubbed "leagues," and a pair of crushing new difficulty levels for the folks who could probably play the game with their eyes shut by now.
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]
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]
FIFA 15 among games blocking PS4 Share Play in US
Users are reporting a number of issues with using the PS4's Share Play feature, Sony's online pass-the-controller multiplayer service. Namely, it appears FIFA 15 is giving players fits, as visiting players are unable to view the footage shown on the host's console. Rather, one half of the Share Play tandem sees the screen above, which says, "Viewing the game screen that the host is currently playing is not allowed due to content restrictions in your country or region." In our tests between two US-based PS4 players this morning, the Share Play visitor was unable to view game footage on four separate occasions: In FIFA 15, WWE 2K15, Guacamelee and Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor. Share Play for FIFA 15 was functional once we tested the service with our UK-based editor, Sinan Kubba (albeit with some bouts of lowered resolution and frame-dropping). However, it appears the error message being displayed is entirely inaccurate, as PlayStation noted on Twitter, adding that the support team is investigating the issues. Eurogamer's big list of Share Play-functioning games notes that FIFA 15 "works fine," so your mileage (or kilometer-age in this case) may vary at the moment. Share Play arrived in October as part of the PS4's version 2.0 update, which itself caused a number of other issues for players. Sony issued another update just this week, version 2.02, to rectify some of the console's lingering problems. We've reached out to Sony to find out what might be causing the hiccups with Share Play and which games are affected.
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]
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?
Interstellar Marines uses the buddy system, gets co-op in September
Interstellar Marines has sold over 100,000 copies since it launched in July 2013 on Steam Early Access, developer Zero Point Software announced this week. The sci-fi game has generated "more than $1.5 million in revenue" for the studio. Still in "heavy development," the tactical FPS will also receive an update on September 18 that adds cooperative multiplayer to the game. Zero Point Software first revealed Interstellar Marines in 2006, and the game received multiple "it's still alive" reassurances over the years. Players can pick up the game on PC, Mac or Linux via Steam for $18.99, which grants access to both the Early Access version of the game and its upcoming expansions and updates, such as the "Project Co-Op" one scheduled for next month. The developer will showcase its spacey shooter at PAX Prime in Seattle this weekend at Alienware's booth (#1246). [Image: Zero Point Software]
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]
'Share Play' passes the controller to a friend in this fall's PS4 update [Update]
Sony announced that system software 2.0 will arrive on PS4 this fall. The firmware update will add a new feature known as Share Play, which allows PlayStation Plus members to invite any friend to play their games with them in a cooperative, pass-the-controller fashion. What's more, those that join their friends on Share Play don't need to own or download the game. Update: PlayStation Blog described Share Play as a "virtual couch," allowing users to play cooperatively together in addition to the aforementioned pass-the-controller method. The system update will also add a dedicated YouTube app and the ability to upload gameplay clips to the popular video platform, a feature Sony announced back at E3 in June. The What's New section of the console will also receive an upgrade with friend-of-friend suggestions and a real name search function.
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]
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]
