Why co-op gaming is on the rise

Co-op gaming has been gaining popularity during this latest generation of console gaming. Often, games are severely penalized when they include only local or only online co-op rather than praised for having either. Many top games center around the co-op experience: Gears of War, Resident Evil 5, Left 4 Dead, Marvel Ultimate Alliance and Borderlands.  Other games incorporate the mode even if it does not fit with the designers’ original vision of the franchise, as was done in Modern Warfare’s sequel.

As much fun as I had comp stomping AI with a friend in Red Alert and Starcraft, getting together in someone’s basement to play Gauntlet or Diablo, or teaming up with someone in Team Fortress for Quake, I do not believe the recent popularity in Co-op gaming is solely due to the fun a co-operative experience can bring. I believe that its recent popularity is, at least partially, due to the fact it provides a positive multiplayer experience that can be enjoyed with friends while avoiding the general online population found in most popular competitive games.

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2010
01/29
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phokal
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Battlefield 1943 is casual causality casualty

Game night last night consisted entirely of playing as one of the Ryan brothers in World War 2.  While I was a great service to my country, I inevitably was slain. Again and again.

“I was noscoped on the beaches, I was camped on the landing grounds, I was sniped in the fields and in the streets, I was pwned in the hills; but I will never rage quit. I will persevere. I will respawn.”

Churchill said that (or something to that effect) over seventy years ago. He knew that last Wednesday night in the year twenty and ten, that every action I’d take and every step I’d make would only lead to my demise.

Despite constant personal defeat, my team was often victorious.  I attribute this to the excellent “Squad System” in place in BF1943.  This system allows you to party up with 3 of your friends and join a game.  The advantage it gives is the ability to spawn not only to the half dozen flagged spawn points, but directly to any of your squadmates. I routinely spawned directly into the gunners turret of a moving tank from which I could shoot in the general direction of enemies before they would certainly kill me.

But my death would serve a purpose.  Each time I would hear one of my fellow squad members mention over Party Chat: “I got him for you.”

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2010
01/14
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phokal
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I finally beat: Halo 3 ODST

Halo 3 ODST is the latest Halo game from Bungie.  Originally planned as DLC (that’s downloadable content for you greens), there’s enough spit and polish gone into this fine example of a game to push it into prime time status.  A full retail release.

It don’t hurt that it also includes a Halo 3 multiplayer disc. The full Halo 3 multiplayer suite as if you were playing the original and it’s fully backwards compatible. Anyone out there tho didn’t jump in on the original Halo 3’s “map packs” can get them n’ more here.  That makes this disc shiny and your Halo 3 disc all manner of useless.

For the fans who did pony up the dough, you’re fan enough to appreciate the main adventure. For fans who don’t care about playing Halo multiplayer, this title ain’t for you. It may be the best Halo single-player campaign, but make no mistake: this is still Halo.

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2010
01/10
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phokal
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Crayon Physics Deluxe costs $X! Where X is your imagination.

Crayon Physics Deluxe is having one of those “pay me whatever” sales.  Pay any amount (.01 or $100 million), and you get the game.

LINK

It retails for $20 normally (and on steam).  I paid $20 at launch and, while I haven’t beaten it, think it’s a blast to play around with.

If you have a tablet (PC or pad), then this is a must.  Works well with a mouse, too.

To avoid him losing money on this sale, you should probably pay at least $2. I’d recommend $5. I can’t imagine feeling ripped off at $5, even if you find you don’t like the game.  And hell, there’s a demo. Give it a try!

Only thing I’d say: back up your saved games to a shared folder.  I keep loading this game on people’s computers to show it off, and each time I have to start at level 1.

At least watch the video on the main page. Or this one:

2010
01/08
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phokal
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Bird can sing FF7’s chocobo song.

I’ve heard of bird’s imitating what they hear repeatedly.  I’ve also heard this song on loop in game perhaps hundreds of times.  I never put the two together and thought of a bird learning the song and then singing it.

Don’t watch the whole video to get the idea; but click to the end to hear a quick alternate tune.

2010
01/02
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I finally beat: Prototype

My name is Alex Mercer and I have a gravely voice. To understand the following blog entry, you should watch the above narration to appreciate my tone and delivery.

I’m an amnesiac hero angry at the world, and I’m on a quest for revenge to find out what was done to me.  These powers, great and awesome as they are, are a mystery that makes me angry.  And in my anger, I will hunt and kill anyone who knows, because I am not a detective; I am a monster. A very angry monster in an open world GTA-like game with super powers. I am not Nancy Drew.

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2009
12/24
POSTED BY
phokal
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Phokal
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Robin Hood

2009
12/22
POSTED BY
steez
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Iron Man 2

2009
12/22
POSTED BY
steez
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Torch Light

TorchLight

2009
12/21
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steez
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Avoid Left 4 Dead 2 Dedicated Servers. They are broken.

As of the launch, and a few days later, Left 4 Dead 2 dedicated servers are broken.  I have had repeated attempts to play with friends ruined by the matchmaking system placing us in a dedicated server that gave us all 1 bar of red lag.  The system is supposed to choose someone as a host in these cases, but this matchmaking logic is not triggering.  From the Pre-Match game setup screen, you can edit the servers options to look for a dedicated server (and fall back on local hosting), or skip looking for a dedicated server and simply use a Local Host.  By picking this option, I am able to easily host 4 player coop sessions of Xbox Live.

I’ll be testing L4D2 versus later.

For now, feel free to try to search for a dedicated server, but do not be surprised if you need to Vote to Return to Lobby, and manually switch to a Local Host to have a playable experience.

2009
11/22
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phokal
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