Day in Gaming: Co-op = Less Suckage?

Co-op. Single player campaign.. with a friend. They say that everything’s better with a friend, including video games, and this has proven true since the days of the arcade. However, some games, in retrospect, could’ve used this magic to boost their review scores. This article has given the internet seven games that, in their opinion, would’ve been sheer awesomeness with you best friend sitting next to you working away at the P2 controller.

Co-op is something that most games should have by now, IMHO. Sure, multiplayer is fun and all, and the variety of online modes add to the replay value immensely, but sometimes I don’t feel like that. Sometimes, I just want to plop down in front of the TV, hand a controller to my friend, and rock away at the single player campaign.

Shooters, in particular, should always have some form of co-op, whether it’s online of off. With voice chat, the only difference between to two is your buddy’s wither sitting on your couch, or theirs. Also, the fact that single player campaign’s are getting shorter (CoD4’s is about 10 hours total) means that all the dedication to the story the developers put is only looked at once. With co-op, you’ve got multiple (as many friends you have) reasons to go back to it, see things that you didn’t see before, and take a break from all of those Horde sessions.

Fighters (see: TMNT) could also use the co-op treatment. Using the TMNT example again, there are four Turtles, always. And giving me only single player and multiplayer, when I’ve got three other guys just hopping around acting cool, is a little stupid, if you ask me. TMNT party, anyone?

So, when making a game, developers should give a little more attention to co-op, as it adds to the overall value of the game per dollar. Which is a definite plus in these times.

Source: Gamesradar.com

Tomorrow’s going to be my thoughts on Heroes, and Thursday’s going to have my thoughts on Lost. Just thought I’d give you guys a heads-up!

~Chronoslayer

Day in Gaming 1/31: Wii Got Cheaper

Apparently, Gamingfront.net heard from a guy, who heard from a guy, who heard from ANOTHER guy, who heard from his girlfriend, who heard from your Friendly neighborhood Nintendo Spy that Nintendo’s… going to drop the price of the Wii. In April

Two words: Completely. Unnecessary.

Apparently, yesterday Nintendo dropped their estimated profits by 12% (Let’s just say that that’s a lotta DS’s, ‘specially to a company that seemed invincible against the global recession). However, part of this was because price cuts for the other two big gurus in the console manufacturing market – you know who you are – were predicted around the same time. Due to this and the recession going on right now, some analysts have said that, yep, the Wii may enjoy a ‘small’ price cut in the not-so-far away future.

Why?

The Wii has been selling like hotcakes for the past two years, and shows no signs of slowing down, if the NPD numbers are to be believed. I doubt that Nintendo would forfeit potential big bucks by cutting the price (They make $6 per console at  $250 a Wii), so could you blame this on the economy? Perhaps, but 12% is a big number. If push came to shove, and Nintendo started to get in trouble, then I could see a price drop a-comin’.

Maybe the loss is coming from all the potential cash being spent on development for the next Mario, or Zelda. Hell, we haven’t heard from Samus in a while, either. If that’s not the case, then could the money be from the development the Wii 2? Nah, I didn’t think so, either. 

Whatever the case, Nintendo probably has a good reason, even if it’s the global economy being flushed down the toilet.

Source: Gamingfront.net

Day in Gaming 1/29: Leipzig is Dead

After a small snow-day filled hiatus, I’m back!

Leipzig, Germany’s and thus Europe’s version of E3 has been cancelled this year. A moment of silence…

Okay, that’s over! Taking it’s place will be Gamescom, a convention that’s says it’s going to focus on more online and mobile gaming. Gameforge 4D and Bigpoint, both industry leaders in handheld & mobile gaming, will be supporting this event.

I personally believe this is a good thing. Last year, both Nintendo and Microsoft didn’t show up, which severely hurt the convention’s credence in Europe. This showed that Leipzig needed to be retired, or at least reimagined. Plus, both E3 and TGS seem to focus more on console games. With a convention focusing on their handheld counterparts, this will give a better chance for the not-quite AAA titles that would’ve otherwise gone under the radar.

Now, this begs the questions if E3 needs a revamp as well. Me thinks so, but do you? Comment away!

~Chronoslayer