Gearing up for the holidays, Co-Optimus presents the PC version of our co-op holiday gift guide. This guide is designed to help select the best PC co-op titles and hardware for the various types of gamers on your list.
For the co-op bargain hunter:
In these trying economic times, it's hard to pick just one game to buy at full price, so why not get a ton of co-op goodness for the price of a single retail game? From now until Monday, Steam's offering a substantial package of THQ's games for $49. With titles like Dawn of War II, Company of Heroes: Tales of Valor, Titan Quest, Saint's Row 2 and Full Spectrum Warrior, you'll be rocking co-op for a good long while.
THQ Complete Pack - Link
Though there aren't any co-op titles in this package (unless you take Jason's route), Lucasarts' PC heritage is impossible to ignore. With a good selection of classic adventure games and most of the top-tier Star Wars titles, you'd be foolish to pass this one up.
Lucasarts Premiere Pack - Link
For the post-Thanksgiving zombie holocaust:
Left 4 Dead 2 is fantastic, and the PC version is the best way to play it. If you're rounding up buddies to play it with you, might I suggest spreading the love with the 4-pack? Nothing says friendship like slaughtering the infected with three of your best pals.
Left 4 Dead 2 - Link
For the "Co-Optimus community fan-favorite" type:
Zombies are great, but what about that "other" 4-player shooter that everyone knows and loves? The PC version of Borderlands has a few issues, but once you tweak it, it's a completely awesome co-op experience, and Amazon's currently selling it for $19.99!
Borderlands - Link
For the "it may not have co-op, but..." crowd:
Anyone who even thinks they like Diablo-style games needs to get their hands on Torchlight. Though we're disappointed it doesn't contain co-op, this gem of a game provides a significant value for its $20 price point.
Torchlight - Link
Luckily, fans of this style of game can currently pick up both the regular and collector's editions of Sacred II, which DOES have co-op on Amazon for $20.
Sacred II - Link
Hardware
For the "my monitor isn't big enough yet" crowd:
What better way to show off the new hotness in PC gaming than with a ridiculously large monitor? At 27.5", you're starting to tread dangerously near to HDTV ranges, but without the markup.
Hanns·G HG-281DPB - Link
For the "I still use the stock mouse that came with my Dell" people:
Come on, people! While any mouse is certainly just fine for most, a gaming mouse has features that will help customize your experience to one that better suits your comfort level. Things like DPI control and extra buttons (for my money, binding voice chat push-to-talk buttons to the mouse is the way to go) increase the level of control you have over your games, and that's never a bad thing.
Logitech G500 - Link
Video card upgrades
For the "solid but not bank breaking" crew:
I've got this card, and I haven't had any trouble running a game at maximum detail/resolution since I installed it. For the asking price, it's one of the best mid-range (price-wise) cards available, and c'mon! Who needs to bust their wallet to experience the best games the PC has to offer?
e-VGA nVidia GTX 260 - Link
For the "if it doesn't cost as much as a launch PS3, I don't want it because it isn't the fastest card ever" crowd:
...Oh right, that would be this guy. This is the fastest card currently on market, and this thing is actually more powerful than my entire PC was only a few years ago. Moore's Law strikes again!
XFX Radeon HD 5970 - Link