Last year we had the Golden Billys. This year our boy 50 Cent lends a golden hand, and diamond skull, to our co-op awards. We have seven categories of winners to announce and just like 50 Cent, it's all serious business. So hit that ramp and jump right into the 2009 Co-Op Game of the Year Awards.
Game of the Year
When it came down to it, no other game provided more cooperative options in terms of split screen, online, difficulties and extra modes than Halo 3: ODST. Firefight came out of nowhere as an addictive bonus co-op mode and provided many of us hours and hours of play. Was ODST ground breaking? Probably not. But it was fun and furthermore, it was more fun with friends.
It was a tough battle for sure, and in fact, we almost chose Dawn of War 2 as the GOTY, but the game's limited save capabilities for co-op knocked it down.
Our community went with Borderlands, another admirable choice. No doubt we have members that literally have dozens of characters and hundreds of hours logged into the game in co-op. With a ton of DLC support on the way, there's no doubt Borderlands will be played well into 2010.
Runner Up: Dawn of War 2
Community Pick: Borderlands
Best Co-Op Mode (Non-Campaign)
Additional co-op modes are all the rage, and while Gears of War 2 set the trend with Horde mode last year - this year another Microsoft published title raised the bar. Halo 3: ODST's Firefight mode became strangely addictive. In fact most of us could hardly believe we had just played a single match of it for three hours. Enjoyed split screen, online, or a combination of the two - Firefight is a worthy addition to the ever growing list of Survival modes - one we hope other upcoming games take note of. Our community agreed.
Earlier this year Mercenaries in Resident Evil 5 stole our hearts as it provided a quicker style of survival gameplay. Instead of three hour marathon session, you'd be lucky to survive a full 5 minutes.
Runner Up: Mercenaries Mode - Resident Evil 5
Community Pick: Firefight - Halo 3: ODST
Most Innovative Co-Op FeatureSo perhaps the staff was just forgetful, or perhaps innovation is just too hard to define, but we awarded the most innovative co-op feature to separate difficulties in games, specifically Tom Clancy's HAWX. Sure Gears of War 2 had this last year but the feature is so important to gamers we felt the need to bring it up again. With separate difficulties gamers of all skill levels can enjoy playing together, and that's something we can get behind.
Our runner up was Demon's Souls, also chosen by the community. Demon's Souls actually forced co-op onto players by making them join a random game as a ghost to retrieve there body upon death. It was an interesting take on the genre for sure, and a really innovative use of modern technology.
Runner Up: Demon's Souls Co-Op
Community Pick: Demon's Souls Co-Op
Best Casual Co-Op Title
Surprisingly picking a casual co-op title wasn't as easy as we'd hope, and honestly, the contenders all seemed to be music games. While Guitar Hero 5 offered a ton of innovative features like drop-in and drop-out play and any instrument play, the varied song selection just didn't seem to appeal to as many folks. The Beatles are timeless, and with the catalog of easily recognizable songs and gorgeous graphics it was easily a family favorite in many households. The community agreed.
Ghostbusters for the Wii was our runner up, and it was a great example of how to do a Wii port correctly. Stylized graphics, split screen CAMPAIGN co-op, and Wii friendly controls had everyone in the room wanting to be a Ghostbuster.
Runner Up: Ghostbusters Wii
Community Pick: The Beatles Rock Band
Best Downloadable Co-Op Title
Trine had a rough year finding it's way to the PlayStation 3, but after a successful PC launch mid year it finally hit the console in early fall. We were immediately impressed with Trine from the moment we fired it up, and it's three player co-op mode where players each chose the role of a Wizard, Rogue, or Knight to solve physics based puzzles was as intriguing as it was fun. The game looked and sounded beautiful, and the voice acting made us smile. We can only hope the rumors of an Xbox Live version are true so all gamers can enjoy this classic.
Our runner up was also the community's pick. Splosion Man ran a real close second as a favorite. The game's unique take on puzzle, platforming, and comedy was a blast to share with friends. We can't wait to see what's to come with Twisted Pixel's future titles like Captain Smiley.
Runner Up: `Splosion Man
Community Pick: `Splosion Man
Dubious Honors
Most Disappointing Co-Op Game
As a game that touted a co-op mode only to offer a single map in split screen play, to say we were disappointed was an understatement. Especially when you compare the Overlord 2's co-op mode to the game's truly excellent and fun single player campaign. Perhaps in Overlord III?
A close second was Lord of the Rings: Conquest. Despite high hopes for some co-op Orc slaying, we basically got a team based versus game with bots and a loose story for co-op. It was mildly entertaining, but the potential was much higher.
Our community on the other hand voted for Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2. After the popularity of the first game, the second fell short in every category: length, co-op options, replayability and more. How does the saying go? You can giveth but not taketh away.
Runner Up: Lord of the Rings: Conquest
Community Pick: Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2
Game that Should Have Had (Campaign) Co-Op
Look, Torchlight is possibly the greatest Diablo clone since - well since Diablo II. But the fact the game doesn't have co-op is absolutely criminal. The entire Action RPG genre that Diablo invented was made to be shared with a buddy or three. You need to show off your awesome armor, your awesome spell, and your awesome axe of awesomeness. Seriously.
"Ghostbusters...THERE'S FOUR GHOSTBUSTERS! Sigh. There's no excuse, absolutely no excuse to not have a true co-op mode in this game. Especially when the Wii counterpart managed to pull it off. THERE...ARE...FOUR....FOUR....1..2..3..4.. GHOSTBUSTERS!!!! And yes, our community, the internet, and Zuul agree.
Runner Up: Ghostbusters (360/PS3)
Community Pick: Ghostbusters (360/PS3)
Wildcard Category - Best Co-Op Game Starring 50 Cent
We may make fun, but we've had a blast playing Blood on the Sand this year. Multiple staff members have had numerous play throughs, and there's rumors of them going back for more. 50 Cent, we tip our hats to you. You created an enjoyable co-op experience for mature co-op gamers. We can't wait for the sequel.
Runner up: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2