When you play video games with your spouse or significant other, it doesn't take too long to square away each others' tastes and preferences. She drives the pink car, I'm always Donatello, she reverses the X-axis, and I prefer the classic controls. When one person is the yellow 'Splosion Man and the other is always blue, then coordinating timed jumps becomes a snap.
This is particularly evident when a little bit of friendly competitive co-op is in order, such as comparing scores on Rock Band jam sessions or staying alive the longest in Halo. Helping your co-op partner rack up points is one of the boons of being a Co-Op Couple, especially when you're playing with another couple. Things get a little tricky, though, when the teams change.
"...slick pickup trucks, big-timin' in a -- Pssst! Step it up!"
Not too long back, we visited our best friends' home for some barbecue. The weather had limited our options to: watch a movie, play a board game, or engage in a four-player Guitar Hero 5 jam session. Naturally, I pushed for the latter. In no time at all we were pounding out tunes with dual drum sets and guitar tracks.
When the inevitable partner/instrument swap came up, I wasn't quite prepared for the drastically different play style of my friend's wife. She wasn't near as good as my wife with a bass guitar. We still had a lot of fun, but I finally got a taste of what it was like being sided with the weakest link (hint: people who are obsessed with stats should never try this).
At the end of the setlist, my obnoxious selfishness got the best of me, and I insisted that my wife rejoin my effort to stack my score. It was truly a shameful moment for someone who promotes co-op pretty much all the time [that he's not playing Modern Warfare 2 online], but dagnabbit - we're a team! We play late at night before bed, and we always tote the spare guitars and controllers to our friends' houses. I married her...I get her last.
Thus I learned my lesson about trading co-op partners, even for one setlist. I'll be much more careful to reign in the partner sharing next time.
Oh, by the way: if you read this entire post with a sexual tilt, you are dirty. Dirty, dirty. You should be ashamed of yourself.
If you didn't...read it again.