2011 looks to be another huge year for co-op games. Already we have a full schedule of co-op titles planned to be released in every quarter this year. The above video is a highlight of some of the bigger and more exciting releases we are going to see this year.
The following pages are the list of titles, release dates, features and info. As always, the info is subject to change - especially release dates - but as of now they are as close to accurate as we can get.
What game are you most looking forward to this year?
Little Big Planet 2
System(s): PS3
Release Date: January 18th, 2011
Co-Op: 4 Player Offline Co-Op / 4 Player Online Co-Op
The Co-Op Experience:
Team up through co-op specific levels or user created levels with friends. Build levels together and create new experiences.
Mindjack
System(s): 360,PS3
Release Date: January 18th, 2011
Co-Op: 3 Player Online Co-Op
The Co-Op Experience:
Mindjack allows players to take control of any character in a game. Co-Op gamers can seamlessly join a friends game to help out as long as the host player is still alive. Other gamers can take control of enemies as well, turning the game into a versus type mode, but you can disable it. This would make it 3vs3.
Two Worlds 2
System(s): PC,PS3,360
Release Date: January 25th, 2011
Co-Op: 8 Player Online Co-Op
The Co-Op Experience:
Co-Op is relegated to specific adventures and a village mode used to trade items, etc.
Lord of Arcana
System(s): PSP
Release Date: January 25th, 2011
Co-Op:
The Co-Op Experience:
Play with up to three friends to defeat tough enemies and reap rewards together
Radiant Silvergun
System(s): XBLA
Release Date: Winter
Co-Op: 2 Player Offline Co-Op / 2 Player Online Co-Op
The Co-Op Experience:
Radiant Silvergun is considered to be one of the best shoot em ups of all time. Released first in the arcades, it also was available for the Sega Saturn. Ikaruga is a sequel of sorts, and the two games share many characteristics, like bonus points for killing enemies of certain colors in a chain.
Bionic Commando: Rearmed 2
System(s): XBLA,PSN
Release Date: February 2nd, 2011
Co-Op: 2 Player Offline Co-Op
The Co-Op Experience:
Team up with a partner for some couch co-op swinging, shooting, and jumping
Killzone 3
System(s): PS3
Release Date: February 22nd, 2011
Co-Op: 2 Player Offline Co-Op
The Co-Op Experience:
Play through the campaign with a friend in couch co-op.
Bulletstorm
System(s): 360,PS3,PC
Release Date: February 22nd, 2011
Co-Op: 4 Player Online Co-Op
The Co-Op Experience:
Anarchy is a 4 player co-op mode of Bullestorm that has players working together to stay alive and score big points at the same time. Anarchy will have players working together to not only survive, but to achieve a certain score to progress through the waves of enemies. Not only will players have their own skill shots at their disposal, but cooperative skill shots as well.
System(s): 360,PS3,PC
Release Date: March 1st, 2011
Co-Op: 2 Player Online Co-Op
The Co-Op Experience:
Contro E'larra or Caddoc through this action fantasy game.
Combine E'lara's ranged attacks with Caddoc's melee expertise to pull off gruesome co-op kill moves, perform special attacks, and heal one another regardless of where they in relation to one another on the battlefield. The characters' differing combat methods allow player strategy to vary from one playthrough to the next.
The Conduit 2
System(s): Wii
Release Date: March 1st, 2011
Co-Op: 4 Player Offline Co-Op
The Co-Op Experience:
Four players can team up in a survival style mode.
The First Templar
System(s): PC,360
Release Date: March 1st, 2011
Co-Op: 2 Player Offline Co-Op / 2 Player Online Co-Op
The Co-Op Experience:
Players take control of either a French Templar, or his companion, a noble lady who has been proclaimed a heretic. Fast-paced cooperative play: players can assist one another as each takes on the role of the game\'s key characters. Drop-in/out cooperative gameplay lets the AI take over when one player leaves the game
The Dishwasher: Vampire Smile
System(s): XBLA
Release Date: Spring
Co-Op: 2 Player Offline Co-Op / 2 Player Online Co-Op
The Co-Op Experience:
Hack and slash with friends. More details coming soon.
Magicka
System(s): PC
Release Date: Spring
Co-Op: 4 Player Offline Co-Op / 4 Player Online Co-Op
The Co-Op Experience:
Four player co-op is available in all game modes and types including a story mode and an unlockable survival mode.
God Eater Burst
System(s): PSP
Release Date: March 1st, 2011
Co-Op: 4 Player Offline Co-Op / 4 Player Online Co-Op
The Co-Op Experience:
The game boasts a mission-based campaign mode consisting of more than 100 missions inclusive of co-operative play with up to three teammates over local adhoc wireless multiplayer or AI-controlled teammates.
Dawn of War II: Retribution
System(s): PC
Release Date: March 10th, 2011
Co-Op: 2 Player Online Co-Op
The Co-Op Experience:
Play through any of the campaigns in co-op play. Each player controls a squad of units.
Total War: Shogun 2
System(s): PC
Release Date: March 15th, 2011
Co-Op: 2 Player Online Co-Op
The Co-Op Experience:
In a co-op campaign, you each get your own families (so you can make your own choices about your tech trees and campaign characters), but your families are automatically entered into an alliance. The win condition is either one of you becoming Shogun, and we were assured that there is no backstabbing allowed in this alliance. It sounds virtually the same as the single-player campaign mode except you\'re working together to win the game instead of just you on your own.
De Blob 2
System(s): Wii,PS3,360
Release Date: March 22nd, 2011
Co-Op: 2 Player Offline Co-Op
The Co-Op Experience:
Players will be able to team up locally to play through the campaign. One player takes the role of Blob while the other controls his sidekick, Pinky. Pinky is represented by a reticule on screen that allows the 2nd player to help Blob destroy enemies, grab power ups and paint the world.
Dynasty Warriors 7
System(s): 360,PS3
Release Date: March 25th, 2011
Co-Op: 2 Player Online Co-Op
The Co-Op Experience:
The two player online co-op mode will feature greater challenges and tougher enemies.
Darkspore
System(s): PC
Release Date: March 29th, 2011
Co-Op: 4 Player Online Co-Op
The Co-Op Experience:
Players can team up and customize their creatures in this loot collection action RPG.
System(s): PSN
Release Date: Spring
Co-Op: 4 Player Offline Co-Op
The Co-Op Experience:
Slam Bolt Scrappers offers a co-op campaign with puzzles designed specifically for 4 players.
Portal 2
System(s): 360,PC,PS3
Release Date: April 18th, 2011
Co-Op: 2 Player Offline Co-Op / 2 Player Online Co-Op
The Co-Op Experience:
Portal 2 will have a co-op campaign. Players take control of a robot and work through puzzles that require two players to work together to solve.
Playstation Move Heroes
System(s): PS3
Release Date: April 30th, 2011
Co-Op: 2 Player Offline Co-Op / 2 Player Online Co-Op
The Co-Op Experience: Team together with a friend in 2 player co-op mode as you work together to defeat these new villainous foes.
Torchlight 2
System(s): PC
Release Date: Spring
Co-Op: 4 Player Online Co-Op
The Co-Op Experience:
Co-Op numbers aren\'t confirmed yet, but Runic is having a strong focus on co-op play in the game\'s sequel. From the videos it appears co-op is at least four players plus pets.
Ghostbusters: Sanctum of Slime
System(s): XBLA,PSN,PC
Release Date: Spring
Co-Op: 4 Player Offline Co-Op / 4 Player Online Co-Op
The Co-Op Experience:
Players can team up as their own character and work together to bring down ghosts and large bosses.
Dungeons & Dragons: Daggerdale
System(s): PC,PSN,XBLA
Release Date: Spring
Co-Op: 2 Player Offline Co-Op / 4 Player Online Co-Op
The Co-Op Experience:
Players will utilize classes of characters and teamwork to play through the story.
F.E.A.R. 3
System(s): 360,PS3,PC
Release Date: May 20th, 2011
Co-Op: 2 Player Online Co-Op
The Co-Op Experience:
Players can take the role of point man, the main character from previous FEAR titles or Fettel, a pscho-kintetic character that can inhabit the bodies of enemies.
Operation Flashpoint: Red River
System(s): PS3,PC,360
Release Date: Summer
Co-Op: 4 Player Online Co-Op
The Co-Op Experience:
The core game is built around its four player co-op campaign, but Red River will also feature separate co-op modes with various objectives.
Earth Defense Force: Insect Armageddon
System(s): 360,PS3
Release Date: June 1st, 2011
Co-Op: 2 Player Offline Co-Op / 6 Player Online Co-Op
The Co-Op Experience:
3 players can team up through the campaign while 6 players can team up for a survival mode!
System(s): PC
Release Date: June 1st, 2011
Co-Op: 4 Player Online Co-Op
The Co-Op Experience:
4 players can team up to take on the game\'s skirmish missions. Players can assume "direct control" mode or traditional RTS mode.
System(s): 360,PS3,PC
Release Date: June 21st, 2011
Co-Op: 2 Player Offline Co-Op / 2 Player Online Co-Op
The Co-Op Experience: Player two can help out by assuming the role of a thief.
Resistance 3
System(s): PS3
Release Date: Fall
Co-Op: 2 Player Offline Co-Op / 2 Player Online Co-Op
The Co-Op Experience:
Players take the role of one of two soldiers through a co-op based story.
The Lord of the Rings: War in the North
System(s): PS3,360,PC
Release Date: August 1st, 2011
Co-Op: 2 Player Offline Co-Op / 3 Player Online Co-Op
The Co-Op Experience:
Each player can choose a Dwarf, Human or Elf and build a fellowship to combat Sauron. Your character gains experience, upgraded items, and more which can be used online in co-op or offline in single player.
System(s): PC,360,PS3
Release Date: September 13th, 2011
Co-Op: 2 Player Online Co-Op
The Co-Op Experience:
There\'s not much known yet about the co-op mode for Rage other than it\'ll be it\'s own entity, and not part of the single player campaign.
Brink
System(s): PS3,PC,360
Release Date: Fall
Co-Op: 8 Player Online Co-Op
The Co-Op Experience:
Brink promises to blend offline and online co-op into a seamless experience with persistent characters that can join games at anytime.
Gears of War 3
System(s): 360
Release Date: Fall
Co-Op: 2 Player Offline Co-Op / 4 Player Online Co-Op
The Co-Op Experience:
Co-Op details of Gears 3 are unconfirmed, but it shouldn\'t be any stretch of the imagination to see at least 2 players returning with all the features of the previous Gears games.
System(s): PS3
Release Date: November 1st, 2011
Co-Op: 4 Player Offline Co-Op / 4 Player Online Co-Op
The Co-Op Experience:
Players take control of Ratchet, Clank, Qwark, or Dr. Nefarious and work together in various platforming and shooting puzzles. Each character offers their own unique abilities.
Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception
System(s): PS3
Release Date: November 1st, 2011
Co-Op: 2 Player Offline Co-Op / 3 Player Online Co-Op
The Co-Op Experience:
There are no official details on the co-op as of now, other than Naughty Dog plans to expand on the co-op offerings of Uncharted 2.
The following games have no release window - but we're guessing we'll see them later this year....
System(s): XBLA
Release Date: TBD
Co-Op: 2 Player Offline Co-Op / 2 Player Online Co-Op
The Co-Op Experience:
Battle Block Theater features a co-op campaign for two players.
Inversion
System(s): 360,PS3
Release Date: TBD
Co-Op: 2 Player Online Co-Op
The Co-Op Experience:
Players take the role of either Davis Russel, a cop, or Leo Delgado, his neighbor, as they have fight off waves of invading Lutadore enemies in the game's campaign.
Aliens: Colonial Marines
System(s): 360,PS3,PC
Release Date: TBD
Co-Op: 4 Player Online Co-Op
The Co-Op Experience: Aliens: Colonial Marines will feature a story driven single-player mode and an all-new four player co-op mode allowing players to share the chilling experience with three friends. In co-op mode, each player will assume the persona of a United States Colonial Marine and have a distinct role to play in the completion of every mission.