Most Innovative Co-Op Feature
So 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