I’m a high school English teacher, writer, and ninja. My co-op gaming life started with the original Double Dragon arcade game in 1987. As I only owned an NES back then, my Sega Master System-owning friend used to get tired of me wanting to play through Double Dragon with him all the time. I still love cooperative beat-em-ups, including Final Fight, Castle Crashers, and Scott Pilgrim. I was once a competitive Saturn Bomberman player, but otherwise I have always been about the co-op.
My first experience with writing about games came in 2003 when I wrote a full walkthrough for Bomberman Land 2, an amazing Japanese Bomberman RPG. Over the next several years, I continued to write FAQs and Achievement guides for various games, culminating in an award-winning Bionic Commando Rearmed guide. I finally joined the gaming press after Windows Phone 7 launched, covering and reviewing games for Microsoft’s fledgling mobile platform. Now I’m on the console scene at Co-Optimus, one of the coolest and most unique gaming sites around.
People still love SNK's Neo Geo system after all these years. The arcade and home hardware produced games with a memorable and unique look. Nalua Studio is keeping the dream alive, then, by launching Vengeance Hunters on both Neo Geo hardware and modern systems. This all-new beat 'em up definitely looks the part, and it supports 2-player local co-op as well.
Earlier this year, Digital Eclipse and Atari announced two DLC expansions for Atari 50: The Anniversary Celebration, the comprehensive collection of Atari games and documentary content. The first DLC, "The Wilder World of Atari," arrived at the end of September. The second DLC, "The First Console War," will launch on November 8. It promises 19 new games and lots of behind-the-scenes materials, though we don't expect any of the new games to feature co-op multiplayer.
This year has seen the arrival of several high-profile licensed co-op games, such as TMNT: Mutants Unleashed, The Karate Kid: Street Rumble, and G.I. Joe: The Wrath of Cobra. One more licensed game will arrive just before the year's end: the highly anticipated Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers: Rita's Rewind from Digital Eclipse and Atari. The Power Rangers' latest game arrives on consoles and PC on December 10.
You know which classic game deserves a modern sequel? Zombies Ate My Neighbors, a beloved horror-themed top-down shooter that is currently owned by Disney. A new sequel is super unlikely, but a spiritual successor is on the horizon. indie developer Curse Free Studios announced Demons Ate My Neighbors! years ago, and now it seems like they're making some progress. A mobile game will come out early next year, and the main game is still in development.
Falcom's Ys series is a venerable line of action RPGs. Starting in the days of the NES and Turbografx, Ys continues today with the tenth mainline game, Ys X: Nordics. The new game sees Adol, the series protagonist, teaming up with a lady pirate named Karja to battle an evil army of immortal monsters. Ys X is out now on PlayStation, Switch, and Steam. Most excitingly for us, the Steam version supports 2-player local co-op!
Following the success of the Capcom Fighting Collection and Capcom Beat ‘Em Up Bundle, Capcom has finally bundled all of their Marvel fighters onto modern platforms as Marvel vs. Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics. And what’s more, the 1994 co-op beat ‘em up The Punisher is included as well. ...
The original Shadow of the Ninja (Dark Operative Kage in Japan) is a cult classic NES game from Natsume. Released in 1990, it featured 2-player local co-op – a rarity for 8-bit platformers. Over 30 years later, Natsume Atari’s Tengo Project team and ININ Games have unleashed a full remake onto modern consoles and Steam called Shadow of ...
We've been waiting for Diesel Legacy: The Brazen Age, the upcoming fighting game from Maximum Entertainment, for almost a year now. You just don't see many cooperative fighting games, after all. Well, gamers won't have to wait too much longer for Diesel Legacy, as the game will be launching on consoles and PC on December 3. That's just a couple of months away!
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge is one of the most popular beat 'em ups of the last few years, so it came as no surprise when the game received a DLC entitled "Dimension Shellshock." We even interviewed the developer, Tribute Games, about it. What did come as a surprise, however, is when Xbox published a trailer for a second DLC called "Radical Reptiles" today. No press release was sent out, and the DLC doesn't seem to be available just yet. Update: The DLC went live on September 24!
Back in June, Atari announced that paid DLC for Atari 50: The Anniversary Celebration was in the works, along with an Expanded Edition that will bundle the original collection and DLC. At last, that DLC is close to being released. it's coming out on September 26, and it's called "The Wider World of Atari." Atari is too cool to reveal the games that will be included just yet, but we're crossing our fingers for some co-op titles anyway.
The Care Bears have always been a decently popular children's property, but they've never had a proper console game (just a GameBoy Advance title). That will change on October 24 when Forever Entertainment releases Care Bears: To The Rescue on Switch and Steam. This one is based on the Care Bears: Unlock the Magic show that's apparently streamable on Max, and it will support 4-player local co-op, baby. That's enough players for a real Care Bear Stare, I reckon.
This has been a great year for Ninja Turtles games, and it's not over yet. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutants Unleashed from Outright Games and AHeartfulofGames is due out on October 18. Possibly the most ambitious TMNT game this year, Mutants Unleashed will feature a new story based on the most recent film, lots of fresh mutants to battle, and 2-player local co-op. The latest gameplay trailer provides a tantalizing glimpse of the Turtles action to come!
