Amongst the various co-op games available at Eurogamer Expo 2011 I was able to grab a few minutes with some upcoming single player experiences. This Beyond Co-op preview will take a quick gander at Nintendo’s line up at the show, Joe Danger: The Movie, Ridge Racer Unbound and some Retro action.
A Link With the Past
Nintendo
A visit to a games conference would not be complete without a trip to the house of the red plumber. With my co-op hat on I could not justify spending too much time with Nintendo, but did bag some hands on with Mario Kart 7, Super Mario 3D Land, Resident Evil Revelation and Zelda Skyward Sword.
I’m not an owner of a 3DS so playing on one is still a novelty. However, novelty soon wears off and what really matters its quality games. Therefore, in Mario Kart, Mario Land and Resident Evil owners of 3DSs everywhere can look forward to some great, if familiar, games coming over the next few months.
Both Mario titles were of the high quality you would expect from the series. Kart was especially impressive in 3D and had the best graphics yet in the series; far better than the Wii. Land was also very impressive, mixing the traditional side scrolling Mario action with the duel plane gameplay seen in the Paper Mario series. Both games have the basics down brilliantly, the 3D should only add to their appeal.
The biggest surprise to me came in the form of Resident Evil: Revelations – it’s looked amazing. The controls work well, even with only one joystick Capcom have made the movement flow. Revelations feels like a full RE experience shrunk down onto the 3DS. To the point were I soon ran out of ammo and was eaten by a group of zombies. Some things never change.
My final Nintendo experience was on the upcoming Wii Motion + Zelda: Skyward Sword. Although the Wii is looking its age now, Zelda is a series that should be able to overcome a lack of graphical fidelity. From the two slices of gameplay I tried the game looks like a traditional Zelda experience, but controlled with the Wii Motion +. The dungeon proved more difficult than earlier controller based games, but practice should make the Motion + feel more natural. It was in the bird flying level that felt more natural to me; flying around using the Wiimote. The game should sate Zelda fans, but is motion control really the future of this series?
I held X so many times, yet I still died
Joe Danger
Alongside the big boys, Eurogamer 2011 also had several downloadable games on show; one being the impressive looking Joe Danger: The Movie. Joe is a movie stunt rider who is hired to perform a certain number of stunts on different movie sets from the Wild West to Gansterville. The gameplay is similar to Trials HD; you must use life like feeling physics to balance your bike as you jump and slide around the sets. However, there are also elements of the underappreciated Stuntman series as you must complete certain tasks before you can carry on in the level. This means that not only do you have to get through a level; you have to look good doing it.
Hopefully, you should have no trouble looking good as Joe Danger’s colourful cartoony graphics look great making this on downloadable game I will keep an eye on.
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Ridge Racer Unbounded
I’ll be the first to admit that I am not the biggest racer fan, but when I was offered the chance to play the Ridge Racer Unbounded demo I felt it rude to refuse. My preference to 4 wheels leans towards the arcade styling of Burnout Paradise, so I was in luck.
The Ridge Racer series has always had an arcade feel, but also remained a true racing game at heart. Unbounded is still racing, but has added elements of Split Second and Burnout style gameplay. By drifting around corners you build up your boost. This then allows you to see several short cuts. To open said short cut you need to boost through them; this includes walls, banks, fountains and other forms of masonry! Now that is arcade action.
Graphically it looked good and the cars handled well, allowing you to drift with relative ease. This shift from arcade racer to ARCADE racer will not go down well with Ridge Racer purists, but as a fan of Split Second it did appeal to me. However, with the likes of Split and Blur unable to find an audience last holiday season, why would Namco think they can do any different?
Finally found a game older than me in the retro section. What? I’m older than Tapper, how depressing.
Retro
I’ve been playing games for a long time, some people may even call me old, but that would be rude. New to Eurogamer Expo 2011 was the Retro Gamer section that seemingly contained at least one of every console of the past 30-40 years. Tapper, Street Fighter, Micro Machine, Mario Kart, Bomberman, Goldeneye and many others were all on show – great retro games.
Although not many of the retro game on show this year were not co-op, it did remind me of some of the great times I have had over the years playing co-op, from couch play with my family as a child, to more recent online games.
My all time favourite co-op game?
Golden Axe. Probably because I have played it so many time, on so many formats, with so many different people.
Community Question
What’s your all time favourite co-op game?