3DS is releasing, too, so (it seems like) the time to switch to a new platform is coming

Ok, so maybe the title of this news post was a bit gross, but hey, that's what Microbot is all about isn't it?  The twin stick shooter set inside the human body has been available on Xbox Live Arcade for a few weeks, and now Playstation 3 owners can get in on the action.  For a mere $10, fans of Sony's console can help fight off the rogue nanobots infecting humans, too.  The title has been fairly well reviewed, and we hope to have some playtime with it and a co-op review for you soon!  In the meantime, don't forget to wash those hands and use lots of antibacterial sanitizer; you never know when the flu or a pack of killer nanobots might be lurking under your fingernails.

2010 was an amazing year for co-op gamers with over 150 games and plenty of news to boot. But amongst the masses of titles a few stood out as not only excellent cooperative but as excellent games. Here's our list of the best co-op titles of 2010.

Continuing the ongoing trend of "now you see it, now you don't" marketing, a newly bundled edition of Gears of War 1 and 2 briefly appeared on the Gamestop website over the holidays.  Titled "Gears of War Ultimate," the bundle features Gears 1 and 2 for $29.99.  A digital copy of Gears 2 alone was priced at $29.99 on Xbox LIVE Games on Demand just a few months ago.  If you bought it then, sorry, suckers.  

While PSN owners got their Scott Pilgrim vs. the World DLC, the one that includes that patch to add drop-in / drop-out co-op, about a two months ago, Xbox Live Arcade gamers were left waiting in the wings.  The content pack also adds in a new playable character, a dodgeball mode, and a new arena all for the price for $2.

When gamers look at a game, one of the things they may overlook is the basics of design - the game's mechanics. Though we notice the potential of how a great game is great, we may not know exactly why a great game works so well. A full analysis of the gameplay mechanics for Left 4 Dead by Full Sail grad student Paul Goodman and course director Adam Greenwood-Eriksen brings to the surface the key design elements. A comprehensive look from Left 4 Dead creators give a solid nod to Co-Op being key to the games success a bit closer to the surface.

Today is January 3rd, a day in which famed author of the Lord of the Rings, J.R.R. Tolkien, would have turned 119 years old.  Every year it is a tradition amongst fans to celebrate by toasting to this man for his great literary works and creating a fictional universe loved by millions of people.  

Consider yourself blocked!

Indie developer Soldak Entertainment's Din's Curse is getting an expansion pack.  The randomly generated dungeon crawler impressed us, earning a 4 out of 5 in our review from last April.  Din's Curse is a Diablo-esque game that has no hard limit to the number of possible co-op players.  You can add folks until the game's frame rate crawls.  

Since this is the first MMO Co-Opportunities of the new year, we'll be looking at some of the anticipated MMOs of 2011 as well as their potential co-opportunities.

At the end of last year, a group of independant developers for the Xbox Live Indie Channel banned together to help promote some quality titles including a few co-op ones like Hypership Out of Control and Alpha Squad.  We had pointed the promo out in an effort to help with exposure.  There's been a lot of back and forth with the XBLIG channel devs and Microsoft, many wondering just how supportive the company really is of these titles.  For some, they simply felt ignored.

Though the gameplay is repetitive, and the challenge level is minimal, X-Men Arcade is still a lot of fun to play. It is certainly not the greatest co-op beat-em-up ever, but it's one of the few that allows more than four players, even when compared to other modern downloadable games.