There's a few deals this week for Xbox Live Gold members and among them are two co-op titles.  

And so it is complete.  Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light has been patched on the PC to support online co-op play.  This brings to end a  3 month journey where the feature was delayed on all platforms and slowly patched into each version.

A couple of weeks ago Gamasutra.com mentioned a few postings on the Blizzard Entertainment Job Directory concerning console developers for Diablo 3 .  A few weeks before that someone at Co-Optimus (me) posted an article decrying the lack of Diablo 3 on consoles.  Well, it looks like I may have to eat my words.  Sort of.  Maybe.  Probably not. 

Dead Nation has been on our radar for awhile now.  From the game's announcement over a year ago, to the premiere trailer at E3, this top-down co-op zombie shooter looks fantastic.  When we heard that the expected two player local co-op was being upgraded to feature online play, we had to talk to the game's developer to find out what inspired the change.  Housemarque CEO, Ilari Kuittinen, gave Co-Optimus an interview explaining the decisions that went into adding online co-op support.  Ilari's comments got us even more excited about the coming zombie apocalypse.

My still reigning co-op favorite shooter Rainbow Six Vegas 2 has come under fire this holiday weekend due to an unexpected - and unpleasant - surprise. It turns out that Vegas 2 and other titles featured on Xbox Live's Games on Demand service may or may not be compatible with their disc-based brothers. The worst part? There's no way to tell without buying and trying...and if your gamble doesn't pay off, Microsoft still will not give you a refund nor credit.

The Ghost Recon franchise has seen its share of games on the PC, 360, and PS3 - but sadly has been mostly devoid on Nintendo's Wii.  The good news is the series is making its debut on the console, and depending on your preference, the bad news may be that its an on-rails shooter instead of the tactical third person game we've all grown to love.

With the holidays right around the corner we've got the perfect gift for your co-op partner - a Co-Optimus T-Shirt!  We've been shouting from the mountain tops about our Co-Optimus T-Shirt store at Splitreason for months now - and so far - we've heard nothing but good things from people who've purchased them. 

What with all the Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales, this one almost got by us.  The Playstation Network is having a "Stock Up for Winter" sale, extending through Monday, November 29.  The titles included in the sale are going for 50% off regular price.  Only two co-op games are on the list.  For the PS3, Deathspank is available for $7.49.  For those who prefer their co-op in the handheld fashion, Metal Gear Solid Peace Walker for the PSP is a mere $19.99.  Check out the non-co-op deals at the link below.

It's very difficult for a game to stand out these days.  Store shelves are packed full of dozens of different titles for multiple systems.  It's even tougher for downloadable titles, especially when you consider the hundreds of other games out there, and the limited options for advertising.  One upcoming game, a puzzler called ilomilo, has taken a unique approach to make itself noticed.  Instead of providing a demo in the Xbox Live Arcade store, potential players must visit the ilimilo secret code site, where they can get a code that, when redeemed, gives you a demo of the game.  It's certainly a novel approach.

In what seems to be all the rage these days, another game that previously had no co-op is adding a cooperative survival mode via premium DLC.   Square-Enix's Front Mission Evolved, an action oriented mech combat game is getting a survival mode called The Last Stand on the Xbox 360, PS3, and PC versions of the game.

As the gaming season winds down, we are still kneed deep in our reviews. This month we have several triple A single player titles to look at including two from the James Bond franchise, a new Assasin's Creed and many others. Beyond Co-Op Reviews look at the games that don't necessarily have co-op.

The world is set ablaze with holiday shopping fever.  Black Friday, known for its 3AM store openings and crazy deals on everything from electronics to coffee makers, is set upon us filling our gaming coffers ever more full of more gaming goodness.  Amazon was particularly harmful today with many new releases available for under $30.  Even without these new titles there's plenty of stuff to play, keeping the staff busy.