Why can't we be fiends?

As you can imagine, a lot has changed here at Co-Optimus since we started Co-Op Classics, not the least of which is our video capabilities. Today, we'll take a look back at two Co-Op Classics, this time in video form: X-Men The Arcade Game, and Space Invaders II.

Welcome to Beyond Co-Op, a weekly piece that talks about industry stories that may or may not be related to co-op gaming.

The Summer of Arcade is almost over, which is going to increase our downloadable time for a few more weeks, but some full titles are still on the plate for weekend gaming with the Co-opticrew. It looks like a lot of the staff is especially excited for some Monday Night Combat!

We've run out of real adjectives to describe Splash Damage's upcoming 8 player co-op game Brink.  We've used the words and phrases like - awesome, drool worthy, excellent, beautiful, amazing, and hot.  We even made up a word called co-operidiculousistical. Basically I'm pretty sure we've exhausted the English language, so we're going to continue making up words to describe Brink, mostly because we're lazy, but partially because we think the game deserves it.  

id's Quakecon is going on right now and out of the conference comes some pretty interesting RAGE news.  First up is a version of the game is currently being planned for iPhone and iPads, a live tech demonstration showcasing id Tech 5 running on the iOS4 platform was given by John Carmack and the results are impressive.  Full lighting and shadows, detailed megatextures and 60 FPS were just some of the features on display.  

It was only yesterday that we found out about the special editions of Call of Duty: Black Ops - and with that announcement that they would be coming with four co-op maps.  Now a BestBuy listing may have leaked further details regarding that co-op mode.  

Din's Curse is an action/rpg, a la Diablo, and we think rather highly of it.  One of the flaws in the game at release was the graphics, but thanks to the latest patch, there are some big improvements in that area. 

Blood.  Drug Reference.  Intense Violence.  Partial Nudity.  Strong Language.  All of these things combined together to give Kane and Lynch 2: Dog Days an M rating.  That pretty much puts it off this gaming dad's wish list, but even I have to admit the official launch trailer for the game is awesome.  The game will be released for Xbox 360, Playstation 3, and PC next week, Tuesday to be exact.  While you wait, watch the trailer over and over and count exactly how many cops these two take out.

Zombie Studios set out to provide a hardcore game accessible from a casual medium: online arcade markets. Does the indie developer succeed with Blacklight: Tango Down? We bring you our post-download review.

Fable III is looking to follow the trend of the Fable universe and expand the mechanics of the game. We’re looking at a huge overhaul this time with weapon morphing, spellcasting changes, and even some co-op trading opportunities to enhance a weapon. CVG interviewed Senior Design Director Josh Atkins about the changes to be expected, and like everything we ever hear about a Fable game, it sounds pretty epic so far.

Last year Nation Red was released on Steam, an indie developed title, players were tasked with surviving swarms of zombies in traditional top down shooter gameplay.  I had tried the demo out, and while impressed with it graphically, I felt the one key item missing was co-op play.  Now almost a year later the game has a brand new update adding in numerous co-op modes for two players both locally and online.