If the idea of a co-op story mode in Lost Planet 2 is not already enough for your brain pan, then a new trailer from Capcom and news about the release date may just cause your skull to explode like a headshot from a Longshot sniper rifle. The latest trailer suggests that the stars of Gears of War 2 may be making a cameo in Capcom’s alien opus. I always felt that the first game had a distinct lack of overly muscular space marines with potty mouths.

For every person, co-op has entered their lives in different ways and for different reasons. Some of us have had siblings that enjoyed playing together, others grew up with neighborhood friends. Some of us started in Arcades, others played Blades of Steel until 2am during slumber parties. Gamasutras Joshua Stern spent a lengthy entertaining blog titled "Go Team Co-op" discussing his life with co-op games. We want to know how co-op influences your gaming, where you got started, and why co-op is important in your lives.

It's time once again for our monthly Xbox Live Co-Op Night, a great chance to beef up your friends list, make new friends, and get those pesky achievements you've been trying to obtain. This month we're playing Army of Two: The 40th Day in both campaign and Extraction modes. Plus - PRIZES!

When it was first announced that the next Monster Hunter game, Monster Hunter Tri, would be released not on a Playstation platform, as all previous titles had been, but on the Wii, it caused a bit of a stir in Japan.  However, the folks at Nintendo were quick to offer long-time fans of the series the opportunity to enjoy the game in a similar fashion (from an actual play/interface perspective, at least) as they had with previous Monster Hunter games by bundling the game with a new controller, the Classic Controller Pro.  Well it seems that we here in the States will not only be getting the game in a few months' time, but we will be getting the same game/controller bundle as well.

It seems like every other week now we get another leak from Bungie's Halo Reach.  Whether it's a suspicious video, screens, or really really blurry screens - plenty of goodies from the game have hit the internet.  

Last week we gave you the round-up on some previews of the two player co-op action game, Kane and Lynch 2: Dog Days.  The previews all focused on the game's unique camera and look, one which made it feel like a low budget documentary uploaded to YouTube.  Today we bring you a fresh batch of screens that reinforce that design decision.

Smoker (29) seeks three like minded infected for killing Apocalypse survivors and long romantic walks on the beach.  Must have GSOH and special abilities, such as being able to spit acid on anyone captured by my talented tongue.  Uncommon-common infected need not apply.  Please phone 0800-ZOMBIE. 

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

In a recent interview with Edge Magazine, Bungie employee Marcus Lehto said that Halo Reach is a bit like Titanic.  It's going to sink to the bottom of the ocean and fail miserably? Not quite. It's going to go on and make billions of dollars and be the biggest selling game of all time? Perhaps, but not likely.  Reach is like Titanic because we know how the story will end already, we know that "Reach is going to fall and 700 million people are going to perish."

Indie developer James Silva has captured our co-op hearts in a most gory and interesting way. Previously recognized for the dark 2 player co-op Dishwasher: Dead Samurai XBLA title and the quirky local co-op I MAED A GAME W1TH Z0MB1ES 1N 1T!!!1 indie title, James seems to be taking his previous ideas and blending them for a new co-op indie game called Charlie Murder. Charlie Murder will be showing its game face in March, originally believed to be a sequel to Dishwasher. We don't have a price point just yet, but when we do you'll be the first to know.  

Today, we'll look at a great new board game that is simple enough to be accessible for non-gamers, yet deep enough to satisfy a diehard gamer's strategic brain: Pandemic. The best part about Pandemic? It's cooperative! Plus, we've got a guest report from Co-Optimus legend "justabaldguy"!

Some of us hope to get some gaming in this weekend, why others probably don't have a shot.  If there's one thing in common it's a sudden renewed interest in Madballs in...Babo Invasion for the PC.  Funny how that happens.