I'm a big fan of the new D&D co-op board games. Launched last fall by Wizards of the Coast, these board games have given D&D fans the option to adventure in the D&D universe without having to mess with all the rulebooks and long set-up. It's also made D&D a whole lot more accessible to more casual players. With two games out already, Castle Ravenloft (which we covered) and Wrath of Ashardalan, the upcoming the Legend of Drizzt marks the third installment of the series. They're all stand-alone games, but you can mix and match your heroes and whatnot across games.

When Gears of War 3 launches on September 20, a great many gamers with lapsed Gold subscriptions will be looking to get back into the online fray. Gears 3 supports four-player online co-op, after all! Hence, Microsoft is releasing a special Xbox Live Gold subscription pack to capitalize on the occasion.

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

You've decided to splurge on a second system for that one game you and your spouse just HAVE to play together. You got it. You beat it. Now what are you going to do?

After almost three and a half years, our ever faithful and totally fearless leader Nick is taking some time off for a well-deserved vacation.  While he unlocks achievements like "Made a Sand Castle" and "Forgot Suntan Lotion", the rest of the Co-Opticrew are getting in some gaming this weekend, instead.  Maybe it won't be quite so nice as the beach, but it's still a grat way to relax and unwind.

I've got two more WH40k Space Marine  videos for you today.  They may not be super-new, but as I said before, I was slacking on my Space Marine coverage, so it's time to catch up.  The first video is a cinematic little adventure that has some interesting plot points, it you're into that sort of thing.  The Orks are after some experimental device, and you have to stop them.  As if you need a reason to kill Orks.  I thought a Space Marine's default setting was "Obliterate." I didn't know he needed a damn reason.  Keen-eyed observers may notice the main character, Captain Titus, is almost always flanked by other Space Marines.  I don't want to get our little co-op hopes up.  I'm just making casual, slightly accusatory, observations.

It's another free play weekend on Steam, and this time around, co=op shooter Brink is the featured game.  Just log in to your Steam account and start downloading; you'll be able to install the game and play it at no cost until 1 PM Sunday, Pacific Time.  If you were on the fence about this one, well, now's your chance to try before you buy, in more depth than just a demo.  

Who designs a hood with no eye holes?

I thought I had cooled on the upcoming WH40k: Space Marine game.  But every time I think I'm over it, I see a new video that sucks me back in.  We've been trying to dig up information on the co-op for months.  It seems like an announcement regarding co-op details has been perpetually delayed.  The game is scheduled to come out in a little over a month, and there's still no official word on co-op.  

This new video for Rage is simply great.  This isn't a dev diary.  This is a three minute cinematic vision that sets the tone for the entire game.  Trailers like this sell pre-orders.  Rage may not have the deepest co-op experience available, but this is still a game I've been watching closely.  Yep, it's another game set in a post apocalyptic wasteland, like Borderlands or Fallout 3, and that's fine with me.  I was lucky enough to get some hands-on time with Rage at E3, and I can tell you, it plays as well as it looks. 

It's been a long time since I last visited New Austin.  Red Dead Redemption's take on the American Western was one of gaming's highlights last year.  It appears Rockstar would like to give those of you who missed out a chance to cowboy up and hit the open trail.  The keen eyes over at Eurogamer spotted a Red Dead Redemption: Game of the a Year edition at the BBFC.  For those of you who don't know your European ratings board acronyms, (or are too lazy to use Google) that's the British Board of Film Classification.  The RDR: GOTY edition is said to have the Undead Nightmare DLC, but it's unknown if the other DLC's will be included.