Welcome back to Beyond Co-Op Reviews, our critical look at games that don't feature co-op modes....

We've been excited for the Taito Egret II Mini arcade cabinet since it was announced last year. The cabinet will include 40 classic arcade games from Taito, with several cool accessories adding to the arcade experience. Until now, the Egret II was only announced for the Japanese market. Now, United Games Entertainment (parent company of ININ and Strictly Limited) has revealed that it will distribute the Egret II Mini in the West in 2022!

In December 2021, Sega and a company called Zuiki released the Astro City Mini, a miniature arcade cabinet featuring 37 classic Sega arcade games. Now to be outdone, Taito recently announced its own mini arcade cabinet: the Egret II Mini. Scheduled for release in March 2022, the Egret II Mini will include 40 classic arcade games, 10 of which feature 2-player local co-op. Even better, the optional Paddle & Trackball Game Expansion Set adds 10 more games and a very special controller. That’s a lot of classic co-op goodness!

Microsoft added five new titles to its Backwards Compatibility list this past Friday, including Arkanoid Live and de Blob 2. I mean, I'm sure there are some fans out there clamoring to be able to play those games again, right?

Admit it, there are a lot of games on the market, and not a lot of time or money to go around. You really want the most bang for your buck, but who do you trust to give you the best possible recommendation. We give you our reviews, as well as other sites, but who should give you the final say-so?

There's been a trend in games lately to remake older classic titles and add a modern flair, the latest of those is Arkanoid Live for the Xbox Live Arcade. With new puzzles, enemies, and co-op play - the game adds quite a bit to a familiar formula.

Arkanoid Live was release last week on the Xbox Live Arcade with a slick new co-op mode.  Most gamers seemed pretty happy with their purchase until they reached level 62, or the end of Episode 2.  Why?  At that point the game asks if you'd like to play Episode 3 and 4 you'll need to pony up an additional 400 , that is, after spending 800  already on the game.

After a few disappointing and expensive weeks in a row on Xbox Live Arcade, Microsoft is coming back in a big way for co-op fans.  We have not one, not two, but three cooperative titles hitting the Xbox Live Arcade this Wednesday, May 6th.  All three titles will cost you 800 each.

I've always been a huge fan of Arkanoid.  I'm sure you know the game, it's the one with the paddle at the bottom and the ball that bounces taking out blocks above.  It's a classic game since the dawn of gaming and thanks to Taito it's getting an upgrade including 2 player co-op.