I am Joust’s co-op partner.

In what appears to be the end of an era, Good Old Games has shut down citing publisher and management difficulties with maintaining a DRM free service for purchasing classic titles. 

Sure the hi-definition remake of Serious Sam is out already for both The First Encounter and The Second Encounter, but sometimes we just want to re taste the original that we so fondly remember.  Sadly for a lot of PC gamers, it's near impossible to find some quality older titles - most are out of print and unless you hit EBay at the right moment, it becomes extremely frustrating to find.  

  Harken back to my golden age of gaming, a time when the Sega Genesis and SuperNES were head to head in the console wars.  There was a game genre that sparked my love of co-op, one that seems to have all but disappeared.  From Altered Beast to Golden Axe, Streets of Rage to Double Dragon - the co-op beat em up games were the cream of the crop in co-op experiences.  The concept of these games was simple - partner up with a friend and punch, kick and attack everything in your path.  They were challenging, fun, and over the top; but once 3D games became popular they all but disappeared.

After having looked at some more recent fare in the past few weeks, Co-Op Classics will now focus its attention on the golden age of the arcade.  Back in 1991, the side scrolling brawler was the undisputed king of co-op.  TMNT: Turtles in Time, the Dungeons and Dragons series, and X-Men: The Arcade Game all came from this time period.  While reliving these old glory days with some friends via MAME, we stumbled upon a beat em up masterpiece: Vendetta.  I don't think I have played a more unintentionally funny game in my entire life!  After reading about it, I am sure you will agree. I won't focus on gameplay too much when talking about Vendetta.  What you see is really what you get.  You move, you punch, you kick, you beat up bad guys; it's very simple.  Vendetta truly stands out, though, in its over the top nature.  The characters, the boss battles, and the not so subtle innuendo all combine to crank it up to eleven, if you will.