War used to be so expensive.  Back in the day, you had your horses and your swords, each of which were worth upwards of twenty gold coins.  Then, you had your thousand-dollar artillery shells and landmines.  Finally, countries decided they just couldn't get by without dropping a couple million bones on stealth bombers.  It's hard to believe how cheap things are these now in comparison.  For instance, if you were to log onto the Humble Bundle website sometime in the next twelve days, you could basically buy the entirety of World War 2 for ten bucks.

The latest Humble Bundle has a handful of games us co-op gamers will want to take a look at. The collection is filled with strategy games from Sega, which means we get a whole lot of warfor not a whole lot of cash.

Want more Total War? Who doesn't?! Sega, Relic and Creative Assembly have teamed up for a little Valentine's Day game giveaway called Make War, Not Love. The highlight of the celebration includes a player-driven competition between Total War: Attila, Company of Heroes 2, and Dawn of War II. Three PC RTS games enter, and the one that gets the most plays between now and February 20 wins.

Every weekend there's usually one game on Steam that drops its price to free for a short period of time. You can demo the game and play it in its entirety for the weekend, but once the weekend is up you'll need to pay full price for the title. Of course the catch is the game is also on a mega sale so you can snag it on the cheap too. This weekend Steam has two great co-op games on following this model - Saints Row IV and Company of Heroes 2.

The first Theater of War content update (entitled the Case Blue Mini-Pack) launched today for Company of Heroes 2. Some players will be able to receive it for free (those who had eligible pre-orders or own the collector's edition) while other players will have to purchase it for $9.99 on Steam.

Approaching World War II from a different perspective, Company of Heroes 2 tells the tale of the Soviet Union as they fought to turn the tide against the Wermacht. While the story is suspect, the core gameplay is extremely rewarding. There is a great deal of content present, with a lengthy campaign, a war theatre, and a competitive online community. Virtually everything you do counts towards your overall level, with unlockable rewards being given along the way. Co-op is also quite rewarding.

If you've been playing the Company of Heroes 2 open beta on Steam, you may have noticed the counter for days left suddenly changed from one to six the other day. That wasn't some glitch in the Matrix, but rather Relic extending the open beta almost up until the game launches on June 25th.

E3 2013 has wrapped and the long, hot summer of anticipation has begun. We were granted access to next-gen consoles and THE GAMES OF TOMORROW. Wielding our co-op gaming expertise, we have judged the offerings of industry titans and pugnacious indies. We created the Co-Optimus E3 2013 Game of Show Award to separate the lavish trailers and spectacular booths from real, hands-on gameplay. There are several contenders, but there is only one winner.. To qualify, the game had to have be playable cooperatively. That’s it. These are the co-op games to watch in the months to come. These are the titles that made an impression in a sea of digital escapism. These are our Co-Optimus E3 2013 Game of Show Nominees! Oh, and one standout winner.

Company of Heroes 2 is in open beta right now until June 18th. While you won't be able to play any of the game's Theater of War scenario mode, you will be able to play some comp stomp co-op with a friend. Locke and I sat down with a refined version of the beta exclusive to E3 and took it took it to the computer before chatting with the game's lead artist.

There is no denying that there is a shortage of quality RTS games in the gaming scene. Particularly ones that deal with something other than aliens in space. Company of Heroes is one such series that breaks that tradition, opting for historic tanks and a World War II setting rather than the typical sci-fi fair. The latest from Relic, Company of Heroes 2 is shaping up to be quite a solid game. Fortunately, we have all had the opportunity to play for it a bit, because the game has been in a free open beta. The best part about the beta is that your stats for multiplayer will carry over to the full version of the game.

Many of us have been waiting very patiently for Company of Heroes 2. The original Company of Heroes was a smashing success, and a very well received military RTS. Well, good news to those of us who want to get a leg up on the competition. Relic has sent Company of Heroes 2 into the open beta phase in order to get ready for the imminent release date of June 25th. The beta will last until June 18th, and it is available to all Steam members. To find it, simply take a look at your game library, where it should appear to download.

Company of Heroes 2 is the sequel to the much beloved RTS Company of Heroes. Since the first game was so highly regarded, no one disputes the fact that Company of Heroes 2 has some major commando boots to fill. Is it up to the task? According to our own Nick and Locke, things were looking extremely promising when they went hands-on with the game at PAX Prime 2012. The good news continued when a new mode was announced for the game called Theater of War which has 9 missions per faction that can be played cooperatively. Quite a quantitative improvement over the lonely cooperative mission of Company of Heroes: Tales of Valor.