Category: Co-Op

Ranking the Best Co-Op Video Games

Left 4 Dead co-op

If there’s one thing that we’re crazy about here at GamerSushi, it’s the wonder of co-op gaming. I’m surprised you guys aren’t sick of hearing about me always talk about how much I love playing games with other people. I don’t know if co-op’s just that fun or if I’m just that sad and lonely, but either way, I want to marry it.

UGO recently added a new list to their site about the 25 Best Co-Op Games of all time, and it’s interesting as a study of the wide variety of co-op games we’ve seen over gaming history. Really, the NES, Sega Genesis and SNES days had a lot more co-op gaming than I gave them credit for, which makes a lot of sense considering how much my friends and I used to play together. Toe Jam and Earl is one the list reminded me of that I hadn’t considered in a long time.

It’s actually pretty difficult to quantify my favorite co-op experiences of all time. There’s so many to choose from. For this gen it would be Resident Evil 5 (no jokes, wise guys), Guardian of Light, Crackdown and Left 4 Dead.

What about you guys? What do you think of this list? I know we’ve asked this before, but what are your favorite co-op games you’ve ever played?

Source – UGO

GamerSushi Asks: What Are You Playing?

X Men

You’ve probably noticed a bit of a slow down on the site, and that’s mostly intentional. Since the holidays are rolling in with a vengeance, we’ll still be posting but there will be a tad bit of down time as we take a break and recharge for 2011. There should be a podcast posted in the next couple of days, and maybe a couple of features and news posts as we see them, but overall we’re going to be playing lots of games just like you guys. It’s been a pretty awesome year for us here at the ‘Sushi, and we’re looking forward to next year even more.

So, now that that’s out of the way, what are you guys playing? Right now, I’m working on Dead Rising 2 like a crazy person. I beat the game last weekend and now I’m just rolling through and trying to level up and pick up some extra achievements. In addition to that, I’m on the cusp of finishing Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood (affectionately known as AssBro by Mitch). I’ve even been playing the re-released X-Men arcade game over XBL with Anthony, which has been a good time. I can’t wait to get some more gaming out of the way.

And you dudes? What are you guys playing?

Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception Revealed for 2011

uncharted 3

In the grand Internet tradition of revealing things days in advance of when we’re supposed to find out, Sony and Naughty Dog have popped the cork on the official reveal of Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception before the first legitimate trailer goes up Saturday on Spike’s Video Game Awards show.

In a post on the Official PlayStation blog, Arne Meyer, Naughty Dog’s Community Strategist, dropped some knowledge about the upcoming Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception. Like the previous game, globe hopping will be a main attraction but most of the plot centers around the search for a so-called “Atlantis of the Sands”. The game will pull inspiration from many sources, but Lawrence of Arabia is once that’s getting touted a lot. Players will also get to explore the relationship between Drake and his long-time partner and mentor Victor Sullivan, which is good news if you’re into some potential stubble-on-mustache action.

Also returning are the co-op and multiplayer modes that made their debut in Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, but this time around they’ll be a bit more robust. Single player also includes some new gameplay mechanics like being able to go toe-to-toe with multiple enemies. Naughty Dog also mentioned that Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception will be available in high-definition stereoscopic 3D so you can have a little motion sickness with your platforming.

Not much else has been revealed aside from the potential release date of late 2011, but I expect that Saturday will uncover more about Drake’s third adventure. So, are you guys excited about the return of Nathan Drake? What do you want from Uncharted 3? Go!

Source and image – Official PlayStation blog

Dorkly Celebrates Health Item Brawls

One gaming related thing that I miss are the side-scrolling beat-em-up arcade games of my youth, the ones based off my favorite cartoons like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. The one aspect of that that I don’t miss, however, is the inevitable fight that would ensue whenever a healing item popped up on screen. Even if I was only playing with one other person, we would eventually come to blows. Etiquette is the person with the lowest health gets the item, but we all know it’s survival of the fittest. Dorkly brings back our four favorite Turtles for a trip down memory lane.

Dead Rising 2: Case: West Trailer Knows Its Way Around a Zombie or Two

I love me some Dead Rising 2, so I’m looking forward to the game’s upcoming downloadable epilogue Case: West starring the man, the myth, the legend, Frank West of the original Dead Rising. While Dead Rising 2 focused on Chuck Greene’s prodigious skills with duct tape, Case: West will see the return of the photography element that was so important in the first game. The DLC will be co-op enabled, so you and a buddy can pile-drive zombies to your heart’s content. Capcom just released the gameplay trailer for this bad boy, so have a watch:

This Xbox 360 exclusive will hit sometime in December, so keep that wallet ready. Who here is going back into Dead Rising 2 for some zombie slaying action?

GamerSushi Top Six: Things to Be Thankful for in 2010

Ah, Thanksgiving time. The time of the year where we show our thanks by way of a gluttonous feast, with food fit for a king. Also, there’s that whole Black Friday thing, where we shove our money in our ears and buy everything that’s marked down in price. But that’s almost a different holiday altogether then, isn’t it? Greed Day, or somesuch.

However! We, the kind and wise overlords of GamerSushi, wanted to stop and take a quick look at the gaming year so far. In the spirit of the holidays, we had a hand-to-hand combat battle to determine the things that we are most thankful for in 2010, so that we could benevolently share them with all of you, our loyal fellow gamers and all around awesome dudes.

So, without further ado, here’s our top six gaming things we’re thankful for in 2010. Continue reading GamerSushi Top Six: Things to Be Thankful for in 2010

The Not So Fun Moments of Co-Op Gaming

Leeroy JenkinsCo-op. You’ve all heard us gush on numerous occasions about how we love it and want to get it pregnant. It’s one of the best things that this generation returned to us on a massive level, and has become a staple of most gaming releases.

But it’s not always fun and games. We’ve all had that co-op buddy that just doesn’t pull his weight, or is constantly griping about the game’s controls, or is always screwing you over so he can get the best loot. While my brother and I loved our time in Guardian of Light, there were definitely a few arguments had over whose fault it was when everything went to hell. Name calling might have happened. It’s a tough memory. I got to thinking about this because The Kartel posted its list of the 5 Worst Co-Op Gaming Moments, and it gave me a good chuckle. I think Leeroy Jenkins easily should top that list, as it’s one of the greatest gaming griefs of all time.

Anyway, as much as you all love co-op as well, what are some of your least favorite or hilarious co-op memories? Got any buddies that make it hard to play through a game with, or any games where it was particularly easy to grief your partner?

Source – The Kartel

Diablo 3 Brings Demon Hunters and PvP Arenas to BlizzCon

In case you’re living under a rock or just don’t like awesome PC games, BlizzCon 2010 is happening right now in Anaheim, California, and there’s been a few new developments on the Diablo 3 front, which has been pretty silent since last BlizzCon. Today the fifth and final class, the Demon Hunter, was announced with the requisite kick-ass video. Looks like fans of the ranged DPS (damage per second) option will have their choice right here.

The other big announcement today was the introduction of dedicated Player versus Player Arenas for Diablo 3, which should help circumvent the “gank the new guy in town” stuff that keeps happening to me in Diablo 2. Despite these two devilish pieces of info, we still don’t have a release date for Diablo 3, but I’d say late 2011 is probably a safe bet. Anyone getting excited about Diablo 3? Who’s going to roll a Demon Hunter when the game drops?

Fable 3 Trailer is a Revolution

Ah Fable 3, the black sheep of the Microsoft exclusive lineup. Not as successful as Gears of War or Halo, you still manage to maintain a certain presence within the gaming community despite your continued over-promising. Broken dreams of a fully realized world aside, Fable still has enough clout to make a major debut this holiday season, and we’ve got a new trailer to celebrate the impending release. The launch video for Fable 3 chronicles the overthrow of the current, presumably evil, King by you, his brother. Worst family ever.

I kind of like the stylish presentation of the trailer, and I am anticipating being the King of Albion after busting my hump to save it in the past two games. Time for this faux-British fantasy world to start paying dividends (oh, and friends list baby making). Anyone here getting Fable 3, or is this one we’re passing on in this stuffed holiday season? Saving it for later? Anyone getting it on PC? The game hits the Xbox 360 on October 26.

X-Men Arcade Comes to Home Consoles, Makes Me Feel Old

Comic-Con NYC 2010 is going down right now and, true to form, there are plenty of video game related goodies for us to peruse. While I might be a bit biased here, I can say with the utmost certainty that this bit of news is the greatest to grace GamerSushi this week. Remember that old side-scrolling beat-em-up starring the X-Men? Well, Konami and Marvel are pleased to announce that this old favorite is coming to the PSN and the XBox LIVE Arcade at some point in the future. Although no date was given, the downloadable title looks to be a straight-up port, but garnished with a new feature, six player drop-in co-op! Consider me psyched! Take a look at the trailer (shot off-screen, unfortunately):

I didn’t realize that this game came out eighteen years ago, which is why I feel old. However, a brand new generation of gamers can now experience the Earth-rending difficulty that this game featured, so that’s good news. Anyone excited about this? What other old arcade classics would you like to see re-released?

Review: Dead Rising 2

dead rising 2 review

Very few “sandbox” games in this generation give you the option to wear dresses and dye your hair while mixing pie and whiskey into a drink. In fact, only one game in memory allows this, and that is Dead Rising. While Capcom’s zombie-slaughtering game’s claim to fame is both the number of walking dead on the screen and the impossible save system, I liked the game because of the freedom it afforded you. Sure, you could screw yourself pretty bad in the main campaign with the save system, but if you wanted to spend your time in the mall rescuing survivors or killing zombies or even just trying on clothes, then you could do that.

Dead Rising offered a lot of re-playability, but it was still fairly broken. Besides the save system, gamers also had to contend with the sluggish controls, terribly friendly AI and the damn guy from the safe room whose phone calls would somehow paralyze you on the spot in a mall full of zombies. As much as I loved the game, there were some problems with it. Now that we have a sequel, have these issues been addressed? With a new developer, Canada’s Blue Castle Games, jumping on board, is it even going to feel like a Dead Rising game?
Continue reading Review: Dead Rising 2

Little Big Planet 2 was Delayed to Accommodate Offline PS3s

little big planet 2 delayWhile Little Big Planet 2’s delay late last month was heartbreaking news, it wasn’t without reason. As a large part of LBP2’s uniqueness comes from the building and sharing of custom levels online, this requires your PlayStation 3 to be connected to the Internet. Alas, even in 2010, there are still some out there who don’t hook into the Internet, and by extension, the PlayStation Network. If you’re looking to place the blame on anyone for the game’s delay, look at these troglodytes rather than Media Molecule, the game’s developer.

Alex Evans, the head honcho over at MM, spoke to the news barons at VG247 regarding the delay of Little Big Planet 2 and why the studio thought it was necessary:

“Like LittleBigPlanet, we will be supporting the game with patches, updates and whatever, but you have to realize right from the beginning that there are those people who don’t have online and that is why we decided it was the right decision to delay the game. We respect people don’t have online and don’t want to patch their game to get the full experience. We could have shipped it and it would have been fine, however we realized that with just a couple of extra week’s we could make the game super amazing, adding the super onto the already amazing which exists today. This is something that will live forever and the delay, people will forget about. I’m really sorry the delay frustrated people, even us, I mean I really wanted to get this game out for Christmas so hard. We pushed ourselves but realized with just a few more weeks we could make it perfect.”

So there you have it people, Little Big Planet 2 was delayed so even your average person can get the full experience. It seems to me that those most interested in LBP2 would have their PS3s connected anyways because they’re aware of the game’s full suite of features, but I guess it’s better to be safe than sorry.

It’s nice the Media Molecule are being so candid about the delay, which reminds me just how upstanding the studio really is. Part of his quote makes him sound like he resents offline folk, but again that might be me. What do you guys think of the delay? Legitimate, or should those guilty PS3 owners join us in the year 2006? The game is due to come out early 2011.

Source: VG247

The GamerSushi Show, Ep 9: Reach-Cast and Fall Gaming

Halo: ReachThe GamerSushi podcast is back with your regularly scheduled programming, and this time the main portion is a helping of Halo: Reach with a side of fall gaming. In this episode, we take a look at the big Bungie title and then do a rundown of all of the other titles we’re anxious to play in the coming months, plus we predict scores for some of the bigger names in a new, awesome segment. Throw in some community topics and the Nintendo 3DS, and you’ve got yourself a mighty podcast.

If I’m being honest, I think this is probably our best episode yet. We didn’t run into any technical difficulties, and I think we’ve finally nailed down a format for discussion that keeps things moving from topic to topic easily. But then again, I should just let you be the judge, since I’m biased.

As always, please go rate this cast on iTunes and subscribe with the handy links to the right. Enjoy!

Continue reading The GamerSushi Show, Ep 9: Reach-Cast and Fall Gaming

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Android | RSS

Welcome to Fall: The Upcoming Games of 2010

Ladies and dudes, the time is here: the fall season of gaming is officially upon us, and all we can do now is paddle as hard we can to keep up with the avalanche of titles falling to our TVs and monitors. Sure, I’m mixing metaphors here a little bit, but the point here is the same: lots of games are coming out, and you no doubt want to play a large share of them. Yes, even though Little Big Planet 2 has been delayed.

Since we’re so nice, we’ve put together an epic list of our 30 most anticipated upcoming games of 2010. You’ll be surprised at just how much is waiting for you. We’ve got everything from RPGs to zombies, DS exclusives and sprawling PC MMOs. Check it out! Continue reading Welcome to Fall: The Upcoming Games of 2010

Pages: Page 1, Page 2, Page 3

Gears of War 3 Takes a Chainsaw to April, Eyes Fall Release

gears of war 3
Those of you who were looking to continue the adventures of Marcus Fenix and pals in April of 2011 are going to be a little disappointed this morning as Microsoft curbstomps our hope with this bit of news. Perhaps realizing that their exclusive fall lineup was a little slim, the software giant has chosen to move the “threequel” to an unspecified date closer to the holidays. Of course, there could be speculation that the game is just plain not ready, but the Microsoft statement pretty much says that this is a marketing decision:

Gears of War 3 promises to be the biggest entertainment launch of 2011,” the Microsoft statement reads. “The teams at Microsoft Game Studios and Epic Games have done great work thus far readying the title for release in the Spring of 2011. However, we’ve elected to move the launch of Gears of War 3 until Fall 2011 to make it the marquee title for the holiday season.

Just when we thought that Microsoft learned to spread its titles out, this notion gets dashed. While I can’t blame them for wanting a big game to shill around the holidays, this just means that we’ll be waiting even longer to cut up some aliens. Gears heads can get their fix with novel series if they are really parched, but for the rest of us, some patience is in order. So, any opinion on the news? Do you wish Microsoft would have just bit the bullet and stuck with April?

Source – Kotaku

Things We Need More of in Gaming

Inspired by yesterday’s post about gaming pet peeves, I’ve been trying to turn that painbow into a rainbow (hooray for Leet World references) and put a positive spin on it. What are some great things I’ve loved about games that are missing nowadays? In an age where all genres are gradually being narrowed into the same thing and folks like me are getting shooter-overload, you’d be surprised at how much good has gone lost from those lovable pieces of old.

Over the last few months, I’ve done and experienced things in games that reminded me of the way things used to be. With titles like Limbo, Guardian of Light, and yes, even Halo: Reach, I was hit with time transportation beams and sent back to remember things that I had not thought about in years. I guess you can say it was like getting an itch scratched that I didn’t even know I had. And once it happened, it felt damn good.

So, here are things we need more of in gaming.
Continue reading Things We Need More of in Gaming

Zombies Return for Call of Duty: Black Ops

nazi zombies black ops
One of the surprise features in Treyarch’s 2008 Call of Duty entry World at War was the inclusion of the four-player co-op mode Nazi Zombies. Fans of CoD were originally dismissive of this offering, but those of us who played it quickly fell in love with the shambling hordes of Third Reich undead. Nazi Zombies featured a scaling difficulty that meant later rounds necessitated a good team working together, otherwise your soft flesh would quickly provide sustenance for the ravening swarm.

Nazi Zombies quickly gained in popularity throughout World at War’s life-span, with Treyarch adding new maps and even a mythology behind the game. Now that the Call of Duty off-team is up to bat again, they’re putting Nazi Zombies into Black Ops, but tuning it up for the upcoming release. Studio head Mark Lamia gave this little snippet in regards to the return of the walking dead:

“Zombies have been such a hit with our community that we were committed to bringing brand new zombie experiences to Call of Duty: Black Ops. We’ve taken extra special care to retain the essential ingredients of our Zombie game, and have also crafted a nice surprise for the fans.”

There’s nothing else beyond that, but one can only imagine what Nazi Zombies (or Communist Zombies?) is going to look like after two years in development. There have been a lot of changes to Call of Duty since then, so one can only suppose that the mode will change to compensate. I know that my purchase of Black Ops hinged on a Zombie mode, but what about you guys? Ready to kill some whiskey deltas? When more details unfold, we will be sure to include them. If you’re the kind of person who likes a good teasing, Call of Duty: Black Ops site GKNOVA6 has what you’re looking for.

Source – CVG

The First 15 Minutes of Dead Rising 2

One of my favorite games this generation is Dead Rising, the zombie-outbreak in a mall title by Capcom. Dead Rising is famous amongst gamers for its obtuse gameplay style and outdated save system, but I loved the freedom of running around in a dress drinking milkshakes and dying my hair. Oh, and killing zombies too, I guess. Despite the fact that we’re reaching the saturation point with the walking dead, I’m still looking forward to Dead Rising 2, and to celebrate its upcoming release, some kind soul has decided to post the first fifteen minutes of the zombie-slaying sequel up on YouTube for all of us to enjoy. Kick back, relax, and enjoy the opening of Dead Rising 2:

It looks a lot like the original, which is both a good thing and a bad thing. Dead Rising, for all its faults, has a lot of notions associated with it, and it looks like the new developers, Blue Castle Games, nailed the feeling of the first. One thing that might irk me is the amount of load screens, but what are you going to do? So, any thoughts on Dead Rising 2? Are you reserving your judgment, or is this fifteen minute glimpse enough for you to go off of? The game is out next Tuesday in North America and this Friday in Europe.

Mario Celebrates 25 Years of Stomping Goombas

There are a few times when I feel older than my years, despite the fact that I am only 23. One example is that children born when Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone came out are now teenagers. The other is that, 25 years ago today, Super Mario Bros. graced the Nintendo Entertainment System and changed the way we viewed home entertainment. What started that day in 1985 was just the beginning of a life long journey for Nintendo from a small playing card company to the video game giant it is today. Mario has been through a lot of changes in his life time, and Nintendo has cooked up a video to celebrate.

Watching that video brings a smile to my face as it makes me remember all the great times I’ve had playing Mario games over the years. Although Nintendo doesn’t really click with my anymore, there’s no denying that they were a powerful force in my childhood, and probably ruined my willingness to engage in physical activity for the rest of my life. Do you guys have any memories about the plumber? Any game you remember more fondly than the others? What do you hope to see from Mario in the next 25 years?

Resident Evil 6 Coming ASAP, Says Capcom

Resident Evil 5

BOOM. That sound you just heard was the minds of your 5 favorite gaming nerds here at GamerSushi exploding. 1UP is reporting that Keiji Inafune, the head of global production at Capcom, has stated that they intend to get Resident Evil 6 released “as soon as possible”.

This is no surprise given the commercial and critical success of the previous entry, Resident Evil 5, AKA GamerSushi Game of the Century. The report also states that they will have some news regarding this soon…perhaps at Tokyo Game Show later this month?

Are you excited for a new Resident Evil? What direction do you think they should go? Keep the co-op? Add more players? Get rid of it altogether? Speak now!

Source: 1UP