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T3: Tyrranis Top 10 - Games that'd rule with a solid co-op mode.
Posted on Saturday, February 16 2008 @ 07:05:20 Eastern

OK, this time around I thought I'd do something a little different now. It's rather easy to do a top 10 on what a game has, so I thought I'd rise to the challenge of ranking games on what they are missing.

I've played several co-op games in my lifetime, including legendary co-op games such as Serious Sam: The First Encounter and LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy. However, there are other games I have played that just seemed like they could really do with a good co-operative mode. This list honours those games.

Games make it onto this list by having no co-op mode (or a crap co-op mode), and also having a lot of the groundwork for a co-op mode (lots of enemies, really tough enemies etc.)

I had this list done a while ago, but since then I'd forgotten most of the list and had to rewrite it from the ground up. So, it may seem a bit strained for some of these entries.

10. Halo: Combat Evolved (Backwards-Compatible)
I know, I know. Halo has one of the best co-op modes out there. But, why is it on this list then? Because, apparently when you use your 360 to co-op, you get horrible framerate issues in PAL territory. Now, I don't know if this is true (I only got the one controller), but if it is, then this glaring issue is enough to put Halo: Combat Evolved on this list. Microsoft, do the right thing. Fix the backwards compatibility. Please.

9. Black
There are two good reasons that Black has made it onto this list.
#1: All the enemies are borderline-insanely tough to beat. Now, if you had a partner blasting away at them too, it might make things easier.
#2: There's no multiplayer modes in Black. None at all. Co-op's better than nothing.

8. Halflife 2
I'm sure by now that all of you reading this blog know the glory that is Halflife 2. With all the puzzle-solving in the game (not to mention the most overused HL2 gameplay mechanic of all time, the seesaw puzzle), having a helping hand might be the difference between winning and becoming an all-you-can-eat antlion buffet, if you know what I mean.

7. Aliens Versus Predator 2
Bit of an old choice here, but AVP2 is as deserving of a co-op mode as any game out there. Just think of it. You and a buddy marine pairing up in order to tackle masses and masses of Xenomorphs. Now, if that doesn't get you psyched up, you need to see some Aliens movies. Like, right now.

6. Mercenaries: Playground of Destruction
OK, don't get me wrong here, but when the vehicles you regularly drive have seperate gunners seats in them, you tend to think about what it would be like if another player gunned while you drove, or vice versa. From what I hear, co-ops an idea for the sequel, so you can understand why I wish they'd implemented it one game earlier.

5. Deus Ex
This one's going on potential more than it is on hard evidence, but there's no doubt in my mind that if Deus Ex had a co-op mode, more people would have noticed it. With its multiple approach gameplay, you could easily get enemies caught in crossfires and thus take them down easier.

4. Resident Evil 4
I'm sure that a lot of you are disagreeing with me on this one, but think about it. If you had a buddy with you in RE4, that would have made the game either less scary (or more scary, depending on how much of a psychopath your 'friend' was), and would have probably helped to emphasize the shift from 'Survival Horror' to 'Survival Action'. After all, who's scared when you have a buddy to fight the shambling hordes?

3. Far Cry
Seriously, with the open level design of Far Cry, who hasn't thought about having a friend over for some help, really. With a couple of people in each direction, you could really confuse the enemy, then go in for the kill. Not only that, but the vehicle sections often have secondary vehicles in case you lose the first one, meaning that your buddies and you could have a significant armed convoy thing going on.

2. Dead Rising
You're fighting zombies. Lots of zombies. You can get weapons from almost anywhere. What part of this doesn't scream co-op? Plus, when that Kent guy asks you for your most violent snapsnot, why not have your friend carve people up with a chainsaw whilst you photograph them? It makes sense, doesn't it?

1. Devil May Cry 3
When you think about it, there's no better game to have as #1 than Devil May Cry 3. You get swarmed by really tough enemies a lot, but the thing that really pushed this game to the #1 slot was the second to last boss battle, against Blob Arkham. You weaken him a bit, then Vergil shows up and he and Dante team up to take down the blob. That's right. You get to experience the kick-ass of co-op, without the co-op option. Now, that's just whack.