Over in the Wolfenstein Sales thread, a discussion has evolved. As most conversations go, this one is almost completely off-topic regarding Wolf, so I decided to make it this week's discourse.
Cooperative gaming (Co-op) has been around for a long time in multiple forms. Gauntlet, Contra, Double Dragon, and Doom, all allowed players the ability to work together in an effort to accomplish a specific goal... but, while this feature has always been a nice distraction, is it something that we really need out of our games? Will it really hurt a sale if that feature isn't included?
Recent examples of titles with co-op modes include Crackdown, Too Human, Call of Duty: World at War, and of course, Left 4 Dead, a game all about working together. So, what say you Evil Avatar community members? Do you really desire a Co-op mode in your games?
Yes. Co-op is the first thing I look for in just about every game I buy. In RTS, I play with my friend vs computer opponents. In FPS, I do the same thing, if the game lets me. Left4Dead is just about everything I want out of an FPS. Maybe I'm just not competitive enough. Ironically, in mmorpgs, where co-op should be a focal point, I prefer pvp to pve. Go figure.
__________________
"...I had to be convinced that this EA... was an EA that we would be happy as a partner with going forward." - Mark Jacobs on EA purchasing Mythic, 7/28/06
I far prefer co-op gaming to competitive. Both story mode and things like Horde/Firefight. My general experience is that people playing co-op tend to act less like jerks.
Yes. Co-op is the first thing I look for in just about every game I buy. In RTS, I play with my friend vs computer opponents. In FPS, I do the same thing, if the game lets me. Left4Dead is just about everything I want out of an FPS. Maybe I'm just not competitive enough. Ironically, in mmorpgs, where co-op should be a focal point, I prefer pvp to pve. Go figure.
I agree 100% with you.
__________________
§ilverBaine
X360: Ethereal Ninja
PS3: Silverbaine
Steam ID: SilverBaine
WII: I have one but never bothered to play anything online.
Some games just -scream- for a Co-op mode (Hi Republic Commando) and for those i think it relly would have extended the game life to put it in. But not all games really warrant it.
I just think it needs to be less of an afterthought and more of a 'let's see if it fits' kinda deal.
Gears of War 1/2 would not be as awesome without their Co-op features.
Games, despite the basement-dweller stereotype, have always benefited from being a multiplayer, social experience. Hell, going to arcades and lining up tokens, or getting stuck being Luigi (had to play second) are some of the best memories I have of being with friends playing games. I am of the opinion that the only time coop play should be excluded is when it takes away, or is out of place with the story or setting (isolated survival horror, or even some RPG's).
I enjoy playing co-op when I can, but truthfully I just don't play it that much. I'm much more inclined to fight random folks on the internet than I am to team up with them.
That said, I absolutely love co-op games with my friends. Heck, I played through the entire Quake II single-player game in co-op with my girlfriend-at-the-time. I used to host monthly LAN parties (with attendance in the high teens) where co-op was a favorite mode. But LAN parties have fallen out of favor amongst my crowd, and I haven't even attended one in years.
Unfortunately, many of my RL friends and I have different tastes in gaming. The only face-to-face co-op I've had in years has been with Wii rail shooters and the LEGO games (Star Wars, especially).
The closest I come to playing co-op online with strangers is Left4Dead and team deathmatch...
Co-op, yes. Local, split-screen co-op, ideally in the single-player story. For those of us with friends we play with, it vastly improves the fun of the experience. I know why split-screen is on the wane; it consumes more resources, whereas an online-only co-op mode may sell more copies of the game. However, it makes good games great (Gears, Halo) and mediocre games good (Army of Two, Resistance 1).
If a console shooter doesn't have local, split-screen co-op, my interest drops dramatically. If I still want it, I'll pick up the PC version.
I used to care about internet co-op, back before I got married and had kids. Now, I rarely have time to play games for any length of time, and committing to playing with a buddy isn't really feasible. OTOH, when my kids are old enough I'll care about co-op again, only split-screen instead.
Co-op games have always been my high points of gaming, I remember some truly awful games because they were great fun in multiplayer. I don't think Halo / Gears would even be a brand today if they didn't have it to start with.
Recently my most welcome suprise in this area was Dawn of War 2, which was amazingly co-op friendly.
I enjoy playing co-op when I can, but truthfully I just don't play it that much. I'm much more inclined to fight random folks on the internet than I am to team up with them.
That said, I absolutely love co-op games with my friends.
I'm the same way. Online Co-op is OK but nothing beats playing local co-op with people you know.
Back in the days of Quake3, I used to have small LAN parties. We'd play team deathmatch with one team entirely bots.
The atmosphere is very different when your co-op partners are in the same room as you instead of across the country.
While Co-op is an awesome bonus, its not something that effects my purchases. A game with co-op will get me to give it a second look, but its not going to be a deal breaker for a game for me.
Fuck coop. When I wanna hang out with my friends we go outside and do something. When I want to play games I sit down and play a single player game. If for some ungodly reason I actually crave -any- interaction with other people, and it's in the middle of the night and my girlfriend doesn't wanna wake up... I'll play Notepad MMO (mirc). Maybe.
I used to care about internet co-op, back before I got married and had kids. Now, I rarely have time to play games for any length of time, and committing to playing with a buddy isn't really feasible. OTOH, when my kids are old enough I'll care about co-op again, only split-screen instead.
I'm with you on this. Kids take a lot out of you. That being said, playing Lego Star Wars with my kids was a very good experience. That game (the first one) was pretty much perfect. Short levels, ability to join and drop out after a few minutes, pretty simple puzzles. Awesome.
Now my kids are older so I'm playing TF2 with them. There's just something so ....... satisfying about shooting your kid in the face with a sniper rifle.
I own L4D, but I rarely play it online because I don't often have time to dedicate for an entire game and I hate leaving my team in the lurch.
