Where Has All the Co-op Gone?

Do video game companies think that if you can find someone to hang out with that you probably have better things to do than play video games together? Is it some secretly sexist thing, assuming only one person per household plays games (assumedly the guy, of course)? Maybe it’s a secret plan to keep families from having more than one kid. At any rate, the lack of co-op games, true straight up sit next to each other on the couch and eat out of the same bag of cheetos co-op, has been driving me crazy for some time. Allow me to rant on.

I got COD: Ghosts for the XBone, and I like it. I particularly like the new alien mode that replaces the somewhat stagnant zombie mode from the previous iterations. The new zombie mode has some direction and goals, rather than just dropping you in a room assumedly to try and stay alive as long as possible (I know that wasn’t the goal, I’m just sayin’). The online multiplayer is pretty good. I miss the small maps that set the series apart from games like Battlefield. There aren’t as many crazy innovations or new features like they added with MW3, but it’s a solid game. Solid online play. But what about the couch co-op? Despite the naysayers on the interwebs, I really like the story that goes along with Ghosts. I like post-apocalyptic settings; I like a little magic, history, and myth thrown into my games. But the first thing I tried to do was have hub-o jump in on second player (I’m ALWAYS player one; suck on that, my childhood). Why oh why couldn’t they make the campaign two-player? It would even make sense for the story, considering you are ALWAYS with another companion, usually at least one other person and Riley. Plus, in the campaign you jump in and out of different periods of time and play through different characters, so it’s not like there would be continuity issues. Annoying.

So this disappointment led me on my quest to find a good couch co-op game. The last really good co-op game I played was Portal 2. It was fantastic. It forced you to talk to the person next to you, but most importantly it really allowed for different skill levels. You didn’t need to be fast, or have good hand eye coordination, or even really be good at games. You just had to be a good problem solver and spatial reasoner (shut up that’s totally a word).  This is the same reason one of the best co-op games I’ve ever played was Super Mario Brothers for the Wii. I played it with my mom, hub-o, brother, nephews, friends. If they were really good at games, they were an asset. They found things I didn’t, saved me if I had to bubble, and helped double jump me into the air. But, if they weren’t very good at gaming, they could just bubble. Or if they wanted to go get a snack they could bubble. Or if they got sick of how bossy I was being (it happens a lot), they could just bubble. It was perfect. All the co-op and none of the headache. I think coming in at a close second (for recent games at least) is Dungeon Defenders. Awesome co-op game (RIP Rathard).

So anyway, on my quest this weekend I found this website, called Co-Optimus, which, as the name suggests, specializes in talking about co-op games. This led me to Lego Marvel Superheroes for the XBone (only $50 at Gamestop; not too shabby, though I prefer to give my business to DiscReplay. After I scratched my COD: MW3 disc on launch day they felt so awful for me they repaired it for free. You could tell by the gasps when I brought it in that these folks were true gamers to the core. It felt like they were going to put on surgeon masks and ask for a scalpel, or put my game on a hospital bed and rush it to some back room). After some stocking up for blizzard conditions (wine and cheetos), we went home and gave the game a try.

Now, I never have loved the Lego series. I have played several demos, and I’ve messed around a bit on Sam’s games. I guess I just didn’t “get it.” But I was resolved to give this game a try because Co-Optimus rated the couch co-op very highly. Fast forward 30 hours, 3 bags of chips, and a box of wine later, and I must say, that game kicks ass. And here’s why:

1. The gameplay really requires 2 people

You can play the game with just one person, don’t get me wrong. But you always have several characters in your party, and to accomplish most tasks, you need to bounce between the characters, syncing up different actions (ie. Jean Grey has to be holding down a switch while the human torch stands on a button). They game is much, much easier with two people. This is especially prevalent in boss fights when one character has to be fighting the boss while another is running around building, or destroying, items. In some games the second player feels superfluous. In this game, it really does enrich the gameplay.

2. It’s super easy to go from 1 to 2 to 1 player/s

At any point the second player can jump out of the game. They need to press 2 buttons, and then the character they were playing will just be taken over by the AI. To jump back in at any time, it takes one button. This is the most seemless of any game I have seen. Let’s say your gaming partner wants to watch the last 2 minutes of the Packers game. Boom. They’re out but you can keep playing like nothing happened. Commercial break? Boom. Back in. I really should have made a video to describe that…

3. They did a great job with the dynamic screen

One of the most annoying parts of co-op gaming (and I suspect once reason games online multiplayer is more prevalent than couch co-op nowadays) is the screen. The co-op racing in Forza 5 on the XBone is the prime example. In it you are always on split screen, which gives the cheating racer next to you an advantage if they glance over at your side. In Lego Marvel Superheroes, the screen is dynamic. It is split screen when you’re far away from your partner, one screen when you are close, and the actual split is dynamic based on where you are (ie. the split can be horizontal, vertical, or whatever). If you stand in particular places the split will just spin, which is annoying, but overall it’s been very good.

So my need for couch co-op has been temporarily pacified by Lego Marvel Superheroes. But it’s true, I will drop any amount on a game that’s good that also doesn’t make me play the “pass the controller back and forth every life” game. Because that sucks. So get working, devs.