Tag Archive for 'castle-crashers'

04
Jul

The State of Co-op (cooperative) gaming

Cooperative video games, to me they’ve always been much more rewarding to play than any other form of  multiplayer. Working with a friend or family member through puzzles or the adversity of waves of enemies is just plain fun when formed correctly. Don’t get me wrong, I do enjoy competitive gaming sometimes. The occasional deathmatch, capture the flag, search and destroy, etc. is entertaining but to me it gets old after awhile. I never get tired of playing Co-op. That’s why when I heard that they wouldn’t include Co-op, but only regular multiplayer, in the newest Wolfenstein game I was quite disappointed. Co-op was a good part of the Xbox version of Return to Castle Wolfenstein and I would’ve liked to see it return. A Cooperative mode (especially offline AND online) is a major plus in my book. Let’s take a (somewhat brief) look at some of the Co-op modes of recent years…

gears-of-war

  • Gears of War 1 and 2 – First of all, the campaigns on both games were pretty epic (excuse the pun) with Co-op. I’d recommend going Co-op anyways if you plan on tackling insanse difficulty, it’ll save some time. Even better, Gears 2 added the Horde mode that allowed up to 4 people to get together to whoop wave after wave of locust. It can be quite a challenge even on lower difficulties  to get up to wave 50 and offered plenty of replayability. There’s also some achievements for Horde, especially now since the new map packs came out. Also, the “deleted scene” is inbound with the dark corners map pack later this month to offer even more co-op and new achievements.

marvel_ultimate_alliance

  • Marvel Ultimate Alliance  – If you’re a fan of Marvel comics AND Co-op gameplay then there’s no reason not to atleast try this one. It’s the perfect combination of both worlds and one of the first Xbox 360 (multiconsole, version I bought) games that I truely had a great time playing with friends. Tons of marvel characters, beat ’em up action, and up to four player Co-op online/offline…what’s not to love? What really gets me excited is that there’s a sequel on the way. Sign me up!

world-at-war

  • Call of Duty : World at War – First of all, the main campaign is up to 4 player Co-op, which is pretty cool I guess (though I rarely play over 2 player myself). There’s also challenges that can only be done in Co-op to raise your XP in multiplayer. A downside though, and I’m sure I’m speaking for my cousin here, is that the achievements were almost entirely built for single player. Which is alright if you wanna  go through the whole game by yourself on the hardest difficulty (which I did) but alot of people probably want to tackle it in Co-op. There’s also the competititive Co-op (still sounds like a huge oxymoron to me) mode where you compete for the highest scores in campaign. Finally though, what I really wanted to get to, is the Nazi Zombie mode. You face up against waves of zombies with up to 3 friends (or strangers) until everyone dies. The first map that came with the game, Nacht Der Untoten, was kind of MEH because it was pretty limited in movement and weapons but it was a start. The next map, Verruckt (might be spelling that wrong) that came with Map Pack 1,  was when things really started to get interesting with the perks machines and electric barriers. The latest (and most hectic map), Shi No Numa from Map Pack 2, puts a new spin on the mode with Japanese zombies and Hell Hounds, a new trap called the Flogger and electric weapon (which I’m not even going to attempt to spell in german, but we like to call it the “wonder waffle”), and 4 new characters that can be quite funny in their sayings. Not only is the newest map even bigger and replayable than previous but it also added new acheievements that further added to the experience. My cousin and I have spent plenty of hours playing the various zombie maps and probably even more time than regular multiplayer, which we did play quite a bit at the beginning but Nazi Zombies still takes the cake. I really must hand it to Treyarch for creating a downright fun game mode in Nazi Zombies. Right now I’m just looking forward to what Infinity Ward will do with Co-op in Modern Warfare 2 (since the first one lacked in that department). Anyways, I think I’ve trailed on enough…let’s continue.

resident-evil-5

  • Resident Evil 5 – I’ve been a long time fan of the Resident Evil series and I was quite eager for the arrival of the first Co-op adventure, so much so that I followed every trailer and news for years before the actual release. When it finally came it was quite the experience and I only wished it would’ve lasted longer. It’s the kind of game that you just NEED to play with a friend to get the whole experience in the bosses, puzzles, etc. (see my last posts about Resident Evil 5 for more). AI Sheva can be alright, but if you want to tackle this on Professional difficulty and get all the achievements  then you should really be playing along with someone else.

castle-crashers

  • Castle Crashers – The creators of Alien Hominid have done it again! This time offering us great and cartoony multiplayer beat ’em up action (with plenty of humorous characters and situations, as expected of behemoth style). Join up to three friends offline or online to take on the ridiculous bosses and save the princesses. There are playable characters, weapons, and animal helpers galore. My only beef with the game right now is with the online portion, which seems to be having some problems with 2 people starting up a game together (kicking both players before the game even starts). It’s a known problem that many have been having and hasn’t been patched yet as of this posting. Why? Don’t know but it seems like a pretty big problem to me…

rainbow_six_vegas

  • Rainbow Six : Vegas 1 and 2 – Next to the Splinter Cell series these are my favorite Tom Clancy games. Not nearly as stealthy as Splinter Cell, but tactical in it’s own way with team-based action. If you’re playing single player then you get to boss around 2 teammates, in Co-op you still get the teammates but only the first player can boss them around. Which is probably a good thing because we wouldn’t want the AI more confused than they already are. Speaking of which though, I noticed the AI teammates were a bit more annoying on Co-op for whatever reason, being more unresponsive and getting in the way more than usual. Playing on Realisitic difficulty with Co-op is a pretty decent way to rank up, unlock new weapons, and get some easy achievements atleast.

umbrella

  • Resident Evil Umbrella Chronicles – A bit of a refreshing change of pace from the usual Resident Evil, Umbrella Chronicles not only gave us good arcade shooter action (along with the Wii Zapper) but also some back and in between story of the series never seen before. To me it was one of the best Co-op titles to hit Wii thus far. It’s also no surprise that the sequel Darkside Chronicles is on it’s way to fill in some more gaps around Resident Evil 2 and Code Veronica (and maybe more? Time will tell).

Well, there you have my opinion on it…

What do you think about Co-op gaming?

Let us know on the Forums.

– DGM-payne

P.S. – Top anticipated of 2009/2010 coming up next…keep watching.

06
Sep

The things I do for Gamerscore…

Argh…I’m almost going crazy with Bionic Commando: Rearmed right now. I just had to take a break from it.

Getting all 12 “Yaschichis” (secret pick-ups for each level) was bad enough, but now I’m stuck on the final level, which is quite long and tedious, because I have to restart the whole thing after getting pounded by the boss.

Heh, atleast Castle Crashers is keeping me somewhat sane. 😉 Awesome game, almost through it in single player. Should play some multiplayer soon but it’s hella fun anyways.

Add me on Xbox Live: DGMpayne

As far as XBLA games go I like to play Doom online as well. I have quite a few other games, arcade and otherwise, so just check out my profile if you wanna know.

PS: I broke a total gamerscore of 10,000 recently with the help of Lego Indiana Jones! Hoorah!

– DGM-payne

01
Sep

Summer games wrap-up…to the X-treme!

First of all, Happy labor day everyone! (or labour to our canadian fellows out there)

Be as lazy as possible, YOU’ve earned it with all your hard work! 😀

Me, I was painting at my brother’s new house last night. He’s getting married in a little over a month from now so there’s lots of work to be done. I’m pulled into some of it, of course.

Lesson of the day:

Painting white on white ain’t easy…and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise, liars. It’s all just a blur.

AND

Primer is a bitch to get out of hair and skin. Even after taking a shower I was finding plenty on my legs and hands still.

Anyways…let’s get to the games now, no?

Since I’ve been playing alot of the XBLA’s Summer of Arcade series lately, I’ll be focusing mostly on those involved.

In order of release…

  1. Geometry Wars 2 – The original will forever be a classic shoot ’em up and the second kicks it up a notch with many new modes of play. Whether you’re slaloming through explosive gates in Pacifism or running from bubble to bubble in King and everything in between, it’s all quite addicting.
  2. Braid – Time manipulation and puzzles has always been quite riveting plus an interesting story to boot. I just wish I was better at it…sometimes getting those puzzle pieces ain’t so easy, is it?
  3. Bionic Commando ReArmed – Never really got into the original despite trying many NES games, I dunno. The remake is quite fun though and I eventually really got into the whole arm swinging thing…after much practice and try after try, of course.
  4. Galaga Legions – A new take on old school galaga. Enemies are more mobile than ever, swooping in from all directions. To counter, you’re given “satellites” to position that will automatically fire in the direction you point it. Take control of some of the galaga to use as your own as well. Sounds good, no?
  5. Castle Crashers – Another creative and funny masterpiece from the guys who brought us Alien Hominid, The Behemoth! This time it’s even more about the multiplayer with up to 4 players and beat ’em up action! Insane bosses and enemies galore! Nuff said!

Until later,

– DGM-payne

(FYI, the Resume page is up now.)




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