Dead Space 3 is now out and the biggest change for this survival horror is that there is now a drop-in drop-out co-op for the campaign. So it made me think what are my favorite co-op games of this generation. There's a lot I know, but here are 5 special games that I loved playing with a buddy or three.
Army of Two
This isn't the best series, but it's definitely one co-op I had the most fun with a buddy joining me. The aggro mechanic, allowing you or your player to draw fire from your partner, is a great concept that requires teamwork and coordination with your partner. There's also those back to back moments where you just lay waste to all those poor soldiers that can't seem to hit two guys out of cover. The first Army of Two is the best, 40th Day was a joke, and the third game the Devil's Cartel is coming up and I can't wait to play that game for the heck of it.
Saint's Row: The Third
Volition Games got the right idea when they were creating Saint's Row: The Third. Forget multiplayer, let's make the whole campaign playable in 2-player co-op. One of the best decisions ever made because a GTA-ish game that can be played with another player online is great. It's a simple drop-in, drop-out feature and you can literally experience everything the game has to offer with a friend. Saint's Row: The Third is hilarious and obviously doesn't take itself too seriously. It was hard to go through the story since wandering around with a tank messing things up is way more satisfying and disturbing at the same time.
Portal 2
One of the best games of 2011. The solo campaign was amazing, and to my surprise the co-op wasn't an after thought for the sake of adding more variety. The co-op is a whole new take with the use of the portal gun with test chambers designed for 2 players to figure out. You are now working with 4 portals, not two. It's a real challenge, pure teamwork and a mic is needed. Don't play the co-op though from some random guy in the internet, some have already done it and ruin the experience by showing you how its done. Grab a friend that's as clueless as you in the co-op and you'll have a great time with Atlas and P-Body.
Trine 1 and 2
Here's one more game that require a lot of teamwork, but with two buddies instead of one. Trine was my first purchase in the PSN store and it was well worth the $15. This game is quite dull on your own, only when you have two other people controlling the other characters is where it gets interesting. All three character's unique abilities complement one another and requires everybody cooperation in order to reach the end of the stage in one piece. The game was a bit short but well worth the playthrough.
Castle Crashers
If you don't know what Castle Crashers is, then your missing out. This beat 'em up 4-player co-op is a great game to de-stress, have a few beers, and play with some buddies. You are simply a bunch of knights off to save a group of princess' that were captured. It has an amazing cartoon art style that may seem childish at first glance but when you see all the carnage and gore that occurs when you start playing, you will take back that thought. There's level ups, stat building, weapons to unlock, and characters to unlock giving it a strong replay value once your done with it. This game reminded me of the good old days when I was playing the X-Men beat 'em up arcade game. Speaking of which, I think that needs to be remade...
There's a lot of great co-op games that weren't mentioned like Borderlands or even Diablo, but these are the games that I enjoyed the most when playing with friends. What about you? What are your Pick 5?
Square teased today a new game called Murdered: Soul Suspect. Not much information has been given yet but it's confirmed to be in development for Playstation 3, Xbox 360, and PC. 
