CO-OP

It's a theme show! Three open-world games released so close to one another, how could we not? Prototype, Infamous, and Red Faction fight it out in a cage match of awesome! It's our Season 02 premiere! And, of course, with any premiere you have to go big. In this case, going big seemed best exemplified by diving into three open-world games. First, Prototype. Will Tuttle (GameSpy) and Anthony Gallegos (GameSpy and Eat-Sleep-Game) join JayFresh in a rather candid discussion of the game's successes and, unfortunately, it's several faults. Infamous, on the other hand, seems more universally loved in spite of it being a bit rough around the edges. Anthony jumps in on this one, joined by his RebelFM cohort, Tyler Barber, to chat with Matt about what makes this urban shocker (har har) such a delight Finally, in what may be one of the biggest surprises of the year (so far), Red Faction: Guerrilla adds two parts jammazing to one heaping gallon of explosion-sauce to create what Matt, John Davison (What They Play), and (roudning out the RebelFM/Eat-Sleep-Game cast) Arthur Geis agree to be a recipe for a game so fun it's difficult to do it justice in one, brief segment.

Showing up today, Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood is a force to be reckoned with while the multiplayer beta for Uncharted 2 and the iPhone's Star Defense shine on. Most action movie genres have seen more than their fair share of gaming allusions. The western, historically, has been sadly underrepresented. The powers that be (also known as "game developers") seem to be rectifying that this year and the first of the breed to make its way into our yearning grip is Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood. Boasting beauty as well as grit, it's a trek that JayFresh and Matt loved while Cesar held up as an example of a direction to go in gaming if not really a paragon example. It's small wonder that in anticipation of the full game's release, Greg Ford, Tyler Barber, and JayFresh were eager to jump into the multiplayer beta for Uncharted 2. It seemed a pleasant surprise all around. Ryan and Cesar, recently back from France, carried with them the plague. Still down for the count, Ryan is grateful, however, for his iPhone and the opportunities it affords, not the least of which is the most-excellent Star Defense. It may seem a small wonder that there's yet another tower defense game on the iPhone, but this one offers unique twists that make it more than worth your while. And, perhaps inspired by his cohorts, Jason takes a sick day to do what he does best. That's right: DANCE PARTY.

Check it out! We introduce a brand new series! GAMER CRIBS! First up, that mega-hottie, CESAR QUINTERO. AWW YEAH! Also: Wii Sports Resort (is awesome), Overlord 2, and Real Racing for the iPhone. Occasionally we have an episode that features one person over all others. This show is ALL CESAR ALL THE TIME BABY, WOOOOOooo! His smiling countenance appears in each segment and in our first-ever Gamer Cribs. We'd like to thank MTV for all the lame cross-fades, ridiculous camera angles and for setting a standard of reusing the same footage over and over again; saved us a lot of time and brainpower. So, here's something that was kind of a shocker for some of us: Wii Sports Resort is genuinely awesome. Yeah, a few of us are kinda cynical when it comes to the Wii "waggle," but the addition of Wii motion plus impressed Cesar, Matt, and JayFresh show much after our hands-on time down at Nintendo of America HQ that we just had to share. Overlord 2 is a sequel people have been frothing at the bit over ever since its announcement. The much-beloved premiere of the series is a paragon of evil pastimes for gamers everywhere and thus this latest incarnation comes with some heavy hype baggage. Matt and Cesar are both new to the series and while Matt remains less-than-impressed (at least partially due to his frustrating experience with the PC controls), Cesar's evil genes were tickled pink thanks to the baby seal clubbing and mayhem exercises. Our good friend from GameSpy, RebelFM host and Eat. Sleep. Game magnate Anthony Gallegos was our sole guest on the show this week during this segment of the show and held up his end as an ardent supporter of the franchise. And, finally, Cesar rounds out his appearances on this week's show with a quick, and insistent, hands-on of Real Racing for the iPhone. Both an impressive technical and visual achievement, Ryan didn't have to press very hard to convince Cesar to give the game a try.

Matt's little bro makes a stop in town, we take a trip into the 100th WiiWare title with an interview of the creator of the Bit.Trip series and Rolando 2 rolls onto our iPhones. There still seems to be some doubt out there as to the legitimacy of the iPhone as a "proper" gaming platform. It supports indie developers and full-fleged, iPhone exclusive development houses like NGMoco, however, and the distinction between the iPhone and it's seemingly-more-legitimate cousins from Sony and Nintendo is increasingly thin. Rolando 2 is the latest expression of this factoid and it's a big enough experience to merit it's own, full-length feature spot in this week's episode. Tiff Chow drops by to share her thoughts with Ryan. Can the classics come back? Cellfactor: Psychokinetic Wars seems to think so in it's unabashed homage to the FPS, multiplayer experiences of yesteryear. An amazing feat as a full-on multiplayer experience via XBox Live. It throws in a lot of new ideas, but how well-executed are they? BitMob's Dan "Shoe" Hsu talks it up with Ryan and Jason on how the experience measures up. Lastly but perhaps most-awesomely, we got some sit-down time with Gaijin Games founder Alex Neuse to talk at length about the 100th WiiWare title, the excellent second-part in the ongoing Bit.Trip series, Bit.Trip Core. It's out now, so go download it already!

Area 5 takes a day for R&D and Matt's brother exacts his revenge. We also preview 'Splosion Man, review Trine, and talk Critter Crunch for the iPhone. The side-scrolling action game is one of the oldest genres in gaming. Gamers have battled left to right in countless adventures and so there's something to be said for the ones that can still impress and feel like something new. Trine is one of those games and so Matt is joined by Giant Bomb's Brad Shoemaker to discuss why you should be checking out this awesome platformer. Another side-scoller that stood out is 'Splosion Man, a game where you self combust to jump to platforms, avoid obstacles, and terrorize scientists. After playing out a few stages, Jay and Jason meet up to share their thoughts. Critter Crunch has been available for a long time on iPhone (it even has a PSN version on the way) but Matt's still prone to get into a game or six. Maybe the puzzle-solving stimulates his intellectual side. Maybe feeding tiny creatures to larger ones is his idea of a good time. Jay Frechette wants to see what the fuss is about and joins Matt in seeing why Critter Crunch is still Matt's go-to iPhone game.

Rob gets yet another lesson in San Francisco parking procedures, we assemble a squad to talk about Battlefield 1943 and the full version of Wii Sports Resort leaves a bit to be desired With a franchise as storied as the Battlefield games, it's only natural to believe that rehash, even at a discounted price, would seem little more than a nostalgic cash-in. But, if it works on us for every classic Nintendo property ever, why not one of the lauded and favored of the Double-You-Double-You-Eye-Eye era of multiplayer mayhem du yester-year? While BitMob's Dan "Shoe" Hsu finds Battlefield 1943 to be less-than, the greater-than team of Kat Bailey, Tyler Barber from RebelFM and a Eat. Sleep. Game., GameSpy's Will Tuttle and Anthony Gallegos (Anthony, of course, also of RebelFM fame), and our own Jason Bertrand form-up a squad to storm the beaches of awesometown. Yes, we know Wii Sports Resort was a recent feature on CO-OP, but now that we've had a chance to really dig into the final, retail version it's clear which events are successful and which lack imagination. Shoe stays on to talk with JayFresh and Matt about the could-have-beens.

Living in the Mission in San Francisco has rewards beyond the cheap and the savory. We show you some of the best while our guests join us to talk about classics reborn. Ask, and ye shall receive. While we have not the power to grant boons and favors of the supernatural, we can, indeed, cover the games you wish us to cover. Ghostbusters has been a request directed at us ever since it's release, and we've finally found the power-house guests necessary to give it proper due: Phil Theobald from PlayerOne Podcast along with GameSpy's Will Tuttle and Arthur Gies of Eat. Sleep. Game. fame. Every show seems to have a theme, whether or not we consciously intend one and with the classics being reborn around every corner, this week's show is perhaps better themed than most. The Secret of Monkey Island Special Edition is double-featured with Tales of Monkey Island Chapter 1 One: Launch of the Screaming Narwhal in a blast-from-the-past especiál. Insidiously long names aside, we're always grateful to Tiff Chow for dropping by and we're especiál-ly glad for 1UP's Justin Haywald making his CO-OP debut! The final, classic-resurfaced game in this week's show is a testament to one of the most venerable genres of software-gaming: the shooter. Yes, Space Invaders is back, in the iPhone, with an intensely aural and action-ridden experience best seen (and heard) to be believed. Space Invaders Infinity Gene may be a classic reborn, but it's thoroughly modern in its execution and should not be overlooked! And what way to not-overlook iPhone games than to play them while eating backon-apple-maple donuts, thai-chili-lime ice cream and breakfast-for-lunch? It's a tour of San Francisco's Mission District's best delectable dispensaries!

Old tech, new tech, it all has the same capacity to annoy Rob. That didn't stop us from downloading the Gears of War DLC, Fat Princess and Wipeout HD Fury, though. Fat Princess, as an affordable, downloadable, multiplayer-focused title has a lot of parallels with Battlefield 1943. Unfortunately those parallels continue with similar network and matchmaking problems that are simply not conducive to the most positive of play experiences. Fortunately, though, Fat Princess has many a charm which will continue to keep David Ellis, Ryan, and, of course, Jason all agree that there's very little not to love! Those of you familiar with Ryan's video game critic career will be long aware of his deep and abiding love for the Wipeout series in all its iterations and on all its platforms. The new expansion for Wipeout HD, entited: Fury is but the latest in the line of ever-broadening improvements for the storied franchise and Matt can do very little but agree with Ryan as to its sublime qualities.

HALO may be famous for bringing the big guns (in terms of sales and in the more literal sense), but Facebook and the iPhone are 800 lb. gorillas all their own. The "Mythic Disc" for HALO 3: ODST was the topic of a Bungie hosted multiplayer event to which our beloved JayFresh and our slightly-less-beloved Rob got to attend, much to the jealous chagrin of the rest of the Area 5 team. They returned, however, with exclusive footage ('cause it's actually of Rob playing, not that other people don't have footage of them playing) of them having a pretty damned good time. It's crazy to think of the iPhone is generating new genres in gaming, but that's exactly what's happening thanks to the nature of the device. "Line Drawing" games are now a "thing" and Harbor Master is that genre's latest and greatest incarnation. Rob, Jason, and Cesar each fret over the intricate strategies of getting their little virtual boats to and from port safely. Gears of War 2 & lunch time. And perhaps not quite an emerging genre so much as a force of nature, Facebook's gaming scene is rapidly approaching mythical status if one looks at the numbers alone. We give a quick rundown of the biggest and best of Facebook's gaming offerings, and while we know we've barely scratched the surface of what there is to offer, we luckily had Gareth Davis, Facebook's Platform Manager on hand to chat with Matt about what makes Facebook such an attractive platform for game developers and publishers.

Little King's Story provides an adorable grind to world domination while Shadow Complex and Wolfenstein take old ideas and add a new coat of paint. Matt's been taking over the world one territory at a time in Little King's Story for weeks. This Pikmin-like adventure looked simple at first but ended up spanning over dozens of hours of invading, building, and decorating in service of building a new kingdom. Anthony Gallegos and Alice Liang join Matt to chat about whether the task ended up being more than they bargained for. We also tread familiar waters to check out Wolfenstein RPG for the iPhone. Does shooting Nazis (in the standard forms of, soldiers, zombies, and skeletons) in corridors blend well with role-playing elements? Ryan and Cesar take a break from laundry to discuss. Drawing obvious inspiration from games like Metroid and Castlevania, it's debated whether Shadow Complex is an homage or rip-off. David Ellis and Dan Hsu came by to discuss with Matt and Cesar that while this revamped side-scroller may feel familiar, it's scope and gameplay make it one of the best downloadable games of the year.

To know the future you must know the past and we prove it this week by delving into a classic. We keep it current thanks to some Nazi-Zombie killing and insect-adventure on the iPhone. Yes, it is 1994 all over again thanks to JayFresh missing out on the Metroid classics the first time around. Such outrages will not stand! It was a good opportunity to bring back a classic and give it the full, CO-OP treatment. Would you want to see us cover more classic games like this, or should we just think of this as a one-off? Your feedback matters! Remakes of classic franchises are all the rage these days, and Wolfenstein is certainly the latest of these. Fortunately it's taken some cues from modern game design and proves to be able to stand proudly amongst its competition. BitMob's Dan Hsu, Arthur Gies from RebelFM & Eat. Sleep. Game. and 1UP's Justin Haywald talk it over with JayFresh. The iPhone continues to deliver evolutions in game design that are surprising and Spider is no exception. Ryan, Jason, and Cesar are all suitably impressed by the game's structure and unique approach to narrative. Our recent coverage of Shadow Complex struck some extremely nostalgic chords here at Area 5 and when we found out that JayFresh's gaming education lacked a certain, related, classic franchise we knew it was time to bring back the past and present it as fresh! No pun intended. Also from 1UP and her own, classic-gaming blog Dusty Pixels, Jade Kraus pops in to talk with Dan Hsu, Justin Haywald, Ryan, and Fresh about just what a momentous occasion it was to experience Super Metroid for the first time!

The Dark Knight cometh, the iPhone gets it's first real, GTA clone, and the re-release of the best, "this-generation" Metroids improves upon the best. There's been a lot of Metroid in the gaming world lately. Games that are inspired by and a resurfacing of the classics. We all know how JayFresh was introduces to the Super Nintendo versions last week and now, it seems, the Super Nintendo has sunk its claws into him and won't let go. In a near-perfect representation of the Batman universe, Arkham Asylum offers up far more game than anyone thought possible. Ryan, Matt, and JayFresh have, admittedly, a bit of a love-fest over what's really the best Batman game to date. The iPhone may very well be more powerful than developers realize. This game proves that not only can you bring a near-GTA experience to the iPhone, but that it can be done with controls that are fairly intuitive and with gameplay straight out of the early PS2-era. It was a surprise to both Jason and Cesar that such a game even existed, but, as they mention, it's not without its flaws. Perhaps it would have been more awesome to have a new Metroid Prime, but re-releasing the entire trilogy, complete with improved, Wii controls a la Corruption is nothing to sneeze at. Ryan and special guest Torrey Holbrook Walker (you may recognize that name from our music credits) step out into the depth of night in order to discuss the finer points of what makes this series so particularly special.

It's been 10 years since the launch of the much-beloved Dreamcast and as such we had the perfect excuse for a retrospective. Multiple blasts from the past combine with a bunch of memories our fans at PAX shared with us. You may have heard that PAX happened! We were there. Well, a couple of us were and the rest via web-cam. Still, it was a great opportunity for us to share Dreamcast memories for this week's retrospective. Being that the console is 10 years old, was cut down in its prime, and is still a favorite amongst its fans, we felt this show was our best opportunity to give tribute to one of the greats from yesteryear. Fans at our CO-OP panel at PAX had some awesome stories to share along with some random gamers hanging out on the sea of beanbags that are the Handheld Lounges at every PAX. Thank you so much to everyone at the show that took time out of that awesome experience to share their stories with us! Join in the memories as we go over 15 of the best and most unique games to grace the swirly console and our young lives! Here's a list of the games we touch on in this week's episode: Soulcalibur Marvel Vs. Capcom 2 Jet Set Radio (& Future) Shenmue 1 & 2 Sonic Adventure Power Stone 1 & 2 Skies of Arcadia Phantasy Star Online Samba De Amigo Tennis 2K2 Crazy Taxi Seaman House of the Dead Typing of the Dead Chu Chu Rocket

Jason and Matt stop by the XNA's Indie Games booth to chat with Microsoft's Kathleen Sanders and we review the Fall's first blockbusters: Halo 3: ODST and Beatles Rock Band Halo 3: ODST is a side-story placing you in the role role of an Orbital Drop Shock Trooper on a mission to find his scattered unit in the occupied city of New Mombasa--a change of pace from playing as a super powerful Spartan. Anthony Gallegos joins Matt to discuss whether or not change is a good thing and Matt explains why he'll be playing the new multiplayer mode, Firefight, more than Gears of War's Horde. If you know us, you know that we don't go to an event without spending quality time with indie games and PAX was no exception. Matt and Jason had a chance to play a bunch of games from XNA's Dream Build Play contest, among others, and interview Microsoft's Kathleen Sanders. Quite a few of the games stood out and so Jason and Matt took their newly acquired free-time to reflect back on better times. Not surprisingly, a bunch of people wanted to come over to join us in playing Beatles Rock Band. It's a loving tribute to an iconic bands with lots of great music. Dan 'Shoe' Hsu, Raychul Moore, Justin Haywald, and Jade Krauss rock out with Ryan and Jason and hang out to talk, and sometimes argue, about the pros and cons.

Camping. It's cheap, easy, and thanks to the DS and the PSP we can bring our games with us! It's an all-portables week as the gang goes primal. One of the benefits to living in San Francisco is the ease with which one can be out into the wilderness, partaking of the nation's wonderful parks system. Fortunately, even with a lack of power outlets we are not gaming-deprived! After camp is set, it's time to start up the blowtorch, PSPs, and DSs. One of those three doesn't require a battery for the fun. Jason and Ryan are two of the biggest SoulCalibur aficionados to ever hold a PSP. It has long been Ryan's dream to take his favorite fighter on the go and Jason seems to agree that this portable installment of the venerable franchise is everything the fan could have hoped for. JayFresh has always been a giant fan of the JRPG and he's no stranger to the nostalgia inherent in the RPG titles. Ryan poses a bit of skepticism to Fresh's optimism about this latest title, but Fresh is able to hold his own as he details the unique quirks that make this one a keeper. A hallmark of graphic fidelity on the PS3, the Motostorm Franchise has done a fantastic job of thrilling the pants of the Area 5 crew. Matt and Ryan have been fans since day one and the opportunity to bring the game with when away from the PSP's big brother was too tempting to pass up. Ryan's convinced it equals it's nearest relatives in both scope and fun.

Only one of us got to go to TGS this year, but that doesn't mean we didn't get to bring home the goods! In this special episode of CO-OP we round up the big announcements as well as dive into two games: Deadspace Extraction and Scribblenauts. The Tokyo Game Show was "interesting" this year for a myriad of reasons. Our special episode covering TGS doesn't have a narrative as we normally do and instead focuses on rounding-up the games from the show as well as bringing in two full-on segments for Deadspace Extraction and Scribblenauts. We're on a brief vacation, next week will be a short episode and we'll be back with a full-on season premiere on the 20th! Justin Haywald of 1UP fame joins our crew for both full-on game chats, the first of which is the Wii prequel to one of last-year's best games. More than a mere "light gun" game, Ryan, JayFresh, and Justin all agree that this game should sell way more units than it probably will. Hmm, how's this list strike you? Final Fantasy XIII, Crackdown 2, Lost Planet 2, Dead Rising 2,Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker, Last Guardian and some anecdotes about Project Natal on the show floor. Many thanks to David Ellis, also of 1UP for coming by and sharing his thoughts and some of his game footage with us! Justin Haywald of 1UP again joins us for a talk about a game that should have been so much better than it is. Sadly, Matt and Justin both agree that Scribblenauts is an amazing idea harmed irrevocably by poor execution.

Since Cesar was the only one at TGS this year, we asked him to do some light documenting of Japan for us so that we could live his experiences vicariously. The new stuff this week consists of Cesar's pretty sweet travel log of his time in Japan during TGS. Japan is certainly unique and here within are some of the primary reasons why. Since we're on vacation we were struggling with what to put in a show when we're not even supposed to have a show and the idea came up to post something most of you probably haven't seen. Prior to CO-OP being part of the Revision3 family of programming, Area 5 produced the show solely for your YouTube channel. CO-OP 0004 was a test-bed show for Revision3 where we actually produced the entire thing in HD so that they could try out their compression settings and what not in advance of our first, actual premiere on the network. Here, for the first time anyway, are the two game segments from CO-OP 0004 in HD. Dan Hsu may no longer maintain the Sorethumbsblog, but yeah, that's what the titles for that section say in this episode because back when this segment was shot that was still before the launch of the awesome BitMob. Ryan and Cesar are also in this segment that talks about what makes this bit of DLC a definite must-have. Miguel Lopez now works for GameTrailers, but back when he and Ryan had this chat about Street Figher IV he was still going strong at GameSpy. In a an excelleng segment that is prat reminiscing about past SF glory days and part review of the latest incarnation, it's one of the segments we are most proud of from our "Season 0" time period.