Looking for a decent multiplayer co-op game.

July 12, 2005 8:20 PM

I'm looking for a decent multi player co-op game...

There's nothing like that moment when your loved one turns to you with that look in her eye, the one that says `let's play computer games together'.

We like playing multi player co-op games together, and have played Diablo II and it's expansion through a couple of times. Now, we're looking for something else good.

I like first person shooters, but they make her motion sick, so the ideal game would :

* Be non first person
* Have a plot
* NOT be an online game (I fear they will eat all my time)
* Preferably not turn based
* Preferably not RTS (but suggest one if it's good!)

Any suggestions?

posted by tomble to computers & internet (22 comments total)

Riven.
It was intended to be single player, but is far more fun with a loved one, as you try to make sense of the strange world together.
posted by -harlequin- at 8:51 PM on July 12, 2005

Bubble Bobble for the original NES, 2-player cooperative is tons of fun. :)
posted by knave at 9:46 PM on July 12, 2005

You didn't say PC or console.

On the PS2, Baldur's Gate Dark Alliance is great fun. The second one is mostly more of the same, and somewhat disappointingly short.

Also, X-Men Legends uses a similar engine, with some improvements (multiple character management) and some drawbacks (boring stretches of single-player tedium).

The Fantastic Four game is supposed to be an improvement on all of these, but I haven't played it yet.
posted by Caviar at 10:15 PM on July 12, 2005

Does it have to be a PC game? Baldurs Gate: Dark Alliance (both 1 and 2) had a fairly decent co-op mode. The pickings in co-op, non-online PC games is very slim.
posted by arha at 10:21 PM on July 12, 2005

I'm not too fond of RTS games in general, but I really like Rise of Nations. The feel of it is similar to the Civilization series -- managing cities, producing resources, and the tech tree are very important. You can set teams in multiplayer, so you can co-operate against a team of computer players.

Majesty, the Fantasy Kingdom Sim, can also be set up in multi-player co-operative mode. You set up buildings and order them to build heroes. But you don't group them into units, march them into the unknown, and buy them upgraded equipment -- they have minds of their own.

There are plenty of Diablo-esque games, Dungeon Siege is the first that comes to mind.

If you're into console games, try Samurai Warriors or Dynasty Warriors 4 (or 5, if you want to spend $50 on a game that just came out). My girlfriend and I have had lots of fun beating up hordes of enemy samurai.
posted by CrunchyFrog at 10:27 PM on July 12, 2005

Ooops! I should have specified - PC games, network play.
posted by tomble at 10:31 PM on July 12, 2005

I second Dungeon Seige.
posted by arha at 10:33 PM on July 12, 2005

Sacred is a good step up from D2. I also enjoyed Dungeon Siege, plus the first expansion or two.

Neverwinter Nights was fun for the original game and first expansion, but I wasn't a fan of subsequent expansions.

Problem was, other than D2 there isn't a game in that list about that *everyone* in the group liked until we all moved to World of Warcraft. And yes, it does eat all your time (except when the servers are down).

You could try some of the Warcraft III Frozen Throne scenarios. Tower Defence games are very not like RTS. Naga Tower Defence is great fun, but any PCs that aren't the latest and greatest get a little slide-showy past level 30.
posted by krisjohn at 10:44 PM on July 12, 2005

It has no story, of course, but If you're a soccer fan at all, winning eleven (we8 international is I think the latest one out in north america) is loads of fun coop against the computer. Not sure if it has network play though. The ps2 version lets you plug in up to 2 multitaps worth of people.
posted by juv3nal at 10:47 PM on July 12, 2005

I third Dungeon Siege. If you like D2 you'll love DS.
posted by deborah at 10:58 PM on July 12, 2005

let her kick your ass at Dr. Mario or Tetris.

then throw down with some straight RTS action.
posted by fishfucker at 11:06 PM on July 12, 2005

If you let someone talk you into an RTS, let it be Age of Empires II. Great for repeat playability, and also has an expansion for further fun. Even better, there's a huge online community for user-made scenarios and campaigns, many of them that make the game function in completely different ways.
posted by ElfWord at 3:03 AM on July 13, 2005

i third (with a plus 4 magic sword) baldurs gate
posted by mailhans at 6:47 AM on July 13, 2005

Rise of Nations, totally. My g/f hates video games, but she's always mesmerised when I play.
posted by mkultra at 7:01 AM on July 13, 2005

My NES suggestion still works because the NES emulators support networked two player. :)
posted by knave at 7:40 AM on July 13, 2005

I think there are some "dropping puzzle pieces" games like Tetrinet that might fit the bill.

Too bad about "no FPS" -- Serious Sam 1/2 is an excellent co-op game. We usually end on it during LAN parties.
posted by catkins at 10:04 AM on July 13, 2005

My wife and I loved playing "Ultima Underworld" together, and the LucasArts graphic adventures were great fun as well. Not exactly cooperative, but easily shared.
posted by five fresh fish at 10:18 AM on July 13, 2005

Baldur's Gate 1 & 2 for PC were good fun, and can be played networked (I haven't played the expansion packs, but I've heard good things). Actually, it might be a hoot to start at BG1 and work your way allllll the way through BG2 and the expansion packs for both.
posted by willpie at 10:36 AM on July 13, 2005

tetris attack! get it for gameboy and link up. or dare i say pokemon for gameboy?
posted by chuckforthought.com at 10:58 AM on July 13, 2005

My wife and I can pick up a Dynasty Warriors game and play for hours. We have three or four of them; much like Madden, they all share the same plot and basic play mechanics, with each sequel offering new characters, features, and graphic refinements. [The exception is "Dynasty Warriors" for the PlayStation One, an unmemorable one-on-one fighting game; look for DW2 and up for the co-op team-up modes, where together you take on hundreds of enemy soldiers in melee combat.]

We play them on PS2 and Xbox, but a net-play PC port is apparently on the way! Along similar lines, a friend also recommends the new "LEGO Star Wars" game.
posted by britain at 7:12 PM on July 13, 2005

Go and get Amiga Forever and the go and get some of the old classics - Zool, Stunt Car Racer, Skidmarks, Alien Breed, Pang, Rainbow Island, etc.

There's a whole smegload of fantastic old multiplayer games on the Amiga - shame that PC games companies seemed to move away from that social aspect...
posted by Chunder at 2:48 AM on July 14, 2005

Uh... should have had a link to a legal Amiga software download site, shouldn't I?

Back to the Roots
posted by Chunder at 2:58 AM on July 14, 2005