Two Player Video Games

June 12, 2006 7:57 AM

I'm looking for two-player video games that are suitable for a father & teenage daughter.

My husband and daughter like to play video games together. They have played Baldur's Gate and Champions of Norrath, and their sequels, and are looking for something that is similar to those games but different or new. Thanks for your input!

posted by clarkstonian to computers & internet (28 comments total)

Have they considered World of Warcraft?
posted by The Bellman at 8:08 AM on June 12, 2006

My daughter and I play WoW together, but she's 3, and enjoys WoW simply for the fact that I can play a little gnome girl with pony tails that resembles how I sometimes dress her hair. She also likes it when I jump.

You may also want to try Oblivion or Fable, as they're both open-ended RPGs that give you a lot of room to play how you want.
posted by thanotopsis at 8:12 AM on June 12, 2006

caveat: Oblivion and Fable are actually single-player games, so in order to play them together, they'd have to just share a keyboard and play by consensus.
posted by thanotopsis at 8:13 AM on June 12, 2006

Playing through Guild Wars or Guild Wars Factions as a group is great.
posted by thirteenkiller at 8:19 AM on June 12, 2006

The last year of my dads life we had some great times with Tiger Woods golf games. Totally different from what you mentioned but could be really fun, especially since winning isn't that important, you can just try and beat your best score and root for each other.
posted by Brainy at 8:23 AM on June 12, 2006

Baldur's Gate Dark Alliance is geared heavily towards two players. It's on the PS2. I played it with my housemate way back in 2001 and we adored it. I believe their is a Dark Alliance 2, but I haven't played it. Be warned, Dark Alliance is a real-time game (meaning that during combat, there are no turns involved - it's just a free-for-all). Also, the game is generally weighted towards combat, as opposed to exporing/character development/storyline.

Zelda: The Wind Waker is a fabulous single-player-but-great-with-more-than-one game. For some reason, its cartoon quality and storyline and puzzle-solving nature mean that the people watching have almost as much fun as the player. It's on the GameCube. In 3rd year of University, my whole house got completely and collectively addicted to it - even the non-gamers.

There are many games that are specifcally designed for two players (most racing games or sports games), but I sense you don't want games like that.

Another great singleplayer game that is good for multiple players is the first Prince of Persia (PC, PS2). Beautiful landscapes, nice little puzzles, some combat and some incredible exploration.
posted by pollystark at 8:29 AM on June 12, 2006

I heartily second WindWaker. Incredible game.
posted by dirtynumbangelboy at 8:40 AM on June 12, 2006

KATAMARI DAMACY!!!

WE LOVE KATAMARY!!
posted by eatdonuts at 8:52 AM on June 12, 2006

Second Katamari. I play it with my 3 year old and we have fun.
posted by frecklefaerie at 8:58 AM on June 12, 2006

Can you connect two PCs via a LAN? If so, ain't nothing wrong with a little Half-Life deathmatch with the gore turned off. The kid will get a kick out of shooting Dad.

By that same token, you can play Neverwinter Nights or Dungeon Siege multiplayer with two PCs. Or Warcraft III, the strategy game.
posted by frogan at 9:01 AM on June 12, 2006

eternal darkness is another one-player game that i have had lots of fun playing with a partner. it's a pretty good mix of puzzle-solving and combat as well as interesting to watch. if she's a younger (and sensitive to the spooky stuff) teen, it can get a little creepy, but if she's an older teen, it's a nice mild occult horror story.
posted by crush-onastick at 9:02 AM on June 12, 2006

I just picked up my DSLite this weekend and last night my wife, who normally eschews games, and I spent a great deal of time playing the one-on-one games from the New Super Mario cart. She had an intuitive sense as how to crush me utterly at star gathering and seems unusually willing to defend her crown in the near future.

But this means you'd need a pair of DSes (DSii?), of which you can likely find used versions of the older model for cheap. I'd recommend getting the Lite, though, as well, it's hella cool.
posted by robocop is bleeding at 9:06 AM on June 12, 2006

Thanks for all of the ideas. I'll be heading to the store tomorrow. I'm not a gamer, myself, so I'm clueless about what's good. We have multiple computers, a PS2, & a Game Cube, and anything on any or all of them is great, actually.
posted by clarkstonian at 9:40 AM on June 12, 2006

A lot of these suggestions are pretty good, but Katamari Damacy is the real must-have here. G-rated, simple to play but incredibly fun, and multiplayer. Falls completely outside the standard genre definitions and is very bright and colorful.
posted by Ryvar at 9:45 AM on June 12, 2006

World of Warcraft (wow) is your best bet... they will both really enjoy it at their own level, and together...

Halo! Halo! Halo! Halo!


Sorry. Sorry.
posted by ewkpates at 9:47 AM on June 12, 2006

AFAIK, Champions of Norrath was only released for PS2, so I'll assume that's what you're playing on:

XMen Legends 2: Rise of Apocolypse had some great co-op play; the game lets you pull off combos between coop players.

Dynasty Warriors 5 Empires - fifth in a pretty massive series; lots of big swords, the newer releases are starting to incorporate broader strategy in addition to the mindless hack and slash.

Giants - Citizen Kabuto - an over-the-shoulder first person shooter with a great sense of humor.

Summoner and Summoner 2 offer co-op RPG play; Summoner was one of the first titles released for the PS2, so it may look a little dated.

Smuggler's Run - super fun party game; Smuggler's Run 2 ruined the game with its added complexity.

Lastly, though they're not multiplayer, I have to recommend Ico and Shadow of the Colossus. You will rarely encounter games as good as these.

On preview, PC too eh? I'll throw in City of Heroes then.

Aside from specific games, you can check out Gamer Dad. He has tons of great links and reviews of games.
posted by Loser at 9:51 AM on June 12, 2006

Katamary Damacy is a great game, but based on the games your husband and daughter like to play, clarkstonian, I would have to put my vote in for World of Warcraft or its cheaper cousin Guild Wars.
posted by billtron at 9:52 AM on June 12, 2006

you can check out Gamer Dad. He has tons of great links and reviews of games.

Including, [selfplug]a review of mine[/selfplug] for Lego Star Wars. My kids got a thrill playing this together.
posted by thanotopsis at 9:55 AM on June 12, 2006

lego star wars!! its fantastic. me and my friend played it to death we are a little older though!

it was so good i recommended it to a few parents at work and they all loved playing it with their small children.

it truely is fun for all the ages.
posted by moochoo at 11:00 AM on June 12, 2006

My husband and I loved playing "Lord of the Rings: The Third Age" together. It's far superior to any of the other LOTR games and was really fun for both of us.
posted by nekton at 11:13 AM on June 12, 2006

Loser: On preview, PC too eh? I'll throw in City of Heroes then.

What server?

Metafilter: Protecting Paragon.
posted by The Bellman at 11:14 AM on June 12, 2006

There are multiple variations on Worms and I think all are suitable for more than 1 player, and generally they're all best played against a real person. Lots of potential for humorous mayhem and violence in the world of comedy cartoon crawly creatures.
posted by biffa at 11:21 AM on June 12, 2006

The Bellman: check my profile.

(And I'm surprized this didn't already exist, so I created it, check out the Metafilter Wiki MMOG Page.)
posted by Loser at 11:58 AM on June 12, 2006

My favorite two player cooperative game ever is Bubble Bobble, for the original Nintendo. You can get an emulator (like FCE Ultra on Windows and download the game for free (quasi-legally, since nintendo doesn't really sell it anymore). You'll have to google around for ROM sites to find it, a small pain but you can have basically every old Nintendo, Super Nintendo, etc. game for free.
posted by knave at 12:01 PM on June 12, 2006

I don't know if technologically-advanced is a requirement, but by far the best cooperative simultaneous multiplayer game I have played is Secret of Mana for the Super Nintendo. It's kind of like a single player RPG where you have a team of multiple characters, but if you have a second (or third!) player, they can control another member of your team, and run around where they please and participate in battles. My brother and I played it together when we were young, and it was a great bonding experience that we both remember fondly. :)

The Super Mario Kart battle modes were also a big hit, though this is again Super Nintendo--the N64 SMK battle modes were far less entertaining. Goldeneye for the N64 also got a lot of play time.

I agree that Guild Wars is a fantastic game, but it's not really designed for two people to go through together. It can be done, but the henchmen get kind of annoying after a while. On the other hand, it might be possible to find a guild that you guys get along with.

Also, I think there is something much warmer and more communal about watching the same screen instead of separate screens, even if you're in the same game world.
posted by trevyn at 12:53 PM on June 12, 2006

*heh heh* For a change of pace you might try Guitar Hero. I played it yesterday and it's quite fun. Plus dad can introduce her to all his old rockin' music (since that's what is mostly on there).
posted by smallerdemon at 1:01 PM on June 12, 2006

OMG, I totally forgot about Guitar Hero. That's your two-player winner right there.
posted by frogan at 3:45 PM on June 12, 2006

A lot of great ideas! I've started a list, will check them out & see what I can get locally by Father's Day. Thank you, MeFites.
posted by clarkstonian at 6:51 PM on June 12, 2006