Used Couch-Co-op PS3 FPS game for Drunk Middle-aged Techno-noob
February 13, 2015 12:10 PM Subscribe
My friend wants to play a FPS once a week at my house, usually while intoxicated.
Must Have:
Couch co-op,
Killing things/people,
Shallow learning curve,
Interesting story/missions,
Halfway decent graphics.
So we brew once a week and my friend has been talking about watching Assassin's Creed videos on youtube for years. This fellow is a neo-Luddite. He doesn't have a computer or a television. He watches the videos on his phone, which he is pathologically incapable of using for anything besides phone calls, photos and youtube videos. But Assassin's Creed calls to him like a siren.
So this week, after all of the work was done and we were well and truly lit, he expressed actual interest in playing a FPS game. I thought I had Call of Duty somewhere but realized it had disappeared. I don't play video games all that often, but the PS3 is used for streaming and for the kid to play his Lego Whatevers and Ratchet and Whatever. All I could find was Portal 2 and that game does not lend itself to intoxicated gameplay.
I want to buy my friend a game to play at my house. I looked into Assassin's Creed on the PS3 and none of them are couch co-op. So, I need a FPS that two people (or three, but that's asking too much) can play local co-op. I want to be able to buy it used and spend less than two sawbucks on it (yeah, finally learned what that term means, thanks Metafilter. $20 total including tax if possible). I want something that is mostly focused on senseless violence and less on figuring stuff out. My Luddite friend is a fan of historical settings, but he also loves himself some weird sf/fantasy settings, but if the setting is visually stimulating the artist in my friend would be more engaged. And the gameplay shouldn't be so difficult that a drunk noob in his mid-forties can't get into it.
This probably means I am looking for an older game. If I play this game for more than two hours a week, I will be shocked.
What should I be looking for? Any ideas?
So we brew once a week and my friend has been talking about watching Assassin's Creed videos on youtube for years. This fellow is a neo-Luddite. He doesn't have a computer or a television. He watches the videos on his phone, which he is pathologically incapable of using for anything besides phone calls, photos and youtube videos. But Assassin's Creed calls to him like a siren.
So this week, after all of the work was done and we were well and truly lit, he expressed actual interest in playing a FPS game. I thought I had Call of Duty somewhere but realized it had disappeared. I don't play video games all that often, but the PS3 is used for streaming and for the kid to play his Lego Whatevers and Ratchet and Whatever. All I could find was Portal 2 and that game does not lend itself to intoxicated gameplay.
I want to buy my friend a game to play at my house. I looked into Assassin's Creed on the PS3 and none of them are couch co-op. So, I need a FPS that two people (or three, but that's asking too much) can play local co-op. I want to be able to buy it used and spend less than two sawbucks on it (yeah, finally learned what that term means, thanks Metafilter. $20 total including tax if possible). I want something that is mostly focused on senseless violence and less on figuring stuff out. My Luddite friend is a fan of historical settings, but he also loves himself some weird sf/fantasy settings, but if the setting is visually stimulating the artist in my friend would be more engaged. And the gameplay shouldn't be so difficult that a drunk noob in his mid-forties can't get into it.
This probably means I am looking for an older game. If I play this game for more than two hours a week, I will be shocked.
What should I be looking for? Any ideas?
Best answer: I know for a fact Borderlands (and probably Borderlands 2) have split-screen co-op on the PS3. Those are long SF, loot-centric games and should hold you for a while.
Resistance 2 (and maybe 3?) have co-op split screen as well.
posted by selfnoise at 12:17 PM on February 13, 2015 [1 favorite]
Resistance 2 (and maybe 3?) have co-op split screen as well.
posted by selfnoise at 12:17 PM on February 13, 2015 [1 favorite]
Here's a good place to look for all your couch co-op needs.
posted by ThatFuzzyBastard at 12:24 PM on February 13, 2015
posted by ThatFuzzyBastard at 12:24 PM on February 13, 2015
Best answer: Also came in to say Borderlands and Borderlands 2. The co-op is so well done. It's smart enough to figure out when one player is better than the other, then distributes the bad guys accordingly. I had never played a non-wii console game when I met my husband and he's a video game programmer, so about as disparate levels as you can get and we both have a lot of fun. You can have three players, I'm pretty sure.
We also play a lot of Lego games. Not sure if you want to play the same games as your kid.
Halo is another option, although I admit that I got bored halfway through and we never finished. We also played Army of Two a little bit but it was too hard and too realistic for me to enjoy. We tried the co-op version of Fable 3 but it was too boring for the second player. Castle Crashers was entertaining but not a FPS. It would be totally fun while drunk though.
posted by carolr at 12:28 PM on February 13, 2015 [1 favorite]
We also play a lot of Lego games. Not sure if you want to play the same games as your kid.
Halo is another option, although I admit that I got bored halfway through and we never finished. We also played Army of Two a little bit but it was too hard and too realistic for me to enjoy. We tried the co-op version of Fable 3 but it was too boring for the second player. Castle Crashers was entertaining but not a FPS. It would be totally fun while drunk though.
posted by carolr at 12:28 PM on February 13, 2015 [1 favorite]
Best answer: Borderlands 2: Game of the Year Edition for $20
Great game with a veritable mountain of DLC packed in.
posted by Oktober at 12:35 PM on February 13, 2015
Great game with a veritable mountain of DLC packed in.
posted by Oktober at 12:35 PM on February 13, 2015
Army of Two: The 40th Day. Third-person shooter that's way more fun than it has any right to be. My friend and I played through the majority of it while drunk but there are some tricky parts that may be frustrating.
GTA 5 doesn't have a true local co-op mode but you can pass the controller around after each mission / death. Same with Saints Row IV. Very fun games to play or watch drunk.
Your artist friend may be in for a treat if they have yet to play Katamari Damacy.
posted by Diskeater at 12:54 PM on February 13, 2015 [1 favorite]
GTA 5 doesn't have a true local co-op mode but you can pass the controller around after each mission / death. Same with Saints Row IV. Very fun games to play or watch drunk.
Your artist friend may be in for a treat if they have yet to play Katamari Damacy.
posted by Diskeater at 12:54 PM on February 13, 2015 [1 favorite]
Specifically FPS: Borderlands 2, Destiny, Left 4 Dead, Far Cry 4, COD Zombies.
posted by pazazygeek at 12:56 PM on February 13, 2015
posted by pazazygeek at 12:56 PM on February 13, 2015
My bad, you're looking for couch only - then stick to Borderlands 2, L4D, I think the last co-op zombies I played couch was Black Ops. Not sure if it's supported beyond that.
posted by pazazygeek at 12:58 PM on February 13, 2015
posted by pazazygeek at 12:58 PM on February 13, 2015
Borderlands and Borderlands 2 are good for this, as are:
Portal 2
Fear 3
Aliens: Colonial Marines is not great but pretty fun (and very inexpensive) to play split-screen
posted by The Great Big Mulp at 1:01 PM on February 13, 2015
Portal 2
Fear 3
Aliens: Colonial Marines is not great but pretty fun (and very inexpensive) to play split-screen
posted by The Great Big Mulp at 1:01 PM on February 13, 2015
nth Borderlands 2. I bet Borderlands: The Prequel is just as good too.
posted by ian1977 at 1:14 PM on February 13, 2015
posted by ian1977 at 1:14 PM on February 13, 2015
Not FPS but Diablo 3 allows for local multiplayer.
posted by fiercekitten at 11:17 PM on February 13, 2015
posted by fiercekitten at 11:17 PM on February 13, 2015
Response by poster: Wanted Borderlands 2 but haven't found it used yet.
I did find Army of 2 which has been a hoot.
Also was given Call of Duty: Modern Warfare which has been a blast playing three person death matches.
posted by Seamus at 6:48 PM on March 15, 2015
I did find Army of 2 which has been a hoot.
Also was given Call of Duty: Modern Warfare which has been a blast playing three person death matches.
posted by Seamus at 6:48 PM on March 15, 2015
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posted by saladin at 12:17 PM on February 13, 2015 [6 favorites]