2010 PC Co-op Games

Coop lists for a different year.

Last year saw the the largest amount of cooperative titles on the PC. Count was about 21. If I was to graph it out, you'd see a gradual increasing trend. However, based on the 2010 outlook so far, PC coop has hit the ceiling. In fact, the amount of Coop games will severely drop in 2010, with very little coop original titles. As before; I'll define "Co-op games" this way...

[Edit: We indeed saw a decrease in coop releases, down to 14 for 2010 (from 21 in '09).  9 titles slipped to the following year; 3 games were empty promises; while 2 went MIA.]

• Must be online or LAN, no split screens
• Must involve 2 or more human players
• Players work along a progressive storyline, campaign, or various goals
• Does not have to be the same as single player campaign
• Generic RTS Skirmishes, Survival/horde mode and Team based game types like CTF and Deathmatch are not included
• No MMOs

Shooter:

Splinter Cell: Conviction - TPS - 2 player
It has been confirmed, finally, this game should return to the classic story driven coop we've seen in Chaos Theory. Only its one American and one Russian working together toward a common goal.

Metacritic - 83

Dead Rising 2 - FPS - 2 player
A zombie shooter, its unclear how this game can top Left 4 Dead series, especially with only 2 players.  Sorta like how Saints Row is overshadowed by GTA.  
Metacritic -78

Serious Sam HD Second Encounter - FPS- 16 player
Serious Sam series continues the HD graphical upgrade to its original sequel. A new mode, "Coop Tournament" will be added.
Metacritic - 76 

 

Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days - TPS - 2 player
The first release of this game on PC didn't have the online coop support. Will they fix that this round?
Metacritic - 66

Blacklight: Tango - FPS - 4 player
Budget shooter, Black-ops mode will have co-op play.  Four objective based maps.
Metacritic - 65

Lost Planet 2 - TPS - 4 playerDetails on a PC release are sketchy. That aside, coop maybe just what this otherwise 'meh' shooting game needs.
Metacritic - 63

Alien Breed 2: Assault - 2 player
Top down shooter based on the unreal engine, very old school, in the likes of Alien Syndrome.  Coop is not part of the main campaign.
Metacritic - 63

The Scourge Project Episode 1&2 - TPS - 4 player 
Somewhat of an indie project, this shooter will take on the episodic model. Promises different story-lines per each player type. About 5 hours of game play per episode.
Metacritic - 44

Strategy:

AI Wars: The Zenith Remnant - RTS - 8 player
This indie game will see its first expansion. Looks to go the way many RTS expansions go: to include new ships and the almighty "Titan" units. The concept of tweaking the AI strategy (which this has done) is something I'd like to see more of in an RTS exp.

Dawn of War 2: Chaos Rising - RTS - 2 player
This expansion continues to utilize the base game options for coop, presumably you work together as Chaos this time.
Metacritic -85

Command & Conquer 4 - RTS - 2 player
Following the wake of Red Alert 3 introduction to campaign coop in the C&C universe, C&C4 chooses to continue cooperative gameplay.
Metacritic - 64

Other:

Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light - Action/Puzzler - 2 player

Budget title, nothing like Tomb Raider.  More like Gauntlet with guns.Online Coop is now available as a patch.  
Metacritic - 82

HAWX 2 - Flight Action - 4 player
Last one had mixed reviews, sequel will try to clear up some of the issues.  This game is basic arcade flight shooter, within the Tom Clancy universe.
Metacritic - 66

Ship Simulator 2010: Extremes - Sim
Ever wonder what it would be like to flank a Greenpeace ship, or ram an illegal whaler? Now you and a friend can. This game will take die hard vessel sims, er, to the extreme.
Metacritic - 49



Metcritic average for 2010 - 63 out of 100.  A relatively poor year for coop gaming. 
Editors choice: Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light