The 2000s saw the debut and rise of online multiplayer on consoles. Naturally, this led to many PvP multiplayer games becoming huge hits. However, it also helped co-op gaming.
No longer were you required to be sitting on the same couch as your partner. You could be on separate consoles far away from each other and still working together. Of course, sharing a couch was usually an option, too, so you were given an extra degree of choice in how you wanted to enjoy your co-op games. As for the games themselves, there were plenty of great ones, especially when it came to shooters. Here are the ones that stood out the most.
In the 2000s, some dismissed the Saints Row series as a GTA clone. Yet, the second game, in particular, deserves more respect than that. It’s an excellent open-world crime game about a street gang taking over the city from other groups.
The writing isn’t the deepest, but it’s often very funny, and the game contains some genuine laugh-out-loud moments. Some of the humor is seen in the game’s unique and well-designed side activities. They provide a fun distraction from the main missions, and are generally more exciting than the side content that other open world titles were providing at this time.
New Super Mario Bros Wii is one ofseveral co-op Mario games, and it ranks among the best of them. As is common for the series, the adventure revolves around you playing through a whole bunch of levels to rescue Princess Peach from Bowser. Mario can be joined on this quest by Luigi or various Toads.
Together, you jump through each level, trying to get to the end while avoiding death. You encounter many different enemies and can use a bunch of distinct power-ups. The true greatness of the game, though, comes in the level design. This title has so many levels, but each one still feels unique and well-crafted.
The original Borderlands is probably notthe best the series has to offer, but it is still a very good first-person shooter with RPG elements. One of the best aspects of the game is the world. The planet of Pandora is an interesting place to explore, filled with fascinating locations and strange characters.
You control a Vault Hunter and have to wander the planet to track down the mysterious Vault. Along the way, you can take part in all sorts of exciting and action-packed quests. Speaking of action, the gunplay feels very smooth, and each of the characters you can control feels distinct from one another.
Castle Crashers is a 2D side-scrolling beat’em up game where each player controls a colorful knight. Their color doesn’t just impact how they look; it also affects the magical ability of your character. When you aren’t using magic, you’re swinging your melee weapon or firing arrows.
The combat looks fairly simplistic, but there is actually a bit of depth, partially because of the game’s cool combo system. Unleashing combo attacks keeps the gameplay fresh, as does the enemy variety, since you face all sorts of foes during the game.
Sony didn’t have many big exclusive co-op games in the 2000s, but the PS3 did have LittleBigPlanet. It is a physics-based platformer in which players control little dolls known as Sackboys and jump around various levels. The gameplay is simple, but each level is well-designed and looks great.
That said, if you don’t think the levels are very good, you can take a stab at making your own. This is because there is a deep level creator in the game that gives you many resources to make pretty much any level you desire.
Part of the appeal of Left 4 Dead 2 comes from its simplicity. There isn’t a deep narrative to follow or complex skill trees to manage. You are simply placed on a map filled with zombies and must fight your way from safehouse to safehouse using the weapons you find.
The fun comes from how incredibly chaotic the experience is. Zombies come at you quickly in large numbers, meaning you often have to shoot your gun or swing your melee weapon as quickly as you can. Making things more difficult is the special infected, who each have their own powers that can do serious damage. You must work together to keep each other alive by sharing items and sometimes saving each other when a special monster has grabbed you.
Gears of War 2 is amongthe best third-person shooters ever. As such, it’s also one of the greatest co-op games of the 2000s. Player one controls Marcus Fenix, while the second player controls Dom Santiago. Both are rugged soldiers who engage in plenty of shootouts with various Locust creatures. In each battle, you need to make use of natural cover as you gun down all the monsters in your path.
The game does a great job of keeping things interesting with its clever and varied level design. In one mission, you’re dealing with razor hail from the sky that can kill you in seconds, while in another, you’re fighting inside the body of a giant worm. And there are a lot of other unique ones, too. Plus, the story is more emotional than you expect from a game about rough soldiers.
The Halo series debuted in the 2000s, and it quickly became one of the most consistent co-op series ever. Arguably, the best of them was Halo 3. This one tells the story of uneasy allies Master Chief and The Arbiter taking on the force known as the Covenant and creatures called The Flood. This results in a series of exciting missions where you face all sorts of different enemies.
Along the way, you get to use an array of distinct guns and, sometimes, vehicles in open, entertaining battles. They wouldn’t be nearly as fun if it weren’t for Halo’s signature brand of smooth gunplay that involves plenty of jumping and headshots.
