Drath

2 Player Co-op with Girlfriend

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I'm in a bit of a dilemma, hopefully this will be a good discussion. I need games to play with my girlfriend that are co-op, story-based video games. What I mean by that is, games that support a linear/branching storyline that enables 2 people to play-through (so in that sense, no online multiplayer/mmos). We have already went through Left 4 Dead, Left 4 Dead 2, Halo 3 and we are currently playing Borderlands. We have a Wii, an Xbox 360 and gaming PCs. She tends to enjoy shooters and RPGs.

We are looking forward to Portal 2, and I think we are getting Halo ODST/Reach. Any other ideas?

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I've always heard that EDF 2017 is great for co-op.

i haven't played the game myself so I can't tell you how it compares to the games you listed.

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Yeah, I just bought Epic Yarn so that I could play it with my girlfriend. Of course, she gets motion sick with anything 3D and has no interest in anything post-sega genesis/SNES that isn't a Pokemon game, so Kirby is a rare treat for us. Sounds like you're looking for something slightly more hardcore than that. Maybe Dead Rising 2's co-op mode? From experience with EDF2017, I'll warn you that while it's a great game, the story is definitely not what you're there for. If you want to play a sketchy 3rd person shooter where you blow up a lot of things and the frame rate drops a bunch because of all the awesome shit you're doing, then you're good. If you want a story based game that will draw two people through together, look elsewhere.

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Of course, she gets motion sick with anything 3D and has no interest in anything post-sega genesis/SNES that isn't a Pokemon game, so Kirby is a rare treat for us.

This is my girlfriend to a T, except with occasional spurts of hardcore gamer-ness with stuff like Borderlands and Mass Effect. That said, she loved playing some of the games in Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection... Streets of Rage, Sonic, Columns, Golden Axe; it was nice digging up some old favorites that I hadn't considered playing again since I lost my Genesis years ago.

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Dawn of War II, would be interesting, the mechanics themselves are easy to understand. Splinter Cell Chaos Theory has a fantastic co-op campaign, the PC version is now the only way to get the additional levels released. Flotilla, 'Splosion Man, Gears of War 1 and 2, etc.

Miffy and Jon are secretly the same person.

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My girlfriend and I have played through both Deathspanks, the last couple LEGO games (they're much better co-op experiences now that they have split-screen), and viva pinata. I've also gotten her to play co-op through Doom and Doom 2.

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Apparently the new Lara Croft game is fun. Tim Schafer plays it with his daughter or something.

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This is my girlfriend to a T, except with occasional spurts of hardcore gamer-ness with stuff like Borderlands and Mass Effect. That said, she loved playing some of the games in Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection... Streets of Rage, Sonic, Columns, Golden Axe; it was nice digging up some old favorites that I hadn't considered playing again since I lost my Genesis years ago.

Yeah, for me it's the Wii's Virtual Console. Playing Sonic (1 through "& Knuckles"), Vector Man, Streets of Rage 1-3, Golden Axe, etc is pretty much what we do on days off together. Working through pretty much anything she used to play before her Genesis broke when she was young. I've also been introducing her to SNES stuff, since I was a Nintendo fanboy back when she was a Sega fangirl. Apparently Donkey Kong's voice sounds incredibly stupid and she can't stand him, but otherwise we spend a ton of time going through the best of mid-90s console gaming.

Miffy and Jon are secretly the same person.

I vehemently deny this. You've even been there when we've talked to each other, Patters. Proof!

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My girlfriend and I have played through both Deathspanks, the last couple LEGO games (they're much better co-op experiences now that they have split-screen), and viva pinata. I've also gotten her to play co-op through Doom and Doom 2.

That's totally a rad idea, co-op Doom/Doom 2 - probably will scare the shit out of her too.

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I hear Kirbys Epic Yarn is good for that

If you can get it, Kirby's Dream Land 3 also has similar 2 player.

I don't know what else. My girlfriend will play Castle Crashers with me and have fun, but she got completely bored being second banana in Deathspank in less than half an hour.

We had a blast a few years ago finishing Four Swords together. Maybe you can get that and play it on the Wii? It does require you to buy or own two Gameboy Advances and GC-to-GBA cables though.

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If you can get it, Kirby's Dream Land 3 also has similar 2 player.

It's on Virtual Console, so you most definitely can get it.

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Woohoo! Everybody wins!

I just realized though the second player in Kirby 3 is sort of a weird black face tongue guy. The angry blue guy in Epic Yarn is probably more fun.

Also I don't know if Kirby's Super Star is on Virtual Console as well because of the DS revamp, but there's a neat mode in there where you can play through Kirby's Dream Land 1 and create sidekicks with different powers for the second player to use along they way. That's really fun as well.

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I vehemently deny this. You've even been there when we've talked to each other, Patters. Proof!

I call hacks. You're secretly an alien with 2 sets of hands and 2 voices and happen to be in different pats of North America.

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Also I don't know if Kirby's Super Star is on Virtual Console as well because of the DS revamp, but there's a neat mode in there where you can play through Kirby's Dream Land 1 and create sidekicks with different powers for the second player to use along they way. That's really fun as well.

Yup, it's on there too. I am a total whore for all things Nintendo. If you have a Virtual Console question, I will probably (sadly) know the answer.

Curse you Patters for discovering my secret. Nobody let Jon know though, ok. Jon can't click on this spoiler. It's against the rules. He still doesn't know about the Canadian human-puppetry powers I've been using to control him in Florida. They're kind of a secret, but the government issues them at age 20 if you can produce a Canadian birth certificate.

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Yeah, I just bought Epic Yarn so that I could play it with my girlfriend. Of course, she gets motion sick with anything 3D and has no interest in anything post-sega genesis/SNES that isn't a Pokemon game, so Kirby is a rare treat for us.

Oo, I got the exact situation almost, my wife doesn't like any 3D games because she gets also some motion sickness, that's why she only likes 2D games like old Mario Games, New Super Mario Bros Wii and then stuff on DS like Kirby Canvas Curse, New Super Mario Bros etc.

We tried playing Mario Galaxy together but it just doesn't work for her...

She doesn't care about Pokemon though, even though she is from Japan.

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It doesn't really fit the games your girlfriend likes, but my girlfriend and I have had some fun together with the Scott Pilgrim game on XBLA. Maybe think about these kind of games (cartoony/appealing graphics with old school beat 'em up vibes)?

They get easier with more people and they can be really fun to play as part of a group, even if that group is just the two of you.

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Drath, don't forget that Borderlands has a ton of DLC. My recommendation would be both Zombie Island of Doctor Ned and the Secret Armoury of General Knoxx. The other two are only for the guys who want to be a perfectionist.

Can't help but feel that people have, generally, recommended cutesy games. If you are looking for something other than that Gears of War 2 and Halo 3 are not bad places to go. That said, I am playing D&D: Heroes at the moment. It is an Xbox original that I picked up for 5 dollars and is fully backwards compatible with the X360 it is a good co-op hack and slash with a enjoyable levelling system (me and my housemates have been playing for about 14 hours so far). Two players is a little difficult as you need to pick the perfect balance of characters.

Depending on shooters you like and your tolerance for graphics, Sniper Elite on the original Xbox (is BC) is another good splitscreen shooter.

Other good Xbox LIVE indie games for Co-Op is Explosionade, radiangames Inferno, Shoot 1up. Admittedly, combined, they may only last you an evening but it will cost you about 5 dollars for all three.

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I was actually thinking of getting a cooperative Wii game for a female friend of mine who likes games but isn't too great with things with complex control systems. I had been intending to go with Kirby's Epic Yarn, but for some unknown reason it isn't out here until next year... so I'm currently pondering Super Mario Galaxy or the sequel to it. Does anyone have any opinions on whether one would be better than the other?

I was also considering Scribblenauts or Super Scribblenauts for something a bit different, but she's dyslexic and not great with spelling and I'm wondering if it'd just irritate her.

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We started playing finally New Super Mario Bros Wii with my wife during the weekend and it's so damn awesome to play when you are not playing it alone!

It also helps if the co-op player who is playing with you is totally excited about the game. I have some others that are not so fun to play when the other one isn't as excited as you are about it...

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Castle Crashers, for sure. Had my girlfriend over this weekend and we had an absolutely blast with this game. I don't know why I've avoided it for so long, myself.

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I'm currently pondering Super Mario Galaxy or the sequel to it. Does anyone have any opinions on whether one would be better than the other?

Neither, the co-op is terrible in these games. The second player controls nothing but a pointer as they sweep it around the screen trying to pick up some star bits. The first player is Mario, jumping around being awesome. Bad balance there. Go with New Super Mario Bros Wii, as everyone is equal in that co-op mode, and it's a lot of fun on top of that.

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Neither, the co-op is terrible in these games. The second player controls nothing but a pointer as they sweep it around the screen trying to pick up some star bits. The first player is Mario, jumping around being awesome. Bad balance there. Go with New Super Mario Bros Wii, as everyone is equal in that co-op mode, and it's a lot of fun on top of that.

I have since learned exactly what the Galaxy coop entails and it does sound awful. That said, I've also heard that Super Mario Bros. Wii absolutely ruins friendships because there is collision between players?

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