Well, looks like hell chilled over a bit, seeing as I finally got the urge to blog about something. I’m sure it won’t last long, but I’ll take what motivation I can get and run with it.
Co-Op gaming, remember those days? I’m not talking about the one and two player gaming that gives your little sibling an excuse to harrass you about letting them play, I’m talking about the three or more player action that used to happen in the arcades and later trickled into some of the home consoles. These were the games that were all about watching each other’s backs and surviving long enough to see the end boss (with as little quarters as you had jingling in your oshkosh pockets). Even mere strangers became your comrade in arms as soon as they chose their characters and joined the good fight with you. That’s the Co-Op gaming I’m talking about.
So what started all this musing and flashback? This nifty little trailer (yes, I’m behind, I know that already…) that I only happened to catch recently:
Feast your eyes upon simplicity in all its 2D goodness. Back in ye olde arcade days, it wasn’t about the 360 degree views or the myriads of buttons to press. There was a time when punch, kick, jump, and three or four other players were all that was needed to have a good time, reveling in defeating a boss together and arguing at routes to take. It didn’t take much skill (just a lot of quarters) and even the youngest of gamers could mash on the buttons and still be a pretty useful companion in the fight against evil.
I remember first feasting my eyes on the X-men arcade machine. Five players working together, strangers standing side by side. Sure, I’d end up getting stuck with Dazzler, but this was a time when crowds would gather, lines would form, everyone knew their turns and would walk up when the last quarter was used up from the player at the joystick.
Standing in such close quarters, elbows bumping against each other, even being stuck next to two huge guys wasn’t daunting, especially when I was too engrossed at having nabbed a chance to play Nightcrawler. Besides, I had to prove that maybe I could move The Blob.
That’s when my eyes noticed that there wasn’t just the X-Men machine. There were all sorts of superhero games cropping up that gave you a chance to play as one of many. Invite your friends to be the Justice League Avengers (Big Thanks to Co-Optimus News on this catch), or take on a bigger enemy as Spidey and friends. You didn’t have to suffer alone at the hands of the bad guy, because at any moment, someone could jump in and bail you out of that last bar of health getting wittled away.
And you weren’t just forced to spend your time as a super hero. Because you weren’t having to worry about graphical limitations or view points and whatnot, you could just go nuts on the genre and theme. Like westerns where you didn’t even have to resort to just punching and kicking. Gunfights and horse riding were just some of the goodness added to the mix:
Check out the Cowboys of Moo Mesa (top piccy). It was little more than a Saturday morning cartoon show, but the cartoon to game adaptation wasn’t something to cringe at. It was fun and simple. Take main characters, toss’m in a sidescroll beat’m up, and Boom! Sure the stages were repetitive, but it was all about being able to play with your friends and be the posse. The best Co-Op cartoon adaptations, and some of the most memorable, have to be both The Simpsons and Ninja Turtles.
The Ninja Turtles was an excuse to play as your four favorite turtles, constantly hi-five, and shout out stuff like Cowabunga every so often (without getting beat up for doing so… well, at least not too badly).
And the Simpsons, hoo boy, how priceless was it to have Homer power up on Donuts then going on a random knuckle down clobbering spree, Marge smacking baddies with a vacuum, and remember the double team moves? Sure, you could play the game by yourself, but you’d miss out on the awesome double team smackdown, like the Bart And Lisa clothesline, or father and son shoulder-ride pummeling. And the mini-games that pitted you against each other as a change brought just enough competition in-between to make for such a fun and addictive game.
If it wasn’t cartoon adaptations then there was even some history thrown in. I remember the Arthur and his knights type game, Knights of the Round, or the asian ones that were Monkey King-history inspired.
There were no restrictions to what you could beat up together or who played as to beat them up. Captain Commando had a ninja, a mummy, and some baby in a robotic machine. Can’t get any more diverse than that!
Well, maybe you could. I mean, even Michael Jackson had his own Co-Op game, and no one could deny, that for all its cheese, camp, and eerie children saving, the game was more fun the more Michael Jacksons were involved (disturbing thought, isn’t it?…)!
We were social gamers at one point. The worst we could be taunted as were being portrayed as the geeks in the dark arcade room. But at least it wasn’t the idea of the lone gamer in grandma’s basement; we were many in the glow of the machines. We made friends, not through a headset, but by taking up a joystick and hoping to last long enough to see the end boss, score the final blow, side by side. These games had teamwork written all over it, and people would communicate strategy, routes, and there was almost no hesitation at showing even the new kid what buttons to press and when to do that special to get the whole group from being overwhelmed by the dozens of incoming pixelated foes. There were no random expletives being yelled through some headset forcing you off your game for wanting to strangle that person at the other end. At least, if there was an argument, it was more likely yelling at the guy who took the last health power-up pizza while at full health.
So where is it now? Even though arcades are slowly dieing, you’d think in this day and age, what with all the super wide screen televisions to accomodate more than two players, that these kind of Co-Op games would be rampant and everywhere.
Remember the four player adaptors that, as a kid, we had to scramble and try to beg the parentals to buy just so we could invite a bunch of our friends over to play the four player stuff? Remember Guardian Heroes? That game was compatible with a six player adapter! Not content with just two or three extra buds to play with but you could have up to five other players join in to wreck havoc on your bitty television. Having your friends over was worth the squished gameplay you had to squint at on your screen.
The squinting shouldn’t be a problem anymore with the size of screens coming out. It doesn’t even need to be 3D, just give us some high quality 2D artwork (see the new SFIV and SNK fighting games releasing), there should be no graphical excuses. And what with four player controllers being a staple with the PS3 and 360, why restrict their uses to just FPS games and racers?
There’s a reason stuff like Rock Band feels a lot more fun when you’ve got the rest of your friends there to look goofy with you, and games like Buzz still have some sort of following. It’s because you’re not restricted to just you plus guest (which half the time is replaced by some computer-controlled NPC). You get to have your girlfriend, her best friend, and that friend’s boyfriend play with you, nevermind they have no idea what they’re doing and just mashing buttons left and right. Sometimes it’s not about competition, and you just wanna have fun together without getting the testosterone boiling against each other (which will end up in someone getting kicked out of the house or a controller being thrown).
Seeing Castle Crashers reminded me of that fun time, and its making me want more. Sure, I can easily be the central hero in any ole’ story, but how about some friends along while we’re at it? If we’re lucky, we have more than just one who want to tag along, and it’s not as fun being the third wheel watching in the sidelines as it is being the third in the team watching the other two’s backs.
And Kudos to Little Big Planet. It’s not the same kind of beat’m up I’ve been writing about, but it does encourage more folks to get together and play with some teamwork, near or far.
Here’s hoping that Castle Crashers inspires other developers that social gaming doesn’t have to be restricted to FPS and MMOs and that teamwork isn’t just about cute little Pikmin. Now, how about a new Final Fight game? And don’t go messing it up like you did Golden Axe…
Similar Posts
- Downtime For Gamers
- 10 Cartoon Intros You’ve Probably Forgotten Or Haven’t Watched
- The Value Of A Game
- MMOs – Features and Foibles
- A Short Vacation Into Hello Kitty Online’s Founder’s Beta
