Over the next few months there are quite a few games coming out with some interesting co-op modes included. This blog is mainly just to gauge some feedback from the community, and I will be making individual blogs for each of the games, close to their release dates. While I will only be playing on PS3, feel free to exchange your gamertags for your platform of choice in the comments section. Or, if you prefer, make your own blog for your platform of choice (and game of choice), and I can post a link to the blog in question.

The games are listed in order of release, starting with a game that's actually out tomorrow in the United States...

The Darkness 2

I've just been watching the IGN live stream for The Darkness 2, and the co-op mode (called "Vendetta") looks like a lot of fun. This is 4-player co-op, and basically consists of a lot of shooting, and gruesome kills, just what The Darkness 2 is all about. Staying out of the light is what makes "The Darkness" come to life, and each character also has their own unique ability/weapon.

Release date:

07/02/12 (U.S.)

10/02/12 (Everywhere else)

SSX

In SSX there are two different types of multiplayer, Global Events are real-time races where you will jump straight in, I'm not entirely sure if you can invite friends or not, but the "Explore" mode looks to solve this. Explore is a single-player mode, with multiplayer elements. You'll explore mountains and try to set the fastest time, the highest score or survive for the longest, depending on the mode you chose. Then, a ghost of your run is uploaded for your friends to compete with. If you beat a friend's time, you can earn some in-game cash, but if you lose, you have to pay out to that player. So, if you have some good run times/scores, you could turn on your system to find some extra credits for your character.

Release Date:

28/02/12 (U.S.)

02/03/12 (Everywhere else)

Mass Effect 3

Mass Effect 3's multiplayer has received a lot of criticism from fans of the series, saying it will make the single player experience more diluted. The vision that Bioware has for the multiplayer makes me think the opposite though. The fact that the co-op missions are integrated into the single-player fiction, and can affect your game in a seemless fashion is really excellent. Let's just hope Bioware get this right. I doubt I will be picking up ME3 until the end of March, as I am currently still playing through Mass Effect 2, and funds are tight at the moment with all these releases!

Release Date:

06/03/12 (U.S.)

09/03/12 (Everywhere else)

FIFA Street

While FIFA Street will have the usual mode, where the player will take on a full team, and battle it out against another player, EA have also confirmed that there will be the option to make your own team, with the player controlling one individual team-mate. I am very interested in teaming up with 3 other people, and taking on others from all over the world. If we had enough people on here who were interested, we could even get a myIGN league going.

Release date:

13/03/12 (Worldwide)

So now you've seen the list, let's get some feedback. There is also Syndicate, which has 4 player co-op, but I doubt I will get this until late March/early April. In May Max Payne 3 will also be hitting the shelves, and the multiplayer looks very fun indeed.

If you have read one of my previous blogs, 2012: A Gaming Odyssey?, you will know that there are many games on my radar for the coming 12 months. This Friday I am purchasing my first retail game of the year, The Darkness 2. So I decided to list my top 5 games for PS3 so far, and see how much the list changes by the beginning of next year. I would love to see other people's Top 5's in the comments below, or even make your own blog about it (just make sure to send me the link please!)...so let's get started.

5. Borderlands

Exploring, looting, and shooting bad-guys. Too many hours have been spent doing these things in the world of Pandora, and while the scenery and combat got a bit repetitive after a while, this has definitely been one of my highlights of this generation. Knowing that 2K and Gearbox have taken all the criticisms from the first game on board for Borderlands 2, I'm sure this time next year, Borderlands 2 will sit in my top 5, as a bigger and better game than it's predecessor.

4. Heavy Rain

I know a lot of people will disagree with this choice, but for me, Heavy Rain was one of the best stories I have experienced in years. Yes, some of the voice acting was pretty bad, and some people just see it as a load of Quick-Time-Events, but for me it was so much more. The suspense of knowing Shaun's son was somewhere out there, the thought that he could even be dead by the time you reach him, and the twist which reveals the killer...all these things made for an extremely tense story, which had me on the edge of my seat for the entire game. I knew I was going to love this before I even bought it, as I was a huge fan of "Fahrenheit" for the PS2, which was made by the same people. Now I'm just hoping that Quantic Dream can out-do themselves again, without the 4 1/2 year gap in between, like before.

3. Grand Theft Auto 4

I believe that GTA4 could have been number 1 in my list, and that GTA5 will be number 1 this time next year, if we start to see some more San Andreas-style customisation. This is what lacked for me in GTA4, everything else was perfect, but there just wasn't that sense of "this is my character, nobody else's" that you got in San Andreas. Whilst I was playing GTA:SA, me and my friends would always be asking each other "What car have you got? What rims/paintjob? Is your character fat, or buff?" but the only time we really spoke about GTA4, was to ask "What choice did you make at the end?", because apart from that, there wasn't much else to talk about, apart from "this game looks amazing". GTA5 is set in Los Santos, within San Andreas, let's just hope Rockstar remember what made GTA:SA so amazing.

2. Mass Effect 2

 Although PS3 players didn't get to experience the first iteration in the series, if you purchased the game new, you received an interactive back-story. This is where my Mass Effect adventure began and I'm still enjoying every second of it, whilst highly anticipating ME3. I've never experienced a game where I am happy to not be in action, just wandering around the Normandy, talking to my fellow team mates. I could easily talk about Mass Effect for hours, with it's many choices and the vast galaxy that is begging to be explored. It was a very hard decision to pick from this, and my choice for number 1.

1. inFamous 2

inFamous 2 brings everything I love about video games in to one place. Brilliant fast-paced action, mixed with an awesome storyline, tongue-in-cheek humour, and some superhero badass attitude to top it off. I recently earned my Platinum Trophy for this, and I almost felt a bit sad to say goodbye, to what feels like an old friend. Cole's relationship with Zeke was one of the aspects I enjoyed most, as it develops from resentment (after Zeke betrays you at the end of inFamous), to Cole realising where Zeke's true loyalties lie. One line sticks out in my head, when Zeke says to Cole "I don't just call you brother cos' I like the way it sounds". To me, this relationship was what I wanted to see develop more than anything, even more than destroying "The Beast".

My 1st playthrough was continued from my original inFamous save, where I was a good Cole, and this got the ending I wanted. Having said that, I really enjoyed my evil playthrough of inFamous 2, but the ending was far from what I wanted Cole to turn in to, and it also ended with the demise of two of my favourite characters. When I think back to the inFamous series, I can't help but wonder what Sucker Punch can pull out the bag next.

Hope you enjoyed my countdown, and remember to let me know all your top 5's, and any thoughts/criticisms you might have on my choices.

PEACE!

The Playstation Store has had a lot of sales on recently, and seeing as I am waiting patiently for The Darkness 2 and SSX next month, I decided to take advantage of some of these savings. Boy, did it pay off...

Please note that these are all available on PSN, but I have also listed the other platforms which they are available for.

Crysis

Also On: XBL & PC

This was something I had been waiting for since 2007, when it was originally released on PC. I'm a sucker for FPS, but it's only games like Crysis which will keep me hooked. The vast landscapes, variety of weapons and attachments, freedom to approach the mission in which ever way you want, these are all things that make an FPS complete in my opinion. This game is almost perfect to me...saying that, there are some frame-rate issues from time to time on the PS3 version, but it doesn't put me off in the slightest, due to the fact that there's so much to love. Nothing can beat the sound of your sniper rifle echoing between the mountains and watching your clueless target fall to the ground 250 metres away. I picked this up when it was half price (£7.99), having said that, I would happily pay the full price for this masterpiece (£15.99).

Oddworld: Stranger's Wrath HD

Also On: The original game is available for PC and the 1st Xbox. The HD remake is currently a PS3 exclusive.

This one brings me right back to my childhood. Me, my friends and my brother would sit around for hours playing Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee & Abe's Exodus on the PSOne, passing around the controller, trying our best to find a way past the next screen. Then, I thought I had lost Oddworld forever, on the Playstation at least. Both Oddworld: Munch's Oddysee & Oddworld: Stranger's Wrath came out for Xbox, end of story. Well until recently that is, 4 days before Christmas the Playstation community got a lovely present in the shape of Stranger's Wrath HD. I had never played this or Munch's Oddysee, so I was really pumped to go back to the quirky Oddworld, and make some new childish memories. The people behind the Oddworld franchise, Oddworld Inhabitants, have announced that Munch's Oddysee is getting the HD remake treatment for PS3 also, and should hit the store sometime this summer. I picked this up at 30% off (£6.99) and it is still currently at this price on the UK store (pick it up before Monday if you want it, that's when the sale ends!)

Outland

Also On: XBL

This game is amazing. There, I said it. I would easily put this in my top 5 side-scrollers of all time (a blog I am planning on writing very soon!) I liked this game ever since I played the demo last year, but it sort of went off my radar as there were a lot of retail games distracting me at that point. It wasn't until Sony's "12 games for 2012" sale that I remembered how much I loved that brief demo, and decided to pick this up for the cool price of £3.84.

Sideway: New York

Also On: PC

This one has a bit of a twist, it's a side-scroller that allows you to transfer around corners (watch a video of the game in action to truly understand what I mean), as you are stuck to the wall like paint, literally. It has a catchy soundtrack and a beautiful art style. Definitely worth a look if you like the occasional light hearted side-scroller.

Rochard

Also On: PC

Last, but not least, is Rochard. While this is another side-scroller, there is a lot of fun to be had by all in this game. You have a gravity-gun, as you can see in the picture above, and later on John Rochard also acquires a "Rock Blaster", which is a sort of laser gun. The ability to cut out the gravity also comes in to play a short while in to the game, which leads to some very fun puzzles.

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So there you have it, a short insight in to the games I have been playing recently. While none of these are actually on sale any more (apart from Oddworld), I believe they all deserve the full price, after having spent some time with all of them.

What are your favourite downloadable games right now? Or even your favourite downloadable games of all time? Let me know in the comments below

PEACE!!

Let's start by telling you how I got this cat, as he is a very new addition to the household still.

3 weeks ago me and my friend were out in his car and had stopped in the car park of the football pitch and kids playground, which is at the end of my road. We had stopped so we could check what voltage spark plug he needed to buy, to replace his broken one. We had music playing in the car, and just over the top of the music I could hear a crying noise, it sounded like a baby fox crying (we have foxes that live in the bushes across the field from my house, that's how I know how a crying baby fox sounds. I'm not a baby fox murderer, don't worry). I turned off the music, got out of the car and had a look around. I could still hear the noise, but couldn't see anything. After a minute of looking around I gave up and went to sit back in the passenger's seat. As I opened the car door, I looked down and saw a tiny brown tabby kitten staring back up at me. He was shivering badly, sneezing loads (it couldn't have been more than 5°C that night) and one of his eyes was completely closed up, it almost looked like he had lost his eye at first. I picked him up, sat in the car with him on my lap and got my friend to drive me back up the road to my house.

His second day here.

This kitten had been abandoned, it was very clear. You can sort of see from the picture how bad his eye was, he was very skinny and he had a strong smell of petrol on him. I suspect he had been hiding under cars to stay warm. We have kept a look out for signs and posters about missing cats, but none are describing him. We have been taking him to the vets, he has been on anti-biotics to help his cold, and has been taking eye-drops twice a day up until a few nights back. Let's just say he definitely has his energy back, in fact I've never seen a kitten more hyper than this one. Our other cat "Binky" does not always like this...

"I'm gonna eat you, fool!"

The kitten is completely fine now, his eye has cleared up, he hardly ever sneezes and he smells nice (well, as nice as a cat can smell). We don't really have a name for him, I call him "Dewy" cos' he reminds me of the kid from Malcolm in the Middle. He seems to have this fascination with sitting on people's shoulders.

He just wants my headset...

OK now let's move on to the part where the cat turns in to a sneaky ninja and completely trolls me. He loves anything warm, especially my Playstation. The first thing he does when he comes in to my room is check if the Playstation is on, or if it is still warm. Every time I move him, he just climbs straight back up there and sits on it. Quite annoying.

"Mmmm I love Playstation..."

So yesterday he was sat on it, I didn't mind too much cos' I was just downloading my new PS+ goodies from the PS Store. I went downstairs to get a drink and when I came back up I noticed a black strip along the bottom of my TV. This black strip was advertising the TV's features, with little boxes popping up showing you stuff, and every time I tried to get rid of it, it kept popping back up after 10 seconds. Very annoying. Eventually I found an option that said "Demo mode" which was on, so I turned it off. This fixed the black strip, so I no longer had to be constantly reminded that I have all these features blah blah blah...I then noticed my picture had way too much contrast, so I fiddled around with the settings to get them how I like it. I booted up Skyrim and was happily playing, when all of a sudden my screen went black for a split second, then when it re-appeared the settings had been reset...again. OK I'll be honest by this point I was pissed.

All I wanted to do was play Skyrim in my settings, without it resetting every few minutes!! I then decided enough was enough, and started searching the internet for a solution. Eventually I did find one, to turn Demo mode on or off (on a Samsung TV) you have to press one of the volume buttons, then hold down the menu button for 10 seconds (on the TV, not on the remote).  FINALLY, it was fixed. The picture was resetting every 15 minutes, in case someone was playing round with it in-store and they set it to some bad settings. The thing is, the settings it was resetting to, were awful. I wouldn't want to buy that TV if I saw it with those settings on. Nice one, Samsung. Also, why isn't there just an option in one of the menus that says "Demo mode: On or Off?", why does it have to be some secret code, which took me over an hour to find?!?! BAD SAMSUNG!

so much right now.

(to the song by Kelis "I Hate You So Much Right Now")

So....Dewy must have lent on those buttons when he was stretching out or something? I don't quite get it myself. It took me 2 hours to get it all sorted...wow...but I suppose I know for the future now, and so do you if you managed to read the whole thing!!

WATCH OUT FOR TROLLING NINJA CATS, THEY WILL PISS YOU OFF.

While this hasn't really affected me directly, I still feel that something has to be done about this as it is obviously bothering a lot of people on My IGN, especially some of the female members. The most I have had to put with is fake developers/celebrities annoying me on the comment sections of certain articles. No biggy. But when I hear of female members getting obscene comments on their wall daily, this is rather disturbing. On any other social media network, this would be dealt with instantly, whereas we just have to put up with it.

So...this is another plea to the lovely people at IGN, give us more moderators, and let them have more power! I know there are a lot of people that I follow who would be great moderators. They post thoughtful articles, and spend a decent amount of time interacting with other members. PLEASE IGN, rectify this problem before people start to get so infuriated that they just give up, as that would have a lasting impact on the community if we start losing our members, whether they are constantly active, or even if they make 1 post a month.

TROLLS BE GONE!!