I am an Island

So I think I had a reason behind the title of this post when I typed it last night, but it was like 1am and i was half asleep and too lazy to write anything else and now I dont remember what I meant by that phrase.

.....

Wait...I think the Aliens are signalling my brain....
Oh happy day! I remember now!
Co-op
That's what it was in reference to, Co-op.

So as you are aware, I LOVE games. While my main Genre is probably RPGs, I don't limit myself to one category. If its good, I'll play it regardless of genre.
Now, RPGs are for the most part single player and that's just fine with me. I don't think I want someone roaming the Mojave Wasteland with me besides Boone.
But, I'm not the only player in my house that games. I am perhaps the one that games most, but everyone plays games pretty regularly.

One thing we like to do on occasion is game together. Whether its just 2 of us or 4 of us (yeah one of us always gets left in the cold...its a clear indication of who we like least...kidding). The problem is that Local or "Couch" co-op games are hard to come by.

I understand the big thing is online Multiplayer, but you know what? I don''t want online multiplayer. I've had a gold subscription for 2 years now and I've used it less than a handful of times. I mean, its a great thing, connecting with others around the world and all but, what about connecting with the people in your own household? I feel that Multiplayer isn't just dominating the single player experience, its killing local co-op.

Currently I see a trend of CHECK OUT THE MULTIPLAYER AWESOMENESS!!! oh and for you lonely losers, here's some single player we threw in so you'd stop whining.
now i'm not saying all games operate this way but the trend is growing.

Not only is it hard to find a good co-op game, most co-op games have "strings" attached.
Example: Dungeon Siege 3. You can play Co-op but, the second player cant save, can't accept or change missions and you dont get to keep any of the loot or levels you acquired throughout the game if you are the second player. Its frustrating to be the second class citizen. To me, drop in/out co-op isnt true co-op, its limited and frustrating.

Another prime example is Resistance Fall of Man. My husband and I were thrilled to know there was co-op. We shall kill ugly thingies with big guns together! What wasn't so fun was discovering that player 2 was just...there. No name, no story, nothing. We played once,we've never played again.

I want my "real" co-op back. Like, Champions of Norrath. I can't count how many times we've played that. We both have names, and collect loot and our characters are saved and i can take my character and start a new game with her and there's all my sweet sweet loot. Marvel Ultimate Alliance, much like Norrath, 4 of us can play it together and each of us is an individual with personality and dialogue specific to each one.

Then we come to one of the biggest games in our house, Borderlands. LOVE the hell out of Borderlands, everyone plays it, we own 3 copies of the damn thing. My beef? its probably minor to most people and its something that Borderlands 2 will be implementing and that just guaranteed the purchasing of 2 copies on day one....Split Screen Co-op....but not on System Link.
Why oh Why can't my husband and I play splitscreen in our bedroom and team up with a split screen duo in the living room? No. only 2 people can play system link, This was really disappointing to me.

My newest annoyance is Saints Row 2. I've been wanting to play for a while and when my son found out it was co-op he wanted to play with me. So we get the game out yesterday and....oh no, he can't co-op with me in the same damn machine because he doesnt have XBL Gold. WTF? Why? Why do I need to pay another $60 on top of my $60 and what I paid for the game to play with someone sitting right the hell next to me. Same thing with Dead Rising Case West.

Is this some perpetuation of the lonely gamer stereotype? I game therefore I must be all alone and can only play with others if I connect online with them?

About the only games we can all play together in the same room are music games...or Castle Crashers...and as much as I like both, I'd like to have more choices.

And yes, I am aware there are a few co-op games, Re5, L4D, Splosion man, Gears and a few others but, it seems couch co-op is dying slowly and I don't like it.

One game that has me in quite a pissed off Tizzy is Castlevania HD. I blame myself for it partly for blinding purchasing it. After all, if its Castlevania, it has to be awesome. Man was I wrong. I played it once and only once and hated every minute of it. But of course everyone tells me, "Its only fun in Multiplayer". First off, I should not be getting a gimped single player experience, that's a crock of shit. Second, What if I want to play with someone in the same house as me, not online...then I'm SOL.

But, PS3 is getting Castlevania HD and it has....couch co-op. So why wasnt this implemented in the first damn place? I have to fork over another $15 if I want to actually be able to play with my husband or my kids.

I'm not knocking Multiplayer. If you like it, go for it. But I dont think its much to ask that you A.) Don't make the single player campaign utter shite because you couldn't be arsed to put effort into it because you were too busy perfecting multiplayer. And B.) Please acknowledge that some of us have significant others, friends and children we would like to share our gaming experiences with, while they're in the same damn room as us.

We can only play so much Splosion man, Castle Crashers and Dynasty Warriors before they become studies in tedium.

And while I'm at it..Why the hell does Dynasty Warriors Strikeforce NOT have friggin split screen co-op? Dynasty warriors 4-6 do..oh and 7 kinda does, but 7 also kinda blows so I like to pretend it doesnt exist.