Two Players, One Console, Cooperative Play?

boredme asks: "With the free time I'll have this summer, I thought I'd get in some quality couch-potato time. I'm married, no children, and our Playstation2 is nice because it can be both more interactive than TV and more social than a computer since it's in the living room. The problem is that the vast majority of two player games are sports or arena fighting games that only allow confrontational interaction; since I have a dozen extra years experience gaming, these competitive games get old very quickly for both of us. What suggestions for cooperative, (not online) multiplayer games do the Slashdot folks have?" Along a similar vein, the Gauntlet games (available for most platforms) offer similar opportunities for co-operative play, but no other titles come to mind right now. What co-op games do you have fun with that you can play using a single console?

"The perfect example of this is Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance. The whole game, with storyline, can be played through with one or two players alike. Others, like Jedi Starfighter, are close as they offer a small set of two-player missions that are distinct from the one-player missions. (Googling for this, by the way, has turned up very short lists at best.)

I'm primarily interested in PS2 games, but I still want to know what XBOX, GameCube, or even PS1 or PC games in this category are available. I'd even like to hear about sports games that offer a cooperative mode, or games not yet released."

Comments

Cookie and Cream

[metamatic]

Cookie and Cream on PlayStation 2.

Two cutesy Japanese-style bunnies must race up the screen before the timer gets to zero. Various obstacles and puzzles get in their way. The clever bit is that each player needs the help of the other--for example, one player might have to push some logs through the wall to the other side, where the other player can then jump across a river using the logs.

Re:Cookie and Cream

[N0decam]

Absolutely. My wife and I enjoyed playing it. Some of the puzzles were a little beyond her ability though, so we frequently swapped controllers so that I could do a frustrating part for her.

SSX/SSX Tricky are also favorites around our house. My wife races down the mountain (and frequently beats me) while I try to do crazy tricks. Not really co-op though.

She also enjoys "playing" graphical adventures with me - ie, helping to solve the puzzles, if not actually controlling the character on screen. "Escape From Monkey Island" is one that we really enjoyed together.

If you want to go back in time, try out "Chew Man Fu" for the TG16, which is the video game that got my Mom hooked on playing video games (she's 52 now, and addicted to Hot Shots Golf 3) Good co-op mode there, but a little hard to track down ;)

Jedi Starfighter for the PS2

[shayborg]

I own Jedi Starfighter for the PS2 and its cooperative mode is one of the better ones I've played. Most of the time you and your partner control two different ships but on occasionone of you is the pilot and the other is the gunner on the same ship. Definitely very cool.

-- shayborg

Re:Am I the only one

[realdpk]

Am I the only one, who is terrified, by the comma use, of the Mensa member, commenting on, social activities, in today's era?

Not in time for summer...

[x00101010x]

At E3 (electronic entertainment expo) the big thing in the nintendo area was cooperative play.
No use to the author since but for cube owners (preferably with a few GBAs and link cables) it'll be great as soon as these hit the market (i think a few were targeted for christmas release).
There were 3 that stood out to me...
A pacman game where 3 players control ghosts on the TV in pretty 3D and a 4th player controls pacman on his/her GBA.
A legend of zelda: wind waker spinoff called Tetra's Trackers where 4 players play competatively in scavenger hunt type missions (for the first few levels at least). I don't know if there may be some cooperative play (a la mario party) later on, but the games are simple enough that the playing field is pretty even for veteran gamers and newbies alike.
And a new Final Fantasy game that's kind of diablo like gameplay for up to 4 players. All cooperative and played with GBAs plugged into the cube with status screens/menus on the GBA.

No good for sony users and not in time for summer, but something to look forward to. Seems like cooperative play may be the next big thing (from what I saw from the heavyweights at E3).

Re: monopoly

[lightspawn]

Tonight my wife and I are going to pickup a box of Monopoly from Toys R Us and/or a jigsaw puzzle.

NOOOOOOOOOO!

What is it with you Americans and Monopoly? Each year, hundreds of new board gamesare hoping for a little exposure, a little space on store shelves, and you keep buying Monopoly simpsons edition, Monopoly star wars edition, Monopoly yourcity edition, monopoly golf... Stop it stop it stop it stop it stop it! It's not even a good game, for crying out loud! Please just stop it! Or would you rather give Hasbro more money for domain disputes?

The perfect fix

[xenocide2]

I'm married, no children

I'd even like to hear about sports games that offer a cooperative mode, or games not yet released.

I know of a game that some would consider a sport, definately cooperative, and is probably the only way to remedy the lack of children. I don't think its been released in stores, too many security cameras ;)

Re:Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance

[Goldberg's Pants]

(about the most painful thing you can think of happened)

You caught your penis in your fly?