These franchises are arguably the most successful co-op sports games. These games allowed two players or more to play against the CPU.
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Gunstar Heroes for the Sega Genesis and the Metal Slug series for the Neo Geo were also well-received titles.Įlectronic Arts has produced key co-op sports games, including the original NHL Hockey (1991) and Madden NFL (1990) installments on the Sega Genesis. Contra, for instance, was far more successful in its NES incarnation than it was in the arcade, and is now considered one of the most popular co-op games ever. The run and gun genre was also popular for co-op games. Though most of the console beat 'em ups were arcade ports, original franchises such as Streets of Rage and River City Ransom also became popular. Most other titles featuring 2-player were head-to-head sports titles. Alternating play replaced the arcade's co-op play in the NES version (although Double Dragon II and III, for the same system, did retain their co-op gameplay).
Though consoles from the second generation of video games onward typically had controller ports for two-player games, most systems did not have the computing or graphical power for simultaneous play, leading most games that billed "2-player gameplay" as a feature to merely be the single player game with alternating players.ĭuring this early era, many video games which featured co-op play (including beat 'em ups such as Double Dragon) were ported to less advanced home systems. On PCs and consoles, cooperative games have become increasingly common, and many genres of game-including shooter games, sports games, real-time strategy games, and massively multiplayer online games-include co-op modes.Ĭo-op gaming can also exist in single player format, where the player works along side his or her previous plays in order to complete an objective.Įarly-generation home consoles typically did not offer co-op options, due to technical limitations which hindered the increased graphics required for simultaneous co-op play. Exceptions do exist, however, such as Mario Kart Wii or Call of Duty Black Ops, which allows two players from the same console to play with others online.Ĭo-op gameplay has been gaining popularity in video games in recent years, as controller and networking technology has developed. Due to the complexity of video game coding, co-op games rarely allow network players and local players to mix.
For instance, Bubble Bobble features an ending that can only be accessed when two players survive co-op mode, as do some console beat 'em up games such as Double Dragon, Streets of Rage, and Die Hard Arcade.Ĭo-op gaming can operate either locally-with players sharing input devices or using multiple controllers connected to a single console-or over a network, with co-op players joining an existing game running on a game server via a local area networks or wide area networks. This new ending is unlocked only when players work as a team to complete the game. Some co-op games include a new ending when completed in co-op mode. More complex examples exist, however, with broader modifications to the story and gameplay. In its most simple form, cooperative gameplay modifies the single player mode of a game, allowing additional players, and increasing the difficulty level to compensate for the additional players. Playing simultaneously allows players to assist one another in many ways: passing weapons or items, healing, providing covering fire in a firefight, and performing cooperative maneuvers such as boosting a teammate up and over obstacles. It is distinct from other multiplayer modes, such as competitive multiplayer modes like player versus player or deathmatch. Cooperative gameplay (often abbreviated as co-op) is a feature in video games that allows players to work together as teammates against one or more AI opponents.