Gaming and relationships can be a complicated balancing act, your significant other is determined to get you off your PS3 so you can spend some quality time together, when all you want is to dismember and annihilate an army of ravenous zombies (who wouldn’t), which in turn will lead to your wife/girlfriend, husband/boyfriend feeling bitterly unappreciated, but it doesn’t need to be like this. Why make such a conflicting decision when you could incorporate both into your hectic lives. So after many excruciating hours of tedious gaming (not really), my better half and I have chosen what we feel are the epitome of “companionship gaming”.
Portal 2
Portal 2 is the most engrossing game of 2011 thus far, and as engaging and fun as the single player mode offered, it’s the co-operative aspect that is vastly superior. Working together with your partner somehow makes the puzzle solving far more rewarding. Stopping mid-point during another excruciatingly difficult level to evaluate how to proceed, and then discussing the situation until one of you has that “eureka” moment is strangely profound. The sense of achievement the two of you experience when you’ve finally deduced the method to which to gain access to the next stage is unparalleled.
LA Noire
Ok, so LA Noire isnt multiplayer or cooperative in the traditional gaming sense, but teaming up with your partner to tackle the dark and dangerous streets of LA is almost a necessity. You can take it in turns pursuing criminals across LA, shooting them down in some explosive shootout, or one of you can simply take the helm of the more action based situations, while together you can interrogate suspects and determine by the characters facial reactions whether your perp is trust worthy. A good eye in LA Noire is a major advantage, but 4 is better.
Lego Indiana Jones
Is there a better combination than everyone’s favourite childhood toy and cinemas most iconic action hero? The answer quite frankly is No. The great thing about LIJ is the accessibility, even if you’re not an experienced gamer it really doesn’t matter. You can’t die as such, you just respawn, the levels are easy to negotiate, there are puzzles, treasure to obtain, coins to collect and many enemies to punch, kick and blow up. It’s really down to the pure simplicity of LIJ that makes this so addictive and fun, until your other half decides to “accidentally” blow you up for the umpteenth time due to the number of coins youve obtained (I’m on to you).
Marvel Vs Capcom 3: Fate Of Two Worlds
Theres nothing quite like a good old-fashioned button basher to bring 2 people closer together, especially one that doesn’t take itself too seriously. With a whole host of diverse characters to choose from and the fast paced nature of the brawls, it’s almost improbable that you won’t enjoy beating the living Hulk out of each other. MVC3 is the perfect side scrolling fighter, from the most hardened of gamers to the totally inept. It doesn’t matter how many hours youve cultivated into MVC3, you will undoubtedly find yourself at the mercy of the button basher.
Little big Planet
What can I say about this game that hasn’t already been written, not much but let’s try anyway. Little Big Planet was specifically created for multiplayer, sure its single player too but your enjoyment increases exponentially when you team up with someone else. There are so many elements that LBP offers that culminates to this being the epitome of cooperative play, the intricate levels you traverse and build, the colourful cast of sack people who you control and create, even decorating your LBP hub to match your personalities is strangely absorbing. In a nutshell, Little Big Planet is the perfect game to play with your partner.
What did you think of this list? What games would you have in your list?
