Recommend some offline co-op games for me

[Clockmire]

Hey Escapist. I recently got a boyfriend who, although he doesn't play any games by himself, is trying to be interested for my sake and wants to play them with me. Which is good, except I can't really think of many co-op games that aren't fighters (Street Fighter IV, Super Smash Bros. Melee etc.etc.) or shooters/heavily shooting based (do I need to make a list for this? ). Also it needs to be offline or it kind of defeats the point, lol.

So my question is: Does anybody know any offline co-op games that aren't fighters or FPSes? I was thinking about games like Baldur's Gate which he might enjoy, but what about puzzlers, adventure/action, exploration, platformers etc.etc? Basically any kind of co-op game that is interesting or unique.

Discuss.

 

[drbarno]

You could try New super mario bros wii if you have a wii. Platformer, easy to play so any new players can join in easily.

 

[Geekosaurus]

All the Lego games are fun to play co-op. You just have to decide if you like Star Wars, Batman or Harry Potter.

 

[Clockmire]

True, I didn't think of New super mario bros. wii. That's one idea

Also it doesn't have to be a new game, in case anybody has some obscure old gems worth mentioning.

EDIT: The lego games are co-op? Interesting.

 

[Your once and future Fanboy]

I would suggest the Baldurs gate: Dark alliance games on ps2, or Champions: return to Norath on ps2.

 

[Ciran]

Mario Kart: Double Dash is fun, and the weapon thrower is good for those who are unused to the controls. Tales of Symphonia can be good, although the battle camera focuses on player 1, so sometimes it's hard for player 2 to see their character, plus overworld control is given to player 1 as well.
Other than that I can't really think of anything, though I sure there is some stuff I've played but forgotten.

EDIT: for obscure old gems, Kirby: Superstar is a really good game, with a surprisingly well done co-op. There's also a version of it out on the DS but both players need a DS and a game, so that might not be ideal.

 

[prof fleb]

Bombastic is a great game to play with friends, its a fun puzzle game for the ps2, though it is an old game and it might be hard to find.

 

[Audio]

I would like to encourage you to look into Emulators: games for the old Consoles such as Snes, Genesis(mega drive) and perhaps older. The old games are more 2player friendly in my opinion; specially like an old classic Micro Machines (fun little racer).

I cant think of many off the top of my head, but i'm sure the rest of the escapists can recommend some games if you are willing to snuggle up around the keyboard/laptop

 

[Apocalypss]

Me and my girlfriend enjoyed the coop red alert 3... why doesn't that exists in all RTS's...

 

[MikailCaboose]

The Diablo games have LAN co-op, and especially Diablo II is great for co-op. You could do racing games and the like but I don't think that counts as "co-op".
The Tales of games like Symphonia are pretty good, although the camera can bet a bit...annoying. *looks up* ah damn, ninja'd!

 

[Clockmire]

Kirby Superstar is one I had in mind, actually. Great game - do any of the newer ones have co-op/ well done co-op?

The camera issue with Tales does put me off playing that co-op, but that general style of game - where you can make progress instead of half an hour of fun playing multiplayer - is what I'm looking for.

Baldur's Gate is a good idea, I'll look up Champions: return to norath. Bombastic sounds more like a multiplayer game? Thanks for all the suggestions so far guys.

EDIT: Co-op RTS??? Awesome.

 

[Geekosaurus]

EDIT: The lego games are co-op? Interesting.

They're drop-in/drop-out co-op. Teamwork isn't vitally important, it's just a fun game you can both play at the same time.

 

[TerribleAssassin]

DJ Hero, I mean it let's you use a Guitar controller as well as mixing it up.

If not then Lego Batman, that had to be the most epic game I played.. (in a kiddie kind of way)

 

[Samwise137]

All the Lego games are fun to play co-op. You just have to decide if you like Star Wars, Batman or Harry Potter.

I love all these games but I think the best one was Batman. They seemed to nail ALL the mechanics for that one. Star Wars was glitchy, Indy was good but seemed a bit long (and definitely didn't need a sequel), and HP was frankly too confusing. Looking forward to Star Wars 3 though!

 

[Danzaivar]

Gears of War 1 and 2 are wicked fun to play with your other half. I know they're technically shooters but still...

It's interesting to see a girl trying to get their man into games through co-op. How far we've come as a social group I guess.

 

[Geekosaurus]

All the Lego games are fun to play co-op. You just have to decide if you like Star Wars, Batman or Harry Potter.

I love all these games but I think the best one was Batman. They seemed to nail ALL the mechanics for that one. Star Wars was glitchy, Indy was good but seemed a bit long (and definitely didn't need a sequel), and HP was frankly too confusing. Looking forward to Star Wars 3 though!

Which Star Wars game did you find glitchy? I've never had any problems with any of them. I haven't played HP yet but I have heard that there's a bit more to it than the other titles. I'm not the biggest fan of the Clone Wars animated series, so I'm not too fussed about Lego Star Wars 3. Plus I just got 100% complete on The Complete Saga, so I'm looking for a bit of a change.

 

[Clockmire]

I'm not outright ruling out shooters, but they need to have something other than just being a shooter, if that makes sense. Like.... Jet Force Gemini? Where you can play as Floyd and all you can do is shoot, but it's as much an adventure/exploration game as a shooter.

Oh! Maybe arcade shooter games, like Ikaruga? Although that might/would be too hard for a beginner.

Also lol @ the girl comment XD.

 

[migo]

For the time being, Gears of War 2 is unique, and it recently dropped in price (along with Gears of War). I played it with my girlfriend who even though she doesn't really care for it enjoyed playing it with me.

Snoopy Flying Ace has a split screen co-op mode, it's pretty easy to get into and also a lot of fun.

Lumines Live isn't co-op, rather competetive, but it's still something to play. I'm not sure if Lumines Plus or other versions have it.

Bomberman games are always good, particularly the older ones which are story based for the SNES.

Bubble Bobble is straight up co-op, with Bubble Bobble Neo on the 360 and a similar one on the Wii, just with a slightly different name.

Tales of Vesperia has drop in co-op play.

The upcoming Plants vs Zombies for 360 will have co-op.

Little Big Planet is big on co-op.

 

[Ciran]

Kirby Superstar is one I had in mind, actually. Great game - do any of the newer ones have co-op/ well done co-op?

Not that I'm aware of. Though I tend to stay away from the newer ones (after superstar, the ones I played were mostly a disappointment.) The new Kirby's Epic Yarn might be, but I don't think there's any hard evidence, and it's not even out yet.

 

[Samwise137]

All the Lego games are fun to play co-op. You just have to decide if you like Star Wars, Batman or Harry Potter.

I love all these games but I think the best one was Batman. They seemed to nail ALL the mechanics for that one. Star Wars was glitchy, Indy was good but seemed a bit long (and definitely didn't need a sequel), and HP was frankly too confusing. Looking forward to Star Wars 3 though!

Which Star Wars game did you find glitchy? I've never had any problems with any of them. I haven't played HP yet but I have heard that there's a bit more to it than the other titles. I'm not the biggest fan of the Clone Wars animated series, so I'm not too fussed about Lego Star Wars 3. Plus I just got 100% complete on The Complete Saga, so I'm looking for a bit of a change.

Star Wars 1 and 2 for PC. It could have been that they were not yet fully compatable with the Xbox 360 controller but Windows 7 let it happen anyway. It was no big deal. We 100%ed them anyway and they were still tons of fun.