When you mention the throng of co-op games available for Xbox 360, you usually get giddy with excitement. After all, a great assortment of these games let you work alongside friends towards a common goal, whether it’s blowing the Locust Horde to hell or having a field day jamming out with friends. But let’s say, just for the sake of argument, you didn’t have access to an online connection. Are you out of luck when it comes to playing multiplayer games with your friends? Hardly. There are a number of games for the Xbox 360 that let you compete with (or work alongside) others without the need of an internet connection. So, just to keep you on the safe side, we’ve got our favorite local co-op/multiplayer games. Pick up those four controllers (or more, if the game supports it) and have yourself a party.
Marvel vs. Capcom 3/Super Street Fighter IV/Mortal Kombat: Ask any given fighting fan what the best way to take on opponents is in a fighting game, and most of them will agree wholeheartedly that the answer is “locally”. We’re talking two people going at it, sitting side by side (or playing next to a cabinet), with real trash-talk going on as they pound away on each other. With fighting games (like the ones mentioned above), the problem with playing online is that you’ll sometimes run into lag, which can ruin the response time from your character or your opponent’s. Offline, we have yet to experience such a problem. So, yeah, grab your favorite game and get to smacking someone around.
NBA Jam: Remember when NBA Jam first made its debut in arcades back in the 90’s? The best way to play was to grab three of your friends and stack up in the multiplayer cabinet for a night of basketball hoopin’ and high-flying dunks. Well, you can relive those days again with the 2010 release of NBA Jam, which is now budget priced around $20 thanks to the release of the XBLA On Fire Edition. This version does just as well, thanks to local multiplayer and plenty of faithful arcade action, just the way you remember it from the good ol’ days. Now that’s something to boomshakalaka about.
The Lego games (Batman, Indiana Jones, Harry Potter, Star Wars, Pirates of the Caribbean): Travellers Tales knows that there isn’t a huge lobby full of gamers waiting to play a Lego game alongside someone through Xbox Live. That’s why their games are best built for local enjoyment, usually amongst family members or friends that don’t mind goofing off and destroying stuff. In fact, most Lego games released these days, including the recent arrival of Lego Harry Potter Years 5-7, rely heavily on local co-op teamwork, rather than an iffy cable connection. The results work better than you think – especially when you’re playing one of the better Lego games, like Pirates, Batman or any of the Star Wars games.
This feature top list continues on the next page, please click Page 2 below to read on for more top Xbox 360 co-op games.
