In 2009 Konami and Activision put out Guitar Hero Arcade, a co-op rhythm game which allowed players to work together to complete a song of their choosing or the two players could fight each other in the battle mode with each guitarist striving for a higher score.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.
In 1998 Time Crisis 2 launched as the first in the series as a two-player arcade rail shooter where two players would go through levels with slight differences allowing each player to cover each other and utilize the environment to create cover.
The games had broader consoles to allow for four sets of controls.īeat 'em up games like Double Dragon in 1987 and Final Fight in 1989 introduced a type of game where both players would work in tandem to clear out all of the enemies and proceed to the next area and ultimately the final boss. Gauntlet (1985) and Quartet (1986) popularized co-op four-player gaming in the arcades. The run-and-gun shooter genre was popular for co-op games.
could be played as competitively or cooperatively depending on the players' whims. Two-player games of Nintendo's Mario Bros. while Williams Electronics' Joust encouraged players to alternatively compete and cooperate by awarding bonus points for co-op play in some rounds (Survival Waves) while alternatively awarding bonuses for attacking the other player (Gladiator Waves). Wizard of Wor offered solo, competitive two-player, or cooperative two-player gaming. Several early 1980s arcade coin-op games allowed for co-op play, but typically as an option. As its title suggests, the game involves a large fire truck, and in two-player mode both players are required to cooperatively steer the vehicle along a winding road, with one driving and steering the tractor of the truck and the other steering the tiller for the rear wheels, controlling the swing of the trailer. Co-op play was later featured in another Atari coin-op, Fire Truck (1978). The first video game to feature co-op play dates back to 1973, with Atari's arcade video game Pong Doubles, which was a tennis doubles version of their hit arcade game Pong (1972). 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. Some games such as Mario Kart Wii and Call of Duty's co-op modes allow 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. Example for such games include the Left 4 Dead and the Payday series.Ĭo-op games can be played over a network via a local area networks or wide area networks, such as in the Destiny and Borderlands series, while other co-op games can be played locally using one or multiple input controllers, with It Takes Two as an example. Other co-op games are designed for cooperative gameplay, with each player taking a special role in gameplay, or alternatively take advantage of having multiple players in an impactful way on gameplay. Examples include beat 'em up games such as Double Dragon, Streets of Rage, and Die Hard Arcade.
In its most simple form, cooperative gameplay modifies the single player mode of a game, sometimes with broader modifications to the story and gameplay. 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 (PvP) or deathmatch.
( December 2021)Ĭooperative video game, often abbreviated as co-op, is a video game that allows players to work together as teammates, usually against one or more non-player character opponents ( PvE).
Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.