Top 10 Modern Co-Op Video Games

Surprise, surprise! We’re starting off with a franchise that’s better known for single player terror. While the fifth installment lacked in this regard, it managed to be a heck of a good time in split screen! While playing through the campaign with an A.I. controlled companion was notoriously frustrating, with a buddy controlling your better half, the African Safari from hell was a memorable adventure indeed.

If two players are good, then four is better, especially with seamless drop in, drop out co-op that scoops up the attention of anyone passing by the TV. Family friendly, creative and fun, this puzzle platformer often relies on players thinking as a team and working together. Add that to an adventure packed with infinite creations derived from the web, and you got some exciting side scrolling mayhem.

Here, the drop-in 4-player platform-fest is taken to the next level. Bringing that retro Mario Bros. goodness back to the forefront, players must jump their way to the princess once again. With the addition of co-op, as long as one player remains alive at all time to spring downed players from bubbles, friends with spare lives can stay in the game. This one’s a stand out for adding cooperative elements to a traditionally single player experience, and for slightly competitive elements those bring to the table.

While you could argue that all Halo games are the perfect choice for co-op goodness, the first remains legendary, from defending the Pillar of Autumn to finally destroying the mysterious ring. Sure the second player is just an identical clone of the Chief, and no one seems to recognize that there are two of you, but the unparalleled action and ability to ride vehicles together more than makes up for it.

We’ve just established how fun a first person shooter is with more than one player in the campaign; so naturally mixing in a healthy dose of RPG elements and an immense variety of weapons was a sure to please! Choosing between several memorable characters with unique strengths and skills, players ground their way hostile wastelands on a quest for epic loot. This second iteration included more options for Co-Op play and a bazillioner more guns, what’s not to love?

What kind of list would this be without the definitive dungeon crawler for the PC? While we favor local play on this list, this is the exception since LAN and Battlenet were the tools that brought thousands of intrepid dungeon raiders to hell for over a decade. The quintessential hack and slash RPG, almost every other coop RPG to come out since has been described as “It’s like Diablo with X”. We’re looking at your Borderlands.

Science is best enjoyed with a friend! Featuring it’s own 2-player first person puzzle campaign, here, you and a buddy take on the roles of robotic test subjects Atlas and Peabody. Unlike the single player experience, the puzzles you encounter always require two portal gun-carrying testers to complete. Of course, science is a messy business, so you’re bound to destroy your partner several times over before the test is through, which seems to be just what Glados intended…

Available as a downloadable title for Xbox Live, Steam and the PSN, this throwback arcade-style beat ‘em up places four players in the roles of four multi-colored knights who must defeat a dark wizard and save several princesses. Playable locally or online, this zany medieval brawlers includes persistent experience points to keep you coming back for more and a quirky flash-game art style to hook you from the start.

Few games are as fun to play with a buddy period. Gears 3 ramped the head count to four online, while retaining 2 players local, delivering an epic conclusion to the franchise. A franchise designed for Co-Op from day one, Gears 3 drives home the harrowing warfare experience with innumerable subtle touches that help to emphasize cooperation every shaky-cam-step of the way.

Taking the top spot is the four-player zombie romp that is absolutely insane and really doesn’t let up. Building on the cooperative play of the original, this one focuses on four new survivors fighting their way through zombie-infested Louisiana, battling through cornfields, bayous and even hurricanes. A hell of a good time, you’ll and your pals scream, laugh and brutally pulverize foes all in the name of group bonding.

Agree with our list? What’s your favorite game to play with a buddy? For more entertaining top 10s, be sure to subscribe to WatchMojo.com.