Couch Co-op – A Fond Farewell

Welcome back to the final instalment of Couch Co-op. It’s with a heavy heart I bear the news that it will no longer appear on the interwebs. That’s not to say that I’ll be gone but it’s more of a greener pastures sort of situation.

It would only be fitting to end on the same note that started it all: Halo. The very first co-op experience I had that I vividly remember is with a friend playing Halo: Combat Evolved. It was the catalyst for a lot of the decision I would later make in life. Who would have thought it would all have started in Blood Gulch.

Halo has and always will be the ultimate co-op game for me. It was the first series of Blockbuster games in which the sales were meeting and beating that of hit movies. It was a great time for games and the start of a lifelong obsession. At first I was very very bad. I can’t explain how much I lost. But that wasn’t a deterrent. I was with my friend and that’s what mattered. We had gone through the campaign together and now I was dying by his hand.

There was an excitement to it. Sure Halo: Combat Evolved was not the best in the series but it was the start of something beautiful. A universe not to lose yourself in but to form relationships. In Halo 2 you found allies within the covenant and your co-op counterpart was a character from the game. Halo had evolved in many ways since the first installment. Xbox Live was, well… live and the co-op experience had just found a new realm on console. Online team games called for a synergy to be present amongst you and online friends. There was an unspoken code, a mindset that lay deep within truly understanding your partner. Yet it never quite compared to going splitcreen.

As Halo developed with each iteration, so did the level of co-op. You could even grab a friend and create your own maps and game modes. The cooperative aspect also expanded to four player co-op in the story mode. It went unrivalled and smashed records at every corner. It was a series that I became attached to. Even amidst the rise of horde mode Halo enabled you and your friend to take on the endless evils that besieged you every round. In Halo you were never alone.

Now we have Halo 4. It’s the perfect middle ground for those who loved Halo 3 and Halo: Reach. Co-op still remains and it is better than ever. Within the first week of release I sank roughly 30 hours in and was still jonesing for another game at the end of the night. Eyes droopy and mouth agape but I’d be damned if I was putting the controller down any time soon. The community instilled in Halo genuinely is indescribable. The cooperation between players has seen the formation of leagues, new matchmaking playlists and game modes. Some of the most cherished maps and game types were the brainchild of friends mucking around in custom games.

Halo 4 is most certainly in its early days but I can’t help but get excited at the thought that a series I thought lost has found new footing. There are secrets to find and games to be played. Levels to create and boundaries to smash. Go out explore the universe, just don’t do it alone. Couch co-op isn’t just a blog, it’s a way of life.

Thanks for tuning in. Keep it co-op.
Ryan.