Wtitten by ibleedv20
Omnilinkit.com

Games evolve quickly as compared to other forms of media and entertainment. Just go back three years to cod2 and a bit further to cod1. The differences really are astounding. From DX7 to DX9,The blended Ragdoll physics of COD4,The Rank,challenges and perks systems and of course the coop gameplay of Codwaw. Go back and play them and see if you agree. The only thing that hasn't changed much is the MP server experience. About the only related change is Treyarch relying on Microsoft to police the main server that enforces the ranks and challenges system. So what about where our game is headed ?

The evolution of coop is in it's early stages as concerns COD and the MW franchises and IW takes no chances when it comes to introducing new elements of gameplay. We can thank Treyarch for taking all the risk in the coop arena. If treyarch is the shortstop to the cod series then IW is the right feilder surveying the landscape and taking that long fly ball before attempting the perfect throw to home plate. Coop is the real deal or IW wouln't be including it in MW2. Did you know Gears of War for PC was bundled with a complete level editor and all the tools required to make co-op work in a mod. The truth is IW is way behind the curve as far as the industry is concerned.The coming offering of 2 player coop in Special Forces mode is a warm up and if it were not for the excellence of their basic gameplay IW might be losing entrants to the game right now. If you ain't leading you ain't winning and a tie game catches up with someone in the end.

So far the community as a whole has treated the Treyarch coop introduction with a certain amount of disdain and some have ignored it completely while holding fast to the MP experience as the premier element of gameplay.Actually coop bridges the gap between the casual and the hardcore gamer and is going to be a staple in the series from here on. I am of the mind that at this time and forever forward there needs to be a portioned focus on coop with healthy critical feedback to the developers as to the quality of the coop product. It is my guess that we will be seeing a transition to a heavier reliance on coop for increasing game sales. The influx of new young gamers attracted by the coop mode will put pressure on developers to put more emphasis on it.

As coop evolves it most surely is in the direction of total integration into the product. It is not unthinkable to imagine it being the primary focus. Cooperative gameplay is the natural progression from MP to a more intimate type of gameplay where teamwork is more thoroughly expressed. The optimum number of competitors per side is 4 to 6 much like CEVO. It doesn't take much of a leap of imagination to envision a few of these elements of gameplay being accepted in the cod community

Weapons and ammo swapping

Medical assistance,healing and healthpack swapping

Physical assistance, boosting and the like.

The forward looking game LFD blurs the lines between COOP and standard MP gaming.
LFD does for co-op gaming what COD does for MP combat,Anyone who has played LFD has experienced the heightened connectedness expressed through this title.And isn't this what we are all looking for in a MP experience.Cooperation pure and simple. Cooperation is the second most important factor in online play with the fist being Human Intelligence as opposed to AI.

The beauty of firing up Nazi Zombies with my son sitting next to me on a LAN could only be improved by us being able to challenge another lan or players in a different locale to a game of S&D. The point here is that all the possibilities that lie ahead seem to point to the greater integration of more sophisticated coop gameplay. When my son and I play LFD we have no problem connecting to the LFD servers while being on the same network. In addition My son can play as one of the infected while I stay in my comfort zone as a survivor all the while playing with others online. Imagine playing a COD or MW title while mixing up teams on remote LANs. Could it get better than that ? I don't think it does at this stage of coop. All the elements are falling into place for quality competition to take place in coop in the future.


I expect that MW2 and it's 2 player coop will perform admirably. The term 2 player coop itself is a bit dated now and has been expressed in other games like Army Of Two and many others. Hopefully IW will include connecting on a LAN in it's Special Forces Mode.The saving grace of yearly releases is that IW is already conceiving what it's next engine will do with coop. Maybe Treyarch will again run cover for IW on COD7 and lay the groundwork for the future of coop in this series once more.

The author ibleedv20 can be reached at Omnilinkit.com