Scary What A Little Teamwork Can Do

Mad at your girlfriend yet? More importantly, is she mad at you? If she's anything like my girlfriend she absolutely is! Though that may not have anything to do with Friday's Competitive Choice. So, without further ado, let's go ahead and get cozy with each other again with a co-operative game.

Why Can't We Be Friends?:
Resident Evil 5
What's great about this game is it is built with co-op, not only in mind, but as a necessity. The story follows two government agents investigating a disturbance in a small village in Africa. Not far in we discover the inhabitants are not revolutionaries but semi-zombies (hard to explain, easier to accept while playing). You play through the levels sometimes splitting up to take alternate routes or multiple paths but more often than not you stick together, protecting each other, healing each other, sharing ammo and solving puzzles that aren't too mind-numbingly difficult. You can upgrade your guns' damage, accuracy, etc. and balance your weapon selections with your partner's ("I'll use a shotgun for close quarters, you bring a sniper rifle"). The game has great visuals, an intriguing, if not altogether solid, story, and, a nice bonus regarding this game? The enemies slowly shuffle towards you in an attempt to bite you, making lining up a headshot a piece of cake for all you first timers. It's also one of the few games that allows you to play as a strong female lead character. AND SHE'S BLACK! How P.C. Well... I mean we DO have a black president after all. It's about time.

Here's a snippet of the co-op action at work, item managment, buddy healing and overall gameplay. Goose bumps!




If she's tired of running and gunning through Africa there is A LOT of extras in this game. A mercenaries mode (which you could tackle co-operatively) where you fight your way through a timed area, numerous collectibles, costumes, and two levels of dlc that are about an hour to an hour and a half each. Great production values on those and both a steal at $5 each. I've only purchased one (Lost in Nightmares) but it was well worth my hard earned (...seriously) cash. I picked this one for the feature this week also because, like SoCal 4, there are a few characters who forgot their safari outfits at home and brought... interesting attire (to say the least). Enjoy it ...or taste revenge as a surprisingly appropriately attired Sheva (female protagonist). You can pick this one up at NewEgg.com for $30 or used at BestBuy.com for $20. There's also a Gold Edition available that includes all the dlc! You can pick that up at Amazon.com for $50. ...just buy the dlc on Marketplace though (via Xbox Live).

My 360's pissed I'm away today and, therefore, didn't play anything. If you read it, Yowzah1 is KS' dad and for some reason my 360 is hypercompetitive with him. ...huh.