A decent split screen co-op game (and gaming with your partner)

[Beagle 2]

My girlfriend announced the other night that she fancied getting stuck into one of those video games they have these days. The only games I've ever seen her play are the original Mario Bros games on the NES, at which she's pretty shit hot, but other than them she's a stranger to the control pad.

I want to get a shooty (Xbox 360) game we can play together cooperatively, and was looking for suggestions. The simpler the better to be honest. The perfect game would have been the Serious Sam HD remakes, but from what I can work out there's no split screen? A friend recommended Left 4 Dead 2, but it looks a bit dull and over-complicated for my beloved, and y'know, fucking zombies basically.

To open it up a bit, do you play with you partner? Does this draw you closer together, or have you come to fisticuffs over a red shell on the last corner?

[lazarou]

Note that if she genuinely hasn't played anything beyond the odd bit of Mario, the twin-stick controls of contemporary action games may be a real hurdle for her. I've tried bringing a couple of non-gamers onboard who just couldn't get their heads around them at all, it can take quite a bit of faffing around staring at walls and swearing until they start to feel natural.

[Beagle 2]

Yeah sure, that's why I'd like something pretty uncomplicated, and something where we can work together and she won't sleep with somebody else as revenge for me repeatedly shooting her in the face.

[madhair60]

I would suggest DooM or DooM 2, both on XBLA with local co-op.  When you die, you can instantly respawn at the start and race back to where you were.

Also, it isn't shooty, but Castle Crashers, perhaps?

[checkoutgirl]

[Zetetic]

To open it up a bit, do you play with you partner?

Sonic and All-Stars Racing Transformed (which isn't really 'shooty') and Analogue: A Hate Story (which isn't anything like what you're looking for).

[mook]

i know you said shooty games but portal 2 is fun in two player, well when i say fun i mean it can lead to arguments about things like "but you said go left! and now you say THE OTHER LEFT WHAT LEFT DO YOU WANT?" "STOP JUMPING UP AND DOWN!" , "stop bloody waving at me." and "are jumping into the liquid stuff just to annoy me now?"

yeah, so get that.

[ThickAndCreamy]

Also, it isn't shooty, but Castle Crashers, perhaps?

I'd also suggest Castle Crashers. A fantastically fun and simple game to play on multiplayer.

[Thomas]

Timesplitters: Future Perfect has always been good fun on multiplayer, whether on 'story' or just malarking about in a deathmatch thing.

HINT - Use a 'sci-fi sniper' in the snowy deathmatch level and you can pretend to be a Dalek, because the scope is blue. I haven't played on Timesplitters: Future Perfect for a few years now.

[mikeyg27]

Gears of War? I played that split-screen with my brother. It's significantly better in co-op than single player.

[syntaxerror]

If you want a decent shooty game with simple controls, stay in 2 dimensions and get Metal Slug 3.

[madhair60]

However, if you want an excellent shooty game with simple controls, get Metal Slug X.

[syntaxerror]

3 is best

[madhair60]

no it isn't

[Cold Meat Platter]

is it 3 or 2/x that has ZOMBIES?

[madhair60]

is it 3 or 2/x that has ZOMBIES?

3

(it's either/or really for Metal Slug, I just prefer the pace of X.  3 drags on for aaages but it's well worth playing through and still great)

[WesterlyWinds]

Timesplitters: Future Perfect has always been good fun on multiplayer, whether on 'story' or just malarking about in a deathmatch thing.

HINT - Use a 'sci-fi sniper' in the snowy deathmatch level and you can pretend to be a Dalek, because the scope is blue. I haven't played on Timesplitters: Future Perfect for a few years now.

And you get to be one of X hilarious characters.

[syntaxerror]

is it 3 or 2/x that has ZOMBIES?

FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF

[Cold Meat Platter]

3

(it's either/or really for Metal Slug, I just prefer the pace of X.  3 drags on for aaages but it's well worth playing through and still great)

Ah yes, X is the egyptian one isn't it? Both utter quality, as is 1. Krom bless you MAME and your easy configuration of arcade sticks.

[eluc55]

New Super Mario Bros. Wii and Wii U are both co-op mario games where you play on screen at the same time with up to 4 players.

In single player, and compared to the best Mario games, they're pretty simple and unoriginal... but in co-op mode they're really great fun.