Remember when a two-player game meant you and your buddy used to fight the forces of evil together?

Remember games like Contra, Altered Beast, Ikari Warriors, and Life Force?

What happened to make Halo the best co-op experience of the current generation? It seems that somewhere out in the nethers of the 90s either people or developers (not that they are mutually exclusive) forgot to have fun together, without being in opposition to one another.

I understand competition, but must that be the only multiplayer option? Even in the 'Craft games by our friends at Blizzard included a you-and-your-friends-versus-the-computer options. Why is that no longer possible?

I guess I'll just go back to fraggin' my friends with my friends.