Just finished reading the (awesome!) gamespot article of RE5 co-op: http://www.gamespot.com/xbox360/adventure/residentevil5/news.html?sid=6204144&tag=topslot;thumb;3

I've never been a *huge* fan of the Resident Evil series, frankly because they were just too scary to play without friends! I remember gathering a group of my friends when RE4 came out and we all took turns with the controller, passing it when we died. It's exciting to know we won't have to share this time!

I really hope more developers realize what a great idea it is to add co-op into a game. It adds a whole new level of fun and replay value. I like playing online versus games and trash talking with strangers, but with my friends it's way more enjoyable to play and work together.

I don't get why so many people consider Nintendo a sellout. I understand that games that would appeal to hardcore gamers make up a very small fraction of games available on the Wii and DS. My question is... how is this news?

Seriously. Deep down, Nintendo has always been about the casual gamer. What they've accomplished with the Wii is basically what they were trying to do with the Gamecube, there just wasn't the technology available. Yeah, the Gamecube had lots of Zelda, Mario, and Metriod... but the majority of the games were designed for kids and/or people that didn't really identify as a 'gamer'. Mario Dance Dance Revolution was not intended for the hardcore gamer. Most of the people I talked to have really fond memories of Nintendo back in the '80s and '90s - when they were kids. Kids still get a huge kick out of Nintendo games. And Nintendo still produces the occasional, amazing, 80 hour long epic adventure. But most of the games will be meant to be played in small amounts by casual gamers ... just like they always have.

I guess I knew when I bought my Wii I would only use it to download old games, to make my boyfriend play Mario Party with me, and when I was drunk.

I'm just starting to get into the 360 achievement system. It's a great way to get players to explore every aspect of a game, and it adds lots of replay value. That said, it can also being really frustrating. I'm playing eternal sonata right now, and the majority of the achievements are only available during your second playthrough of the game. Do I really want to spend hours beating an RPG, and then just turn it around and play it again? Notparticularly. There are achievements I've seen in other games that are impossible to get without a walkthrough or extensive pre-planning. I like the idea of going out of my way to explore different aspects of the game, but I don't like the developer telling me how to play in order to unlock something. In the end I ignore those annoying achiements, but it feels like a waste. The achievement system in Fallout, for example, really helped make the game more fun and actually improved my experience playing the game. Why can't more games be like that?

Just my $.02