Our list of the best co-op Xbox 360 games offers you some team-based action which cooperative fans crave. Whether you’re playing co-op with friends who’re by your side or in their own dwellings, or whether you’re playing with completely random folks from another corner of the planet, there’s no denying that it’s always fun.
This lineup might share some titles with our recent collection, but being an Xbox 360-specific archive, it is guaranteed to proffer owners of Microsoft’s console with hours and hours of good old co-op action. The following are some of the most mouth-watering delicacies ever to have been cooked up by developers, to be played with more than one controller.
1 – Borderlands:
Released back in 2009, this title still holds significance today purely due its overtly splendid gameplay. Gearbox Software has taken two much loved genres – FPS and RPG, and whipped up a stylish role-playing shooter which surely deserves a mention in this lineup. The entire campaign can be played cooperatively, with two-player split-screen support for offline play and four-player support for those with online or LAN connections. If not for anything else, you need to play Borderlands in order to ready yourselves for its sequel which is coming this October.
2 – Halo Reach:
Few games have managed to reach the zenith of the first person genre as effectively as the Halo titles have. Halo: Reach came in 2010 and blew everyone away with its complete gaming endowments. Aside from an exceptional campaign, this game has in it multiplayer mechanics to die for. The whole story mode can be played cooperatively by up to four players. You can either choose to play split-screen with one of your friends, or jump online to find someone to fight by your side. The game also kicks in a Firefight mode which allows you to team up with your buddies in order to take care of waves of enemies.
3 – Portal 2:
With a full-fledged co-op campaign kicked into it, Portal 2 is not just one of those games which have you playing in co-op mode only for the sake of it. The story of this mode continues from where the single-player campaign concludes and involves assuming control of two charming robots named Atlas and P-Body. From there on begins the fun-filled journey that has some really brain-teasing puzzles for you to solve cooperatively. The title features two-player support for online, offline as well as LAN play.
4 – Guitar Hero 5:
Now here’s a title which is a must-have for all you music buffs out there. Guitar Hero 5 isn’t even half as fun when played individually as it is when you have an entire band to boast of. Released in 2009, this fourth title in our roster will have you shredding riffs, hitting high notes and beating perfect rhythms in no time at all. You can call upon your friends to have a full-blown gig over at your place or you can hop online to find someone who’s ready to join your band. With a choice of eighty five pre-loaded tracks and God knows how many more available through DLC, Guitar Hero 5 definitely gives you your money’s worth.
5 – Resident Evil 5:
With RE6 gearing up to hit the scene later this year, there’s no better time than right now to get your dose of Resident Evil 5. With somewhat similar mechanics to the ones in its predecessor, RE 4, this game manages to whip up a treat for all co-op fans by letting them play the full campaign cooperatively. Either online or offline, two players can drop in and drop out anytime during the game, as they slaughter the humanoid enemies that swarm the gritty neighborhoods of a fictional town in Africa.
6 – Gears of War 3:
That Gears of War 3 rendered a brilliant campaign which gave a fitting farewell to the much loved trilogy is a no-brainer. But for all those out there who prefer playing games with someone by their side, it also tenders some neat co-op offerings. Without making it evident, Epic Games has created a story mode wherein, at every point of time, four players can jump into the action. For those who don’t quite enjoy playing online, there’s even support for two-player local co-op. And as if that’s not enough, the Horde and Beast modes also deliver decent cooperative experiences, making this entrant a worthy pick for our list.
7 – Left 4 Dead 2:
Well, you just don’t need to worry about the awesomeness of a game when Valve is at the helm of development. Left 4 Dead 2 was the studio’s second outing with the L4D franchise, and it delivered every bit of co-op brilliance as the earlier game, if not more. Two players can hook up locally or four players can link up online or via LAN in this drop in/drop out extravaganza. Teamwork forms such an important part of the title that at times, it becomes pretty difficult to survive without the help of your partners.
With that we end this catalog of the best co-op Xbox 360 games. Be sure to try out all of them if you relish cooperative gameplay.