best console for online co-op with gf.
polycounter lvl 14
Hi guys, bit of a weird topic, but I figure I could try asking here:
Me and my girlfriend live in different countries since I moved to London. She's decided she wants to pick up a console to play games against me since that's more fun than just skyping, and she's seen me play online against my friends with Xbox Live. So she mentioned buying a 360...
Thing is, she doesn't like violent shooting games and, it seems like pretty much all the online coop games are like this for Xbox!
Now I was thinking in the direction of a Wii, due to some people here being crazy over Monster Hunter Tri (she says that looks fun). But then my friend tells me Wii online play is pretty sad...
So my question is: what would be our best choice? A console (her laptop is a tiny netbook, so pc is out of the question) that has a decent selection of female-friendly games. No Gears, Halo kind of things, but she would be ok with fantasy themes (she played WoW for a short while). Being able to select a female character is a huge plus lol.
I'm afraid we're gonna struggle to find more than a few games for Xbox (I can think of Portal 2, Viva Pinata), we want to do this for about 1.5 yrs till she's finished her studies. Wii seems terrible on the MP front (no voice chat) and I don't want to have to fumble with crappy UI all the time.
any advice ?
Me and my girlfriend live in different countries since I moved to London. She's decided she wants to pick up a console to play games against me since that's more fun than just skyping, and she's seen me play online against my friends with Xbox Live. So she mentioned buying a 360...
Thing is, she doesn't like violent shooting games and, it seems like pretty much all the online coop games are like this for Xbox!
Now I was thinking in the direction of a Wii, due to some people here being crazy over Monster Hunter Tri (she says that looks fun). But then my friend tells me Wii online play is pretty sad...
So my question is: what would be our best choice? A console (her laptop is a tiny netbook, so pc is out of the question) that has a decent selection of female-friendly games. No Gears, Halo kind of things, but she would be ok with fantasy themes (she played WoW for a short while). Being able to select a female character is a huge plus lol.
I'm afraid we're gonna struggle to find more than a few games for Xbox (I can think of Portal 2, Viva Pinata), we want to do this for about 1.5 yrs till she's finished her studies. Wii seems terrible on the MP front (no voice chat) and I don't want to have to fumble with crappy UI all the time.
any advice ?
Replies
EDIT:
it's for PSN as well. Yeah, go with ps3? it has Fat Princess
Even though you said no shooters L4D is quite a casual sort of game or am i just chatting sh*t? :P
Your looking for games like N+ maybe thats quite a nice one, What about Saints row, as much as that has guns she could literally just have fun running people over or flying vehicles?
GTA is another one that i found myself hardly ever shooting in, Minecraft for Xbox, if its out yet, urmmmmmm is MAgicka on XBox i can't remember, urmmm if i think of anymore, FAIRLY useful suggestions ill be sure to tell you about them no matter how bad :P
Sorry to cut this short... in a hurry.
I guess my point it, there are plenty of non-violent games for the xbox, but you have to look a little harder.
Later I brought down my old SNES and we had tons of fun playing games like Mario Kart and Kirby Super Deluxe. I think Nintendo still do really well for creating fun, casual co-op, but yeah if the online is poor, then oh well... If she gets an xbox, maybe you should look into kinect games as they tend to be more focused on the casual market? Or else theres loads of fun approachable games on xbox arcade and indie.
I know there's a stigma attached to WoW if you haven't played before, but it's become so casual friendly now that the 'hardcore only' attitude is more or less irrelevant now. I'm one of the few who seemed to have had a healthy relationship with the game for the few years I've played, and I still really enjoy it, you can jump on for half an hour and mess around for a bit, or you can have an intense 5 hour session.
Obviously that's gonna be on a PC but I've found there's so much to do in MMO's (crafting, PVP, quests, dungeons etc) that there's something for everyone... including girls
Just some notes:
-It has to be online! That's the whole point, some things suggested here are splitscreen, but that's not of much use to us!
-Zombie stuff like L4D is an absolute no, she gets nightmares from just watching me play those games.
-pc MMO stuff is not that appropriate I think, we just want something for an hour or two every evening + I really prefer not to sit in front of the PC after doing that at work all day.
Most of the best casual download games are on both systems. Settlers of Cattan is something we play with my brother.
In person she loves playing the Mario Bros game with me. She loves playing Little Big Planet with her friends (I personally really dislike that game).
We also do the occasional fruit ninja, and scrabble on the iphone.
My boyfriend has an Xbox, I have a PS3. I think you could find good choices on either.
I'm going to try to list these games from least intense to most intense. One thing that was hard for me when I started playing online is other people are so good, when a controller isn't second nature to you yet, this can be very frustrating and make the whole thing feel like a chore (I felt this way a few years back trying Gears of War and Halo) That being said, a little practice and it won't be intimidating anymore.
- Lego series of games (the one I have only has local co-op, though)
- Little Big Planet (great game, great online co-op, cuteness overload!) - PS3 Exclusive
- Rachet & Clank All 4 One (this is a solid choice, probably the most suited for what you are looking for)
- ModNation Racers (Mario Kart-esque, online co-op, fun customization) - PS3 exclusive
- Rayman Origins (I've only played the demo, but this is awesome co-op. Don't know if it's only local play though
- Might & Magic: Clash of Heros - this random choice has hands down become our favorite co-op to play. Easy for someone new to games, my roommate is addicted as well (she refuses to play any other game I own). It's more like a board game, but the strategy can be really addictive and fun. Don't underestimate, try the demo!
For me, I don't mind violence that isn't excessively gory, and the things I mostly didn't like about shooters were: 1) the learning curve, 2) inability to see things sneaking up on me made me really anxious. If you think your gf may feel the same way, here are some more games that I've enjoyed. It helps that they tend to have great stories and play out more like movies:
- Assassin's Creed Series
- Uncharted Series (closer to a shooter, of course, but the parkour elements and cutscenes might make it worth it. Would not recommend the online play for starting out though)
- Skyrim (She likes fantasy!)
- Final Fantasy
- L.A. Noire
- Soul Calibur Series
Note that not all of these are co-op...but my bf and I have had a lot of fun "competing" to get through a game, unlock certain trophies, etc. on our seperate playthroughs. We've also skyped and played single player games at the same time. Sometimes to make a game special we promise only to play it with each other.
Sorry for writing a book, I hope some of it is helpful at least! I'll try to add more as I think of them, I know I'm forgetting some of the very first games I played on xbox that would be good "gateway" games :P
-Renegade Ops
-Army of 2 (one of my fav coops)
-Kane and Lynch (also one of my fav coops)
-Red dead redemption
-Racing games are awesome (I like the new need for speed, the run)
Some of the most fun co-op I've had.
ps3 xbox pc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yKQIYs-s6gA&feature=related
So her dad just said he's giving her his old 360, so that's pretty much decided!
Kemny, great post, very helpful! Nice to hear that you eventually got into it. Too bad so many of your suggestions are for ps3..
Slipsius, while i really like those games (especially renegade ops) she really won't be into them. Racing might work though, but I generally find those games not to have much lasting appeal in MP.
Trine 2 is a great suggestion, looks perfect and I know one of my female friends loved the first one.
tried different games after that, Plants VS Zombies worked for a bit, don't know if that works online though? co-op I mean..
Worms Armageddon might be her favorite PS3 game though hehe
it's simple enough I guess.. blow the shit out of each other
Splosion Man is a must.
Castle Crashers is a fantastic choice for online co-op. Castlevania HD might be a little 'hardcore' in difficulty, but is another good "pick up and play for a bit" online co-op game. One or two of the Final Fantasy games are online aren't they?
Crimson Alliance is a good hack and slash that can be very casual on lower difficulty levels. Maybe a little gory though? The first game I ever played with my Fiance was Mortal Kombat Deception though (her choice, she kicked my ass), so I guess that's a matter of perspective.
D&D Daggerdale is co-op online (diablo esq fantasy hack and slash/rpg). Ms. Splosion man is co-op I believe.
Rockband has online multiplayer, if you're into music games. Hm...Final Fight Double Impact is some fun oldschool arcade beat 'em up action that you can play online.
I know these are all available for 360, many are probably also on ps3 though.
I hear ya, and I agree. The single reason I'm not more into PC gaming is because to me, as a kid growing up with NES and a Gameboy, gaming is about lounging on the couch, not in an office chair at a desk 6 inches from your screen.
Which is why we play MMO's on laptops! I've got a middle of the road laptop and it handles WoW / Rift just fine. The reason I think an MMO is a good choice over other game types is the longevity and persistent gameplay. You say you want to occupy yourselves for 18 months... That's a lot of games to find assuming they each take 8 - 10 hours to play through. With an MMO, you have all the content you need for as long as you like.
I recommend you at least give it a shot, I think you'll both love it!
Another good XBLA is "Trenched." Its a 3rd person mech real time tower defense. Its does have lots of shooting but you can dress your character up in fancy outfits. I have heard girls like that.
Definitely. My girlfriend gets the urge to try playing games with me every now and then, but shooters and the like are a little too complicated for her to control, so we'll occasionally pick out a few XBLA games.
She really liked Castle Crashers, so maybe give that a shot.
My GF doesn't like (and isn't very good) at shooters but oddly out of any game she has played Boardlands the most.
I wish another Baulder Gate would come out
god, i've had some good ass times playing thru Baldur's gate co-op!
Gf -> wife
wife lokation -> your location
=> "coop play" = sex
otherwise you can always hit some crappy coop flash games on facebook
I would agree, but since it wasn't mentioned, I was assuming he didn't have one already, which would be a hefty investment to buy one for both of them
XBL is one of the reasons I don't use my xbox anymore. They've tied almost everything to it.
It doesn't matter though. He's already said she'll be getting an XBox for free, so it's a done deal.
And XBL cost really is not that bad: I buy 12m cards on eBay for 35 euros and I can buy one for her as well.
I think we'll start building things up a bit, keep the more difficult controls for once she gets used to it (like diving straight into Portal 2 will be too hard for her).
Super Mario Kart is probably the best entry (and non-entry) level co-op games!
Check out
http://www.co-optimus.com/topgames.php
Would be fun to browse the list with your gf and check out which ones you're both interested in use that to sway your decision!
Portal2 is certainly a fun co-op game, but relies so heavily on reflexes and fine motor skills, so probably best to wait a bit before jumping into that. Its a bit of a mind fuck to someone that isn't used to moving around in 3d space.
Trine 1/2
Mr./Ms. Splosion Man
Castle Crashers
Fable 2/3
Schizoid
Viva Pinata
Rock Band
Gatling Gears
Lego Series
Lara Croft Guardian of Light
Portal 2
Worms Series
Burnout Series
Guitar Hero
N+
Looking back on the list, it's seriously barebones. I'm surprised more non-violent games don't have online components.
Ever consider minecraft?
That is a generally easy game to process for a netbook.
Hell even something like gmod or synergy.
Lost planet 2 is a great game to play. It isnt too violent since its the typical "shoot until HP is 0" until the enemy explodes into orange goo.
It should be nicely priced now too since the game is a little old.
Fable 2 even.
Only success so far is that she loves rayman origins which is really fun. The slapping eachother part really helps. Going to try little big planet next
Dungeon Siege I / II / III
Castle Crashers
Lara Croft and The Guardian of Light
Fable 2
Trine 1 / 2
Titan Quest (+expansions)
Sacred 2
Titan Quest / Dungeon Siege 1+2 / Trine are the PC games but they're great fun and don't require a heavy spec