I recently acquired The Adventures of Cookie & Cream for PS2 which, in addition to having a title and box that will probably make cashiers snort under their breath, is the best co-op gaming available on the PS2. It has fun times written all over it, and it’s from the happy pre-9/11 world (2000).*

I’m writing about this prematurely, since I have yet to experience the full-on awesomeness. It’s a co-op game in the purest sense. You don’t even need two controllers, you can just snuggle up close to someone and grab half a Dual Shock. Of course, this isn’t for everyone, so 2 controllers is also an option.

One person controls the character on the left, one controls the character on the right. Either side can affect the other with various devices, so they have to cooperate to get through the level. Usually, this involves communication and anticipation skills. It’s kind of like Lost Vikings, except in real time with other people. And you can’t stop for long, since the whole thing is timed.

You could maybe play it by yourself if you had your corpus callosum severed. I tried. However, I proved to be no split-brain patient.

It’s probably the most fun I’ve ever had in co-op, based on a preliminary run of about 12 levels with my girlfriend. I’m just waiting until I have a whole evening clear to get through this. It’ll be great.

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Completely unrelated sidenote: Project Pwiiorder was a success. I camped out in front of a GameStop for an hour and a half to be number 7 in line. Good times.
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* Read everything else, then come back to this footnote. I made an almost-sarcastic 9/11 reference at the top. It was fully intentional! I mean, where have games like this gone to? Fun, cute, really light on plot, engaging… Sorta reminds me of Pocky and Rocky. I mean, if game makers are going to abandon this style completely because they are over with it, I wanna go find another hobby.

Tanuki challenge time: name a game, published after 2001, that fits this mold. The key words are straightforward, cute and fun. Genre and platform are not important. Sky Gunner would be a good example, except it was published in 2000 in Japan, therefore it was developed pre-9/11.