4 Player Co-op PC games?

Rook

I'm off to a LAN with some of my friends this weekend, however there's only 4 of us and competative games tend to get a bit ugly, so I'm really wondering what kinda co-op games are there out on the PC that all 4 of us can play either around 1 PC, or 4 PCs via Lan/internet.

At the moment System Shock 2 is kinda ruled out as we've done that before. We enjoyed Alien:Swarm a lot, and like games like Swat: 4. I've got R6:Vegas penciled in, but I really can't think of much else that's come out. Is Monster Madness: Battle of Suburbia worth picking up even just for a couple of hours gameplay? And are there any ways of legally getting some old classic arcade games, such as TMNT, or Gauntlet (Curse you xboxlivearcade!).

Alternatively are there any 4 player competative games that are outside the usual FPS and RTS crowd, e.g bomberman, or something like Settlers of Catan.

Any suggestions at all appreciated really.
edit: there's probably going to be an internet connection.

Ardor

You could try some of the team game types in Unreal Tournament 2004 like bombing run or assault, I've recently done co-op Serious Sam (the first one) which was a good time. That's if you're cool with FPS.

VeritasVR

I bet a 4-player co-op game vs. 4 computer opponents in Company of Heroes would be epic.

zanetheinsane

You could get an old copy of Project Eden. It's a four-player co-op first-or-third-person puzzle/adventure/shooter-ish type game. It plays very similar to Lost Vikings in that each of the four characters has different abilities that you'll need to get through each level.

A couple of the puzzles are really obtuse and you may need to look them up, but it's very fun otherwise. You can play it with 1,2,3 or 4 players. If you have less than 4 players you can switch characters at any time and leave characters interacting with objects (holding doors open, etc).

The only thing I recommend is that you turn off the "Join while Started" option and switch to manual start. Otherwise you get very weird sync issues, even on LAN.

This game is also available on the PS2 and is 4 player but I seriously would only try it if you have a large television, as the text can be difficult to read on smaller sets.

I'd also love to see a few more suggestions. It's usually just "Diablo/Dungeon Siege/TQ" in the hack 'n' slash corner. There's also Baulder's Gate and Icewind Dale and NWN in the RPG section. Then you'll get the Serious Sam referral.

There's a small German company named LightBrain that has a game called BomberFUN. It's a PC bomberman clone but it's absolutely a riot on LAN (when it's working right for everyone).

slacktron

You can turn some multiplayer games into effective four player games by being outnumbered by bots:

The first one that comes to mind is Counter-Strike:Source ZombieMod. You'll do well at first, but the zombies get tougher and faster round-by-round. Eventually, you'll lose.

I haven't tried this with Unreal Tournament 2004, but the old UT (1999 style) worked quite well in Assault mode when we had four human players vs. eight or so bots set at reasonable level. One interesting experiment was to balance the teams with all the bots set at Godlike and see if we would help or hinder our team.

Same goes for the Battlefield games. The Secret Weapons of WW2 expansion seemed to work best because you had more opportunity for freelancing with the jetpacks and amphibious jeeps and whatnot. I think we did something like a 1:5 team ratio. It was pretty fun comparing our sick Kill/Death ratios by the end, even when we lost.

Of course, someone's gonna say Serious Sam. We only played the Second Encounter and it was all right. The instant respawning didn't make it a challenge so much as a blast-fest to get to the end of levels, so it pales in comparison to the above.

If you can stand the old Half-Life engine, then Svenmod. I pray for the day when Black Mesa becomes a reality.

There's a Far Cry Co-op out there somewhere. I couldn't get it to work on my Lan.

I seem to remember Battlezone II having Co-Op, but I might have been hallucinating.

Airan

Any RTS with co-op (Dawn of War is a particular favourite of mine, though I enjoyed Starcraft a lot in the past). Just play bots, doesn't have to be against each other.

Diablo, Titan Quest, Dungeon Seige etc, those RPGs are usually ideal for co-op sessions. Also Neverwinter Nights.

Could also try Doom 3 with Open Co-op, or Project Eden (a 2001 game, so might be hard to find), which was probably designed to be played with 4 people, what with the 4 man team working together solving puzzles and shooting mutants. I know I had tons of fun with the PS2 ver, despite horrendous slowdown at some points.

Alien vs Predator I think had co-op too. Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory is also nice if you manage to get togther in the same team.

I'm glad co-op games are now on the rise. I always enjoyed overcoming obstacles with my friends more than to fight against them.

hambone

Another vote for Dawn of War. My friends and I (all with moderate hardware) get together from time to time to do some comp stomps.

We also play vanilla Civ4 against computer opponents, but only if we have the 5+ hours of free time it would take to play a decent game.

And both games only require one copy. Just start up the game and hand off the CD to the next guy who needs it.

FreddyD

A lot of RTS games allow for team games against computer opponents but I've never actually tried them. Just off the top of my head, Sacrifice supports spawn multiplayer copies and 8 player matches. Myth TFL does too, IIRC.

brynstar

Monster Madness is not bad at all, I was pleasantly surprised by it. It uses the Unreal 3 Engine, and everything in the environment has physics properties, so it gets a little insane when the game really gets going. If you want a few hours of total mayhem and insane robotron-like play, it's pretty decent. You'd need a large PC monitor to play around one screen probably because the camera pulls out pretty far. That's the only major downside.

Sherlok

VeritasVR wrote: »

I bet a 4-player co-op game vs. 4 computer opponents in Company of Heroes would be epic.

I've done it with 3 v 3 (me and my roomates v 3 hards) and the amount of units on the screen were mind boggling, not to mention the amount of tactics we had to put together were rediculous. It was an epic night, although my p.c. beat the shit out of me later for putting it through that.


In my apartment we've always been a fan of tactical co-op games, which are always great fun. GRAW is a good one, as is the old Rainbow Six. I'd imagine vegas is a blast as well, but I can't run it, and I'm waiting until the end of the month to rebuild my computer.

If you'r looking along the lines of catan, there's always Anno 1701, which is more of a RTS, but is EXTREMELY heavy on econnomics. I never played catan, but I'm going off of what I read about it. There's also games like Worms: armegeddon which is a fun lan game, as is soldat (although that's not really co-op)

Firebrand

I think Dungeons & Dragons Online could be a lot of fun if you're a regular group who don't already know all the quests and dungeons. It's 5 quid with shipping at play.co.uk, with 30 days of gameplay included. After that it's monthly fees.

EDIT: I should mention, there's a 10 day trial for DDO at trial.ddo.com.

Also, Civilization IV and Anno 1701.

MengerSponge

My friend and I play tons of Shadowgrounds. I don't know what genre of game you'd call it; it uses the overhead view like Neverwinter Nights, but is essentially a shooter very reminiscent of the Alien movies. There's a free demo and the full version on Steam for, I think, $15 (demo's only 2 levels and doesn't take too long, full game is about a dozen). You can do up to 4 players all on one screen, although we've sadly only done 2. If you use 360 controllers, everything should work great. The story is obviously just enough to give you a reason to shoot aliens, but the multiplayer is amazing.

bombardier

Man, I just played some Rainbow Six: Vegas co-op and it's fantastic. Coordinating ambushes and stuff is a fucking blast. It plays pretty much like I think Gears of War does, but I've never played that. Either way it's a perfect LAN game!

Waka Laka

SWAT 4
Operation Flashpoint
Armed Assault
Sven Co-op
Rainbow 6: Raven Shield and Vegas

annnd... yeah I don't really know many co-op games besides shooters...

Inzigna

I think this thread is pure genius, for I have been looking for co-op games to play with my bro over LAN for ages.

We've only really considered WH:40K, and since System Shock 2 works only on my laptop and not his [dual-core, for some reason we would never get it to work], FPSes are out.

By the way, it'll be nice if people would state whether two different copies are needed, or if one copy is all it needs to run the game. It seriously blows if we need two copies, some games just aren't worth that much for a few days of good gaming.

Thanks.

Evangir

Play an Ironman game of Diablo. Fun will be had by all.

Suriko

Battlefield 1942, Co-op, Iwo Jima, you and your buds on axis and enemies on allies. Set enemy:friendly ratio through the roof and 64 max players.

Attempting to hold the island, then slowly falling back to multiple defensive positions, and then finally making a last stand on the hill (where there's ammo, medpacks, bunkers, a tank, 2 AA positions and a coastal defence gun) never gets old.

zanetheinsane

Or storming Normandy as the allies!

Inzigna

Evangir wrote: »

Play an Ironman game of Diablo. Fun will be had by all.

Elaborate.

Evangir

Inzigna wrote: »

Evangir wrote: »

Play an Ironman game of Diablo. Fun will be had by all.

Elaborate.

You enter the dungeon and never leave. Town Portals are not allowed. You can only use what you pick up, and you can only repair by using a Warrior's repair ability. I've played it with perma-death before, but for a LAN that might not be so much fun.

Captain K

Ironman, hardcore Diablo was, eventually, the only way to go. Once you had seen everything the game had to offer, you had no choice but to create your own challenges.


I recommend it strongly. Just make sure anyone using spells or bows knows that they can kill you with friendly fire, or you might end up at each other's throats!

Haikira

Heres a small list of games I've played with 4 players on lan.

SWAT4 - Not too much lasting appeal to this one, but its a real laugh with friends. you can have up to 10 players i think (but it really feels like it was made for about 4) , at the start of each level you get a mission briefing and a rough map of the level and must pick your gear based of it. The original thing about swat is your goal is to bring down the enemies without killing them and also you get a higher score from securing weapons and reporting stuff back to HQ. I cant recommend this one for long gaming sessions but its a fun enough game.

Sven coop - I played an awfull lot of this a few years back with some friends, i don't know how well its aged. You basically run through original mini campaigns and work together defeating a large amount of enemies and solving puzzles (normally revolving around using each other to climb up areas :P). http://www.svencoop.com/

Warcraft 3 - A friend of mine collected a lot of co-op custom maps that were really fun, if i can get the names of them I'll post them up.

Edit : for competitive games outside of the norm i can recommend.

Armagetron Advanced - "Armagetron is a multiplayer game in 3d that attempts to emulate and expand on the lightcycle sequence from the movie Tron." http://armagetronad.net/

Flatout 2 - A very fun arcade styled racing game with a great physics engine, nothing too serious and a really fun lan game.

zanetheinsane

You can't play custom Warcraft III maps without playing Uther Party! It's like a Mario Party type game where everyone competes in ridiculous minigames. The authors did some very creative things with the map editor and there are TONS of minigames so it doesn't get too stale.

Waka Laka

Did anyone mention Carmaggeddon 2 yet?

Yeah Carma-fucking-geddon 2.

zanetheinsane

Yeah, for Carmageddon 2 get a good set of cars and make sure everyone's installs are exactly the same. Crazy shit like the Turtle Van, Batmobile, and the GMC Bus make it extremely fun. The Airport was a good level simply for getting the Batmobile + speed powerup + indestructible/heavy powerup and then ramming 747s across the map.

Interplay and SCi need to come back and give me a proper sequel.

DisruptorX2

Carmageddon multiplayer is indeed more fun than should be legal. I heartily third that suggestion. Also, sequel.

Cosmic Sombrero

You could play either of the Baldur's Gates, I suppose.

Mr_Grinch

Isn't Carmageddon 2 only IPX compatible? I had a helluva time getting it up and running!

Glal

DisruptorX2 wrote: »

Carmageddon multiplayer is indeed more fun than should be legal. I heartily third that suggestion. Also, sequel.

It's a shame the 3rd game was such crap. You really need to try to break a concept that fun.

GMaster7

I support a lot of the ideas seen here, including your own; stuff like R6:Vegas will work well for you guys, and people have been recommending some great options - Sven Co-Op represents some of the finest multiplayer gaming I've ever had, but it IS old and MIGHT not have aged particularly well. I don't remember it being very... polished at the time, so looking back, I don't know. Civ4 is a good option (when's that expansion come out? - looks ridiculous)... Or you guys can all grab an MMO for a few nights, or Diablo (+II), maybe head over to the Defense of the Ancients (DotA) thread (W3 mod) and read about that.

All this being said, when the HELL does Left4Dead come out? I'm really hoping that it redefines co-op gaming, as it claims. Shakycam footage and a link to impressions? Yes please I could really get into this whole teamwork kind of thing.

Oh, and speaking of, if you have Steam, there are plenty of options there. Playing stuff like CS online against others (or bots!) while on the same team, or trying Defcon... These games come recommended from prior LAN experience.

Rook

Thanks for the suggestions guys. We've been lanning together since about '95 so we've gone through a lot of the older games, but there's been some great suggestions so I'll see what we end up playing and hopefully report back a bit on what's hot and what's not.

Sq

MengerSponge wrote: »

My friend and I play tons of Shadowgrounds. I don't know what genre of game you'd call it; it uses the overhead view like Neverwinter Nights, but is essentially a shooter very reminiscent of the Alien movies. There's a free demo and the full version on Steam for, I think, $15 (demo's only 2 levels and doesn't take too long, full game is about a dozen). You can do up to 4 players all on one screen, although we've sadly only done 2. If you use 360 controllers, everything should work great. The story is obviously just enough to give you a reason to shoot aliens, but the multiplayer is amazing.

++

This game is like a top-down contra, but with better graphics, great use of lighting, more weapon types, upgradable weapons, and up to four player co-op. The downside is you all play at the same PC and everyone uses USB gamepads (though player one has the option of keyboard + mouse), but it's still smashing good fun. 360 controllers work great as above, otherwise USB gamepads are $10 at walmart. And the "everyone sits at the same PC" annoyance can be mitigated by using a projector (see if you can check one out from your school or library) or by using dual monitors in clone mode.

Airan

Sq wrote: »

This game is like a top-down contra, but with better graphics, great use of lighting, more weapon types, upgradable weapons, and up to four player co-op. The downside is you all play at the same PC and everyone uses USB gamepads (though player one has the option of keyboard + mouse), but it's still smashing good fun. 360 controllers work great as above, otherwise USB gamepads are $10 at walmart. And the "everyone sits at the same PC" annoyance can be mitigated by using a projector (see if you can check one out from your school or library) or by using dual monitors in clone mode.

Goddammit.
I was looking at that game on Steam for a while. Would've been great to play over the internet :x Guess I'll wait for Alien Swarm: Infected.

zanetheinsane

Sq wrote: »

MengerSponge wrote: »

My friend and I play tons of Shadowgrounds. I don't know what genre of game you'd call it; it uses the overhead view like Neverwinter Nights, but is essentially a shooter very reminiscent of the Alien movies. There's a free demo and the full version on Steam for, I think, $15 (demo's only 2 levels and doesn't take too long, full game is about a dozen). You can do up to 4 players all on one screen, although we've sadly only done 2. If you use 360 controllers, everything should work great. The story is obviously just enough to give you a reason to shoot aliens, but the multiplayer is amazing.

++

This game is like a top-down contra, but with better graphics, great use of lighting, more weapon types, upgradable weapons, and up to four player co-op. The downside is you all play at the same PC and everyone uses USB gamepads (though player one has the option of keyboard + mouse), but it's still smashing good fun. 360 controllers work great as above, otherwise USB gamepads are $10 at walmart. And the "everyone sits at the same PC" annoyance can be mitigated by using a projector (see if you can check one out from your school or library) or by using dual monitors in clone mode.

Yes thank you! I was trying to remember that game. My friend had it hooked up to the HDTV and we had 4 USB controllers. Good times.

HalberdBlue

Icewind Dale 1/2 have great multiplayer modes (co-op). Maybe Baldur's Gate has multiplayer too, I don't know as I never tried it (if it exists).

rayofash

Rune and Unreal Tournament have co-op mods that are pretty good, and very very long.

Also, Serious Same and the expansion.

Teevirus

Armagetron Advanced - "Armagetron is a multiplayer game in 3d that attempts to emulate and expand on the lightcycle sequence from the movie Tron." http://armagetronad.net/

Gold! I recommend this, with all of my heart. Four people around the same monitor going absolutely nutty is some of the most fun I have ever had being a nerd.

Ever!

Inzigna

Sorry to bump this thread, but I've got a question and I didn't quite know where to place it.

I'm thinking of getting Neverwinter Nights, the first one, and all its expansion packs for under 15 dollars.

Thing is, is one copy enough to fuel co-op gaming for my brother and I? And, should I be getting NWN1 for $15, or just hop over to NVN2 ? Is co-op for two good? Thanks.

eric.

Well, I played NWN for quite a while before I was bored of it. It has a great community in the sense that there are a lot of fucking custom-made dungeons and levels that'll keep you and your brother busy as shit for several months.

I've yet to play the second installment, but I wholeheartedly recommend the first iteration of the series, along with the expansion packs. For under $15, that's a bargain, considering I happily forked over $40 each for every expansion. I also had great fun with this.

Stregone

If you try Serious Sam get the Parse Error mod. Makes the game freaking insane.

Frem

Teevirus wrote: »

Armagetron Advanced - "Armagetron is a multiplayer game in 3d that attempts to emulate and expand on the lightcycle sequence from the movie Tron." http://armagetronad.net/

Gold! I recommend this, with all of my heart. Four people around the same monitor going absolutely nutty is some of the most fun I have ever had being a nerd.

Ever!