Valve introduced us to a whole new circuit of brain bending exercises with the inclusion of cooperative play in Portal 2. Armed with their trusty portal guns, and willingness to get shredded to peices at every turn, the dynamic duo of Atlus and Peabody were two of the best new characters to hit the gaming scene in 2011. Depending on your partner to navigate each chamber successfully, Valve throughly demonstrated what all co-op games should strive for in some capacity: communication. Whether using your voice or the tools that Valve provided for the vocally challenged, the level of communication that was necessary throughout, delivered satisfying victories with each puzzle solved. Throw in some freebies from Valve in the form of free DLC, and we didn’t need much more coaxing to unanimously agree that Portal 2 had the best cooperative gameplay of 2011.
Attack of the Fanboy readers agreed as well, giving Portal 2 the nod over Battlefield 3, Gears of War 3, Modern Warfare 3, Dead Island, Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception, and Saints Row: The Third. Thanks to all who voted for the Reader’s Choice Co-Op Game of the Year for 2011.
