Xbox two-player games?

[Sten Friberg]

My wife is not very interested in games in general, but my feeling is that this is mainly due to the fact that most PC games are designed for one player per computer. The only single player games she ever liked were Sims, SimCity and Honeycomb Hotel.

On the other hand, she really likes games that can be played by two players simultaneously. I'm not certain what genres she'd like best, but sims and puzzle-games seem like a good place to start. She's also expressed some liking for racing games. The only genre-specific negative I've heard her say is "I don't like games where you have to go and talk to people." I'm pretty certain she means story-heavy RPGs, but maybe she can be persuaded in this matter.

So, with all this taken into consideration, which xbox games would work best for a two-player experience?

[Zteven]

I have the same 'problem'. I have been looking for games to play with my girlfriend forever, and had minimal success. The best multiplayer games are competitive games, and she doesn't like that.

We did play Voodoo Vince together, and swapped the controller when someone died. Which wasn't really fair, since she died much more often. And the ending was so hard I had to play it by myself. VV is a really nice game and we had fun playing it together.

We also tried Munch's Oddysee, because it has two characters. She played Munch, and I played Abe. It didn't really work as we hoped though, because there was not much of a need to switch back and forth a lot. Besides, the game is rather average.

Yesterday, we started playing Broken Sword 3. It is an adventure in which a boy and a girl progress through a story. So you both can play a character. We're still at the beginning, and they both have their own storyline, but hopefully that will change later. I'm very impressed with the game by the way. It looks great (fully 3D!), the puzzles are fun and the interface is simple and intuitive. The story sounds interesting too, global conspiracy stuff and such.

If you both like racing, I can recommend Burn Out 2. It is not very difficult, and you can race against each other, as well as play 'cop and fugitive'. It looks good too, and crashes are nicely done although explosions are sadly lacking.

We also played Top Spin together. This is especially nice because you can play double together against two computer players. The game is not too difficult to get into. The animations are very well done, so it is a pleasure to look at.

Can't think of anything else...good luck! Let me know if you find a good game you both enjoy.

Bye,
Steven

[Reeko]

I never thought I'd get Mrs. Reeko to ever pick up a controller, but I brought home a copy of Monopoly Party and she loves it. The games take about an hour total, so it's also the only time I've ever finished a game of Monopoly. It's pretty customizable for house rules (free parking, etc.). Biggest drawback is difficulty in seeing the whole board at once and the trading interface is pretty confusing until you get the hang of it. Party mode means everyone rolls and moves at the same time, but I've never played it.

[Jason McMaster]

BG Dark Alliance is pretty good. My wife and I played it a lot.

[curst]

Ouch, puzzle games? I honestly have no idea, not owning an XBox myself.

But just in case she doesn't actively hate action games, here's a few titles that I think boast pretty good co-op modes. I'd start with Jason's recommendation of BG:DA, move on to Dynasty Warriors 3 or 4, then Burn Out 2.

BG:DA really doesn't include a lot of talking even though it's an (action) RPG, and while DW3/4 have more chatting, it's not actual conversations - you mostly spend your time running around beating the crap out of enemies. On occasion you'll get a cutscene where some people say stuff you can choose to pay or not pay attention to, but those only ramble on for a brief period of time before you get back to beating the crap out of enemies again.

Oh yeah, and Gauntlet:Dark Legacy has co-op, what with it being a Gauntlet game and all. Not the greatest game ever but it's "fun enough". And did Frequency/Amplitude make it to the XBox? If so, I definitely recommend them - good multiplayer party games. The downside is that if anyone playing happens to be a music snob, you'd better prepare for a lot of sarcastic comments whenever you play the levels involving Slipknot, Blink 182 or Pink. (Alternately, if you yourself are a music snob, then you need to prepare to endure the horror that is playing levels involving Slipknot, Blink 182 and Pink.)

[Moore]

Same deal here, except my GF likes fighting games a little as well as puzzlers.

She also likes BG:DA although we are both sick of it. Anyone know how fun the co-op in ROTK is? I keep considering that one, but I always shy away from movie-games. Anything else with co-op(for any system) that you guys reccomend?

Thanks for the top-spin comment BTW, I had no idea you could play doubles, I have to look into that.

[Sten Friberg]

Baldurs Gate seems like a good idea. I'll get that.
Burnout 2 and Top Spin were alredy on my list, but thanks for reassuring me.
Monopoly party, hmm, I don't know. I'll do something radical and ask her if she'd like that. How's that for being a communicative husband, eh?

Anything involving Slipknot could be used against me in a possible future divorce proceeding, so I'd better avoid that.

[Tom Ohle]

BG Dark Alliance is pretty good. My wife and I played it a lot.

I'd second that. I thoroughly enjoyed Dark Alliance.

[Mike Cathcart]

Buy a Gamecube! :D

What about DDR? Seems to be the ultimate "play with the wife" game.

[Bub, Andrew]

What about DDR? Seems to be the ultimate "play with the wife" game.

Wow, you really aren't married are you Mike?

[Mike Cathcart]

Wow, you really aren't married are you Mike?
Why, wives don't like DDR? Next you'll be telling me you don't get sex 8 times a day.

[Sten Friberg]

Wow, you really aren't married are you Mike?
Why, wives don't like DDR? Next you'll be telling me you don't get sex 8 times a day.

8 times a day?
I could never do that. The last four times every day would last double-digit seconds and hence cut into my gaming-time. And we can't have that, now can we?

DDR is already in the mail. Bought it the same day I bought the xbox.

And Mike, buying a Gamecube wouldn't let me have all these intersting discussions about how to fit a cube (sic) into a round hole, now would it? :)

[Jason McMaster]

My wife loves DDR. Much more than I do.

[fuzzyslug]

I would also vote for DDR. My wife just loves that game to death. We also played Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance to completion. Lots of fun.

She tends to like adventure games a lot, which are much better served on the PC and even the Playstation 2 (Monkey Island, Ico, etc.).