Is December really the best time to be going to the beach in Northern California? Not really, but try telling that to Santa Cruz native Cesar Quintero . . . So, yeah, the team was convinced to follow him down to his old haunts in the interests of seeing sights better left until the warmer seasons, but also to visit Edmund McMillen, creator of many awesome games, but the most recent of which is sure to delight many: Super Meat Boy. Rounding out the coverage this week: The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks and we enjoy some 8-bit Vintners wine by the wintertime fire while discussing PixelJunk Shooter.

• 12/15/09
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Half the team was on vacation for a while, so this week's show is a wee bit shorter than normal--but don't let that fool you into thinking it's any less awesome! 'Cause it ain't! The big feature this week is the latest offering meant to swell your collection of plastic peripherals: Tony Hawk: Ride. We've got some skaters in the Area 5 crew and they'll give you the skinny. Before that, though, is a look at the surprisingly well-done, PSP version of Assassin's Creed. Is it worth it to you PSP owners out there? Find out.

• 12/8/09
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We're still on holiday for one more week but that doesn't mean we didn't cook up something nice for you ahead of time. Jason stole Ryan's camera and all of AREA 5's backup drives to construct an all-new episode of the Jason Show. Despite our wishes, behind our backs, Jason has filled his episode with outtakes and behind-the-scenes moments that the rest of the crew wishes the world didn't have access to. Additionally, Bitmob.com's Dan Hsu and CO-OP composer Paul Greenleaf sat down with Cesar to chat about the multiplayer madness of New Super Mario Bros. Wii. Sit back, relax, and get yourself a plate of leftover stuffing burritos and turkey fries and enjoy! We'll be back with tons of game coverage next week!

• 12/1/09
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We're going to be on our Thanksgiving break next week, so keep your eyes out for a special episode of CO-OP on December 1st that'll be a departure from the norm. We'll be back on December 8th with our regular programming. This week, though, is an almost-special episode thanks to our long-form coverage of Assassin's Creed 2. It's just too big to talk about in the normal time constraints of our show. Enjoy and remember to enjoy your holiday! And by "enjoy," we mean catch up on the holiday gaming rush. It's going to be a HUGE 2010 and you need to get started now ;p

• 11/24/09
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Midnight launches are not for the feint of heart. You know, the whole staying up late, playing a game all night, trying to go to work the the next day. But that's part of what being a gamer is all about! We were there for a San Francisco midnight launch of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 so that we could cover the single-player, at least, on this week's show. It's the first of a MW2 two-parter. We believe it takes longer than a few days to evaluate multiplayer so we're going to give it a good shakedown before talking about that part of the game. The epically awesome Dragon Age Origins and the next, big rhythm game DJ Hero round out this week's coverage.

• 11/17/09
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Yes, Area 5 threw a Halloween party! It was awesome! We had the best costumes ever! There's no way your party was better than ours! Is there any way exclamation points can denote sarcasm as opposed to genuine enthusiasm? Honestly, we're better gamers than we are party-planers. Oh, and we talk about some games. Halloween is very special time of year - for everyone but Ryan. Still, he was convinced to dress up for this special occasion. He may have been better off avoiding the specialized Area 5 event altogether.

• 11/12/09
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The words "movie" and "license" area anathema to gamers when paired and the exception is rare. Fortunately, this week's coverage of Jame's Cameron's Avatar may show us a way to one of said exceptions. We were invited to an event at the Dolby Labs in San Francisco to experience the game hands-on (in 3D no less). Grand Theft Auto IV: The Ballad of Gay Tony ratchets up the excitement and the better-than-Diablo Diablo clone Torchlight receives some much deserved face time.

• 11/12/09
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The words "movie" and "license" area anathema to gamers when paired and the exception is rare. Fortunately, this week's coverage of Jame's Cameron's Avatar may show us a way to one of said exceptions. We were invited to an event at the Dolby Labs in San Francisco to experience the game hands-on (in 3D no less). Grand Theft Auto IV: The Ballad of Gay Tony ratchets up the excitement and the better-than-Diablo Diablo clone Torchlight receives some much deserved face time.

• 11/12/09
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Believe it our not, it's our first CO-OP: The Animated Series! Well... sort of. You'll see. We have a lively debate on whether Demon's Souls is as terrific as people say or truly awful, an in-depth about the ambient, indie RTS Eufloria and an iPhone round-up of some of our favorites: Canabalt, Geared, and Mr. Bounce!

• 10/29/09
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It's our season 03 premiere! In our longest segment on a game yet, Uncharted 2: Among Thieves takes the spotlight this week. We also stop by indie developer Gaijin Games to grab a look at what makes an indie studio tick and to get a sneak peak at Bit.Trip Void. Also, of course, we had to share the quickie got with New Super Mario Bros. Wii!

• 10/23/09
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Jason and Matt stop by the XNA's Indie Games booth to chat with Microsoft's Kathleen Sanders and we review the Fall's first blockbusters: Halo 3: ODST and Beatles Rock Band

• 10/17/09
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Camping. It's cheap, easy, and thanks to the DS and the PSP we can bring our games with us! It's an all-portables week as the gang goes primal.

• 10/17/09
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To know the future you must know the past and we prove it this week by delving into a classic. We keep it current thanks to some Nazi-Zombie killing and insect-adventure on the iPhone.

• 9/16/09
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The Dark Knight cometh, the iPhone gets it's first real, GTA clone, and the re-release of the best, "this-generation" Metroids improves upon the best.

• 9/16/09
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It's been 10 years since the launch of the much-beloved Dreamcast and as such we had the perfect excuse for a retrospective. Multiple blasts from the past combine with a bunch of memories our fans at PAX shared with us.

• 9/16/09
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HALO may be famous for bringing the big guns (in terms of sales and in the more literal sense), but Facebook and the iPhone are 800 lb. gorillas all their own.

• 8/24/09
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Old tech, new tech, it all has the same capacity to annoy Rob. That didn't stop us from downloading the Gears of War DLC, Fat Princess and Wipeout HD Fury, though.

• 8/17/09
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Living in the Mission in San Francisco has rewards beyond the cheap and the savory. We show you some of the best while our guests join us to talk about classics reborn.

• 8/4/09
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Rob gets yet another lesson in San Francisco parking procedures, we assemble a squad to talk about Battlefiend 1943 and the full version of Wii Sports Resort leaves a bit to be desired

• 7/28/09
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Area 5 takes a day for R&D and Matt's brother exacts his revenge. We also preview 'Splosion Man, review Trine, and talk Critter Crunch for the iPhone.

• 7/21/09
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Matt's little bro makes a stop in town, we take a trip into the 100th WiiWare title with an interview of the creator of the Bit.Trip series and Rolando 2 rolls onto our iPhones.

• 7/14/09
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Check it out! We introduce a brand new series! GAMER CRIBS! First up, that mega-hottie, CESAR QUINTERO. AWW YEAH! Also: Wii Sports Resort (is awesome), Overlord 2, and Real Racing for the iPhone.

• 7/7/09
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Showing up today, Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood is a force to be reckoned with while the multiplayer beta for Uncharted 2 and the iPhone's Star Defense shine on.

• 6/30/09
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For those fans that may have missed our joint CO-OP/Totally Rad Show live shows at E3, we bring you the two biggest highlights, live demos of HALO ODST and Splinter Cell: Conviction.

• 6/16/09
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Before meandering our way up the desolate (and yet amazingly beautiful) 5 freeway from San Francisco to California, we had one, final, incredible day at E3.

• 6/10/09
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Finally we had some time to look at the E3 show proper!

• 6/6/09
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Nintendo and Sony updates

• 6/6/09
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It's CO-OP's first E3 special!

• 6/2/09
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