While boring people are out in this “Real World” enjoying candle-lit meals surrounded by other humans, us gamers will spend our Valentine’s Day snuggled up on our couches with that special someone. While you and your beloved introvert are there shunning the rest of humanity, here are a few games that you can enjoy together.
5: Baldur’s Gate Dark Alliance - That’s the problem with Dungeons & Dragons: it requires other people. But you can’t have your private night-in for two ruined by a bunch of people rolling dice, and your loved one doesn’t want to sit by and watch while you play through 60 hours of the D&D epic Baldur’s Gate on the PC. Yet you and your sweetie can still fight dragons in the Forgotten Realms side by side in this classic console Hack & Slash.
Just dust off that old Playstation 2 and pop this game in. It’s from the days before broadband, when all the best action RPG’s still had local co-op. As you sit next to your honey, arms entwined around your matching Dual Shock controllers, you’ll remind her of just how long you’ve been together. Your love outlasted a whole generation of consoles.
4: Left 4 Dead - Your love will outlast the zombies too. Oh yes, the zombie apocalypse is definitely coming, but when the hordes of the undead have long since rotted to pieces, you and your sweetie will still be together. This co-op zombie shooter will let you and your baby show your love over and over by rescuing each other from the clutches of boss monsters who constantly try to tear you apart. Literally and figuratively.
What better way to say “I’ll be there for you” than augmenting “In Sickness and in health” than by adding “When covered in Boomer Bile, or wrapped up in zombie tongues”. You know that you can trust your lover to cover your back even if you forget to turn off your flashlight when a Witch is around. Because nothing says “I love you” like using your only medipack to heal someone else.
3: Halo Reach - Firing up this game in split-screen mode is like softly singing:
It won't be a stylish marriage,
I can't afford a carriage,
But you'd look sweet on the seat,
Of a Mongoose built for two.
You can let her drive while you shoot, or you let your woman get behind you with a rocket launcher. Because you know what the ladies like. "Ladies like superior firepower".
2: Catherine - This Japanese game is more like an interactive manga than a game, and only one person can play it at a time, but what a great way to gauge your relationship. In it, an engaged man named Vincent has to choose between two women named Catherine and Katherine. It’s a great wat to tell how likely your man is to cheat on you, and men can use it to see how jealous their gal becomes when he does a little virtual flirting. Hey, it’s not cheating if she only exists inside your Xbox, right fellas?
1: Mass Effect 3 - How do you prove to someone that you love them? It’s not flowers. It’s not candy. It’s downloading the Mass Effect 3 demo, then letting them play first.