Great Split-Screen Games on PS3

Over the past few years the split-screen offering has become rather sparse, with developers 
focusing on the single player experience (La Noire) or making money from online multiplayer (Black Ops anyone?).

It makes me start to wonder if I am the only person who still enjoys playing having mates round to game on one big screen, on a single console.

Therefore, I thought I’d put together a list of new and old(ish) PS3 games that offer an 
enjoyable split-screen experience and whether you should buy them or rent them.

Newer Games

F.E.A.R. 3

Buy or Rent? Rent It.

Fear 3 has a co-op campaign where you play as the two brothers. One of you will play Point Man, who has the ability to slow down time (for both players) and shoot (no way!) enemies with a reasonable amount of weapons available (pistols, shotguns, MGs, sniper rifles etc). The other player will play as Fettel, who cannot use conventional weapons, unless you possess an enemy (yes that's right, you can mindjack an enemy for a short period of time, which can be extended by collecting orbs dropped by enemies you kill). Fettel can also pick up grenades with the psychic ability and throw them at enemies.

Fear 3 has quite an atmospheric feel to it, and there are a number of moments which will give you a good scare (assuming you are scared of small girls with long black hair.. covered in blood.. I mean who isn't, right?)

The campaign should take no more than 8 hours to complete, so that is why I would recommend you rent it and complete it in one sitting (unless you want to re-play the singleplayer campaign or play online)

Killzone 3

Buy or Rent? Rent It.
Killzone 3 is renowned for its amazing graphics, and even in split-screen, the graphics are quite impressive, with no noticeable slow downs (even in the larger battles).

The co-op campaign is identical to the single player version, so there is no co-op specific content. The story is easily forgettable (and almost predictable at times), however the gameplay is very enjoyable. The shooting mechanic is very killzone-esque, the player feels heavy and slower, which makes it feel more realistic and is a nice change to the typical twitch-shooters like Modern Warfare.

The campaign should take about 6 to 8 hours to complete and is relatively enjoyable. The change of scenery and vehicular combat in the different levels helps to keep you interested, however I would definitely recommend you rent this, unless you plan on re-playing the campaign on the harder difficulties (to get all of the achievements) or playing the online multiplayer.

Portal 2

Buy Or Rent? Rent It.

Portal 2 is a First Person Puzzle-Platform game featuring a separate single player and  split-screen co-op campaign. In co-op, each player takes control of a robot, with their own portal gun. There are numerous puzzles that require you work together with your partner and use all 4 portals. You'll probably find yourself scratching your head over some of the puzzles, only to realise 10 minutes later how simple the solution was!

The co-op campaign should take no more than 5 hours to complete, so unless you plan on completing the single player campaign and replaying the game, it's probably not worth the £30+ price tag.

Older Games

These games have been out for a while now, so you should be able to pick them up pretty cheap if you plan on buying them.

Call Of Duty: World At War
 

Buy or Rent? Buy It.
World At War is the most recent World War 2 based shooter in the Call Of Duty series. It offers a split-screen co-op campaign and, arguably one of the most fun co-op game types of all time; Nazi Zombies. Nazi Zombies pits up to 4 players against numerous waves of undead fascists, each wave getting tougher and tougher. You get rewarded for killing zombies and repairing defences with points, that you can then spend on opening up different parts of the map, as well as buying new weapons.

I'd recommend you buy World At War, as once you have completed the campaign, the Nazi Zombies game mode can consume hours of your time. There is also a split-screen death match style game mode for up to 4 players to try and destroy each other in all manor of ways.The co-op campaign should take about 7 to 8 hours to complete on normal difficulty. It is a thoroughly enjoyable campaign, with a competitive aspect as each player has a multiplier, that increases with the amount of enemies killed. I often find myself hanging around on one level, killing endlessly spawning enemies, just to get a higher score than my buddy.

Borderlands
 

Buy or Rent? Buy It.
Borderlands is an FPS/RPG set in a post apocalyptic wasteland. The split-screen campaign is identical to the single player version, and offers a great mix of shooting, driving and scavenging. Each player can choose from a number of character types that each have their own strengths and weaknesses. You can then level up by completing missions and achievements.

One of the key features of Borderlands is that there is an almost infinite amount of weapons, each with individual perks (such as +100% damage etc). I'd strongly recommend you buy this game as opposed to renting it as there are at least 30+ hours worth of gameplay, even more if you complete all the side missions and get the downloadable content. This isn't something you could easily complete in one sitting.

Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
 

Buy or Rent? Rent It.
Modern warfare 2 doesn't actually have a co-op campaign, however it does have Spec Ops, which is a split-screen game mode with 23 missions. There are 5 mission categories (Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, Delta and Echo) with each one getting progressively harder. There are a good selection of mission types from round-based survival, to snowmobile racing. Some missions have one player manning the cannons on an AC130, providing cover for the other player who has to get to an objective in a certain time. Whereas other missions require you to blow up all of the vehicles on a bridge using RPGs, grenade launchers and a selection of explosives.

Spec Ops should take anywhere between 3-5 hours to complete. However, it is fun to re-play the missions on Veteran difficulty which can add a couple more hours onto the game time. I'd recommend you rent this game if you are planning on solely playing split-screen. However, if you plan on playing the single and multiplayer, I’d recommend you buy it, as the online experience is fantastic.