Best Co-op Games for PS2: Couch and Split Screen

Four players share one screen in an arcade dungeon crawler where each picks a character and fights through levels full of monsters and treasure. Play is fast and crowded, built around grabbing loot and staying alive together.

Up to four players share one screen in a 3D dungeon crawler that continues the arcade series, with characters you pick before each run. It is built around fighting in groups and collecting items.

Up to four players share one screen in an action RPG set in the world of EverQuest, with classes, loot and levels to climb. You fight through dungeons together and compare what dropped.

The sequel keeps the four-player shared screen and the dungeon-and-loot formula of Champions of Norrath, with new areas and classes to level. It is another long action RPG for the couch.

Two players share one screen in an action RPG set in the Forgotten Realms, choosing among a dwarf fighter, a human archer and an elf sorceress. You fight through the city and its sewers and collect gear on the way.

Two players share one screen in the sequel, with more characters to choose from and the same dungeon-crawling combat. The loot and leveling loop is the same as in the first game.

Up to four players share one screen and take control of X-Men in an action RPG, leveling each hero and combining their powers. The story is original and moves between several settings.

Four players share one screen in the sequel, where the X-Men and the Brotherhood team up against Apocalypse. You pick heroes, level them and use their powers in combos.

Four players share one screen as Marvel heroes in an action RPG that crosses many settings from the comics. Certain pairings of heroes give team bonuses, so choices of who plays whom matter.

Four players share one screen in a story built around Marvel's Civil War, where you pick a side and fight with a team of heroes. Two heroes can combine their powers in fusion attacks.

Two players team up as DC heroes in an action RPG, picking from several characters and leveling them as you go. The story is original and the fights are against waves of enemies.

Two players team up in an action RPG set in the Fallout world, choosing a character and fighting through dungeons with real-time combat. It plays more like a dungeon crawler than the main Fallout games.

Two players play as Liu Kang and Kung Lao in a 3D brawler that retells the story of the second tournament. You fight through levels and use special moves and finishers from the series.

Two players team up as the turtles in a beat 'em up based on the 2003 cartoon, fighting through levels with the characters' own weapons. The action is simple.

Up to four players share one screen as the turtles in a beat 'em up, with levels that take them through different dimensions. It also includes the classic arcade game, and keeps the simple fighting of the earlier game.

Up to four players share one screen in a beat 'em up based on the 2003 cartoon, with new levels, and it also includes Turtles in Time. The fighting is the same simple formula as in the previous games.

Two players fight through the film's battles in a third-person hack-and-slash, with both of you staying on a single screen and playing the levels in a fixed order. You play as characters like Aragorn, Gandalf, Legolas and Gimli.

Two players share one screen in a LEGO game that covers Episodes I to III, switching between characters with different abilities to solve each puzzle. Nobody can really lose, since you only lose studs.

Two players share one screen in a LEGO game that covers Episodes IV to VI, with levels from the original films and characters you can swap between. The puzzles are simple and the game forgives mistakes.

Two players share one screen in a LEGO game with a campaign on the heroes' side and another on the villains', each with its own levels. You switch characters to solve puzzles and collect pieces.

Two players share one screen through levels from the first three Indiana Jones films, solving puzzles and collecting pieces. You can swap characters, and the game does not punish failure much.

Two players can split the screen in a game where Ratchet fights for sport in a deadly TV show, with weapons that level up the more you use them. The second player controls bots that fight alongside him.

Two players can split the screen for the co-op campaign of a third-person action game starring Bond, with shooting and driving sections. The missions are varied and are played from behind the character.

Two players can split the screen to play the story mode, a first-person shooter that jumps between eras and places. It is known for its humor and its quick, arcade-like pacing.

Two players can split the screen for the story mode, in which a hero hops through time and meets earlier versions of himself. It is a first-person shooter with the same humor as the earlier games.

The PS2 version includes Decay, a separate co-op campaign for two players who play as Gina Cross and Colette Green. It is a first-person game with puzzles and a story set in the Black Mesa facility.

Two players can split the screen to play a squad shooter set in the Gulf War, with each controlling a soldier from a four-man team. You have to coordinate positions and cover.

Two players take a group of teenagers through a school at night in a survival horror, each playing one of five characters. You use flashlights and explore to find the way out.

Two players can split the screen and cut through armies in Three Kingdoms battles, picking from many generals. Most of the play is crowd combat, with officers as tougher targets.

Two players can split the screen and fight through armies in Sengoku-era Japan, picking from many warriors. It plays like Dynasty Warriors, with crowds of enemies and officers to defeat.

Two players can split the screen in a game that mixes characters from Dynasty Warriors and Samurai Warriors, building teams of three and swapping between them in battle.

Two players can split the screen to play the entire story mode of a vehicle combat game with a dark tone, driving through arenas and picking up weapons. Each character has a vehicle and a story.

Two players share one screen in a run-and-gun that returns to the side-scrolling style of the series, with large bosses and quick action. It is known for being hard.

Two players share one screen across a collection of the Metal Slug arcade games, side-scrolling run-and-guns with vehicles and hand-drawn sprites. They are short and designed to be replayed.

Two players share one screen in a side-scrolling shooter from Treasure, flying ships that you upgrade by collecting power-ups. It is hard and built around learning the stages.

Two players use light guns on one TV in an arcade shooter where you duck behind cover with a pedal and shoot from it. The levels are short and the game is designed for two players side by side.

Two players use light guns on one TV in a gothic shooter against vampires and monsters, in the style of the House of the Dead and Time Crisis games.

A band of up to four plays on one TV with guitar, bass, drums and vocals, using instrument controllers. You pick a song list and play together on the same screen.

Two players play together with a guitar controller each, one on lead and one on bass, through a song list. You can also play it as a head-to-head game.

A second player can take control of Yorda as she follows Ico through a castle, solving the environmental puzzles together. This mode unlocks after you finish the game, and only the first player controls the camera.

Two players roll one katamari together, each controlling half of it, and you have to coordinate to steer it while collecting objects that stick to the growing ball. The game is odd, colorful and based on simple rules.

Two players team up in a beat 'em up where Spider-Man travels the world with a partner, who is a hero or former villain you recruit. A second player can drop in whenever they like and take over that partner.

Two players team up in a beat 'em up based on the cartoon, with Ben using his watch to transform into aliens. The levels are short and aimed at kids.