Valentine's Day Gaming - The Best Games to Play with a Significant Other

Written by Colby Tuesday, 14 February 2012 06:00

That time of the year is nearly here again guys and gals!  Valentine's Day is a great time to snuggle up on the couch and play your favorite game with your favorite person in the world.  Sometimes nailing down a game to play with your more casual-gamer significant other can be difficult, but here are some suggestions.

Most games these days have some sort of violent element to them, which is not always the funnest to play on a date, or when just messing around with your Valentine.  There are plenty of games that are silly and great to play with another person, or with a group of people.

#5 You Don't Know Jack

This entry in the long running series is, without a doubt, a return to form.  Finally you'll be able to settle who is the master of all things pop trivia.  Thankfully Jack doesn't take itself too serious and is more concerned with having fun than with anything else.  The game contains enough different episodes to make sure that questions are never repeated and the overall structure of each game means that the champion is never decided until the very last question.  Jack is great if you want to make things a competition and keep it competitive without having to lose on purpose for the sake of keeping it interesting.

#4 LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean

Pirates, or any of the other LEGO games for that matter, will put you in an environment that almost anyone who hasn't been living under a rock for the past 10 years will recognize.  LEGO Pirates is packed with 70 memorable characters and cutscenes straight from the movies.  The gameplay is exceptionally simple and intuitive and watching blocks turn into something is satisfying even when only happening on the screen.  If the high seas isn't where you want to adventure, there are also LEGO games for Harry Potter, Star Wars, Indiana Jones, and Batman that all feature 2-player co-op. (Also, building a small LEGO kit is good fun.)

#3 Dance Central/Just Dance

Who says you need to go out to dance the night away?  Both Dance Central and Just Dance have you covered when it comes to motion gaming.  What I love about motion gaming is that anyone can do it, I think many are intimidated by how many buttons are on modern controllers, but these games alleviate that problem and just have you following the motions on the screen.  It doesn't matter if you've never danced in your life, or consider yourself an expert, these games are fun, especially in groups.  I have to recommend Dance Central because of Harmonix's commitment to continually support their games with downloadable tracks.

#2 Portal 2

If you are dead set on playing a game with a gun, Portal 2 is the way to go.  Portal 2 has one of the best co-op campaigns ever.  It doesn't feel tacked on, but rather two new characters have been introduced and a whole new storyline has been developed for them.  Atlas and P-body are given great personalities and the way that you interact in game is unique.  You can set beacons to where you would like your partner to place portals, or rub your victory in GlaDos's face with celebratory expressions.  Who knows, maybe all that in game high fiving will lead to some real life......high fiving.  While the later levels are real brain busters the difficulty curve helps build up to more complex puzzles by adding one mechanic at a time.  The satisfaction from completing rooms is indescribable and sharing that feeling with a partner is great.  Portal 2 is probably better for those that have at least some experience with gaming.

#1 Rock Band

Although there is no linear campaign, the Rock Band series has provided an amazing co-op experience since 2007.  All of the plastic instruments are quite an investment, but because Harmonix has released new songs for Rock Band every single week since the game's initial release the potential for fun never ends.  There are now over 3,500 songs available, so you're bound to find a little something and some of the best tracks are those that have been released for Valentine's Day.  Last year's February Heartache Duets' Pack was one of the best, and "You Can Go Your Own Way" by Fleetwood Mac was also a bunch of fun.  I could go on listing all of the songs I enjoy playing, but just know that whatever you want to play, it's probably already available on Rock Band.  If it's not be sure to use the Rock Band Dashboard app on Facebook and request the artists you want to hear more songs from.

Whichever game fits you and your significant other, it's probably readily available on Goozex.  If you've been spending to much time trying to get headshots, like me, then now is a good time to plan a fun date night with that special someone.