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The State of Split-Screen Gaming

Can two play at that game?

Kristan Reed avatar
Feature by Kristan Reed Contributor
Updated on
67 comments

Army of Two 1 & 2

After Gears pointed the way with its superb online gameplay, EA Montreal's stab at producing a similarly manly, cover-based, irony-free bro' shooter was surprisingly decent, despite the vast reservoirs of unintentional comedy gold that reside within.

Although reasonably engrossing in single-player, AOT's successful implementation of split-screen, slick controls and and teamwork elements make it another game that's better in co-op - if only to be able to do all those manly 'bro-motes' for real. Just don't get carried away, chaps.

  • Max Players: 2
  • Campaign co-op: Yes
  • Competitive: Online co-op
  • Split type: Vertical-only
  • Drop in/drop-out: No

Halo 3 and Halo 3: ODST

Bungie has a long history of ensuring its games feature split-screen gaming, so it's no surprise that both Halo 3 and ODST cater for practically every whim imaginable - especially with regard to competitive multiplayer modes.

Whether engaging in the campaign side of the game or indulging in the innumerable competitive options, there's split-screen support for the lot. And unlike so many other titles, the games' split-screen mode caters for up to four players, or even a combination of split-screen and online players - something other titles (such as Left 4 Dead) are beginning to ape.

Perhaps the only bugbear is the inability to select a vertical split in co-op - especially as the game's horizontal split shaves off a large chunk of the sides of the action, making the screen real estate a fair bit smaller than it could have been.

  • Max Players: 2 in co-op, 4 in multiplayer
  • Campaign co-op: Yes
  • Competitive: Yes
  • Split type: Horizontal-only
  • Drop-in/drop-out: No

Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 1 & 2

  • Publisher: Ubisoft
  • On: PS3, Xbox 360 (GRAW 1 360-only)

Where does the time go? Incredibly it's been almost three years since the last GRAW title, but Ubisoft's tactical shooter series remains one of the most enjoyable split-screen offerings around, with support for up to four players over a huge variety of modes. The only problem is how dated the visuals look these days, but if you can look beyond that, this is one of the most fully featured split-screen games around.

  • Max Players: 4
  • Campaign co-op: Yes
  • Competitive: Yes
  • Split type: Vertical-only
  • Drop-in/drop-out: No

Rainbow Six Vegas 1 & 2

Alongside GRAW, the Rainbow Six Vegas titles again demonstrated Ubisoft's unfailing commitment to catering for split-screen players with a pleasing variety of competitive and co-operative modes.

Although 'only' suitable for two-player split-screen (as opposed to GRAW's four), playing both the campaign and the multiplayer-specific modes with friends is, again, the best way to experience the game. And with Vegas 2's experience based system straddling both the campaign and multiplayer modes, the ability to continue to level-up and unlock new gear is absurdly alluring.

  • Max Players: 2
  • Campaign co-op: Yes
  • Split type: Vertical-only
  • Competitive: Yes
  • Drop-in/drop-out: No

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