With the exception of a handful of fights that are one-on-one duels, the entire game can be played in co-op, and the puzzle segments are definitely less annoying when you don’t have to constantly swap characters just to pull switches. Impressively, as with the online play, splitscreen can be started or stopped at any time, which is a relative rarity and even more so on a PC. Splitscreen play is handled incredibly well - rather than simply split the screen in half and give each player an odd aspect ratio to play in, the screen is split into two 4:3 images, with the UI helpfully out of the way of the action. In addition to the Kalypso account you’ll be making to play online, you have the interesting option to link your Facebook account to the game, allowing you to troll your friends for co-op sessions. Each time you load up your game you’ll have the option to set online visibility for people to join up, be they friend or random encounter. For online play you have the usual options, including drop-in/drop-out support. The co-op support in The First Templar is surprisingly thorough, especially for a PC title. Despite the fact that the entire world appears to be populated by thousands of clones of approximately seven people (including our heroes), and that accents are played fast and loose, the game manages to simply be fun to play. Though none of the pieces are masterworks of gameplay, they add up to a more compelling whole. Useful as that is, I’d rather the puzzle solving be assisted by companion AI outside of co-op (think Uncharted 2), since you’ll be bouncing between characters constantly just to toggle an obviously placed switch. You can give simple commands to them, such as telling them to stay put while you navigate a trap-laden hallway or if you need ‘em to stand near a lever to solve a puzzle. Roland is an expert swordsman with a fair bit of swagger, while Marie dual-wields daggers, which she can also expend Zeal to throw. I’ve spoken of being able to switch to your companion character, which is nice, especially since your partner will be more interesting than the standard sword-and-board wielding Celian.
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