Donkey Konga (GameCube)
We’re recent converts to the cult of the drum (Libe: You are, I loved them at E3), but hooking two sets of bongo controllers up to your GameCube is possibly the most fun you can have with a non-vibrating controller. Set up the bongos side-by-side for co-op play as you slap and clap your way through classic songs like Louie Louie and the Zelda theme.

Soul Calibur II (Xbox, PS2, GC)
Whenever people drop by GameGal World HQ for a round of big-screen multiplayer gaming, Soul Calibur II is the first game in the hopper. Girls who might not ordinarily like button-mashing beat-em-ups (Libe: or any games for that matter) are drawn in by the no-skills-necessary gameplay, plus, the game features lots of hot and powerful chicks.

We got into this on the original Dreamcast version, and part two is even better. (Dan: Libe gets so into matches, I get the occasional controller thrown at my head).

Star Wars Galaxies (PC)
After a brief but intense fixation with EverQuest, Libe swore off of massively multiplayer online games for casual play until Star Wars Galaxies. With two accounts and two computers, we were soon traipsing around Tatooine, looking for wamprats and taking down stormtroopers. (Libe: Just like in real life, Dan would always jet off ahead of me during the missions. Wait up, loser!)

SSX Series (Xbox, PS2, GC)
Possibly Libe’s favorite console game of all time, the SSX series is a sports games for people who aren’t usually interested in sports games. It was easy to pick up and play, great for head-to-head or party competition and featured loads of interesting characters. (Libe: It was the only snowboarding game that actually gave me a sensation of speeding downhill without having to worry about "realistic" physics. Boring! )

Unreal Championship (Xbox)
PC-based FPS shooters aren't always the most couple-friendly games, especially for non-hardcore gamers, but when Unreal Championship became an early must-have game for Xbox Live!, we had to sign up. In between whispering sweet nothings to each other through our Xbox Live! headsets (Libe: What-ever!), we experienced the special joy that comes from fragging a loved one.

Halo 2 (Xbox)
We tried playing multiplayer Halo, but it just never gelled as a “couples” game. When the mythical Halo 2 came out, we gave it another shot, but the frenzied run, gun and drive gameplay was off-putting. Levels were either too large, so we’d spend 10 minutes looking for each other, or they were so small it turned into, “I shoot you, you shoot me, rinse, repeat.”

X-Men Legends/Gauntlet: Dark Legacy/Champions of Norrath
(Xbox, PS2, GC)
These games fall under the same general category of top-down co-op action games, all seemingly inspired by the original ‘80s arcade classic Gauntlet. We had a ton of fun with the various new Gauntlet entries over the past few years, and while we’ll never cop to this in public again, one or both of us have complained about a delayed dinner reservation by whining, “Wizard needs food, badly!”

Champions of Norrath combines Gauntlet with Diablo in the EverQuest universe, and even though Libe never got into it, fellow game fiend Jenni M. went bonkers for it. Go figure.

Dan thought Libe would be totally into the X-Men take on the genre, but after a few attempts to fight off giant sentinel robots, she was bored (Dan: Odd, since every time X2 shows up on cable, she watches the entire film.) We chalk it up to the overly busy controls and somewhat goofy voice acting (Libe: Except for Patrick Stewart. No one effs with Professor X.)