What do you do when a violent civilization unearths advanced alien technology? You play some couch co-op with up to four of your closest friends in the action-packed shooter Fuse for Playstation 3 and Xbox 360.

My wife and I love co-op games, especially when we can easily drop-in and drop-out of the full campaign mode. Fuse is perfect for gamers like us who want something that can easily be picked up but has some depth with character progression and customization.

In the not-so-distant-future, a new kind of arms race is about to begin. When rogue paramilitary company Raven discovers an alien energy source called Fuse deep within a classified government facility, they stage a daring mission to steal it. Soon, they use Fuse to advance their arsenal beyond anything the military has ever prepared for.

You play as one of four operatives of the small independent contract team called Overstrike 9. Your mission is to neutralize the Fuse threat and keep the CIA secrets save and sound. If you fail, an alien arms race is right around the corner. You can not fail.

The great thing about Fuse is, unlike other epic coop RPGish hits such as Borderlands, you don’t have to choose a character and be locked in. Dalton Brooks, Izzy Sinclair, Jacob Kimble and Naya Deveraux (the agents), are always at your disposal. Further, the game wants you to jump around. Combining the agents’ different weapons and abilities makes for unexpected and extraordinary results. When playing solo or couch coop, you can use the “LEAP” feature to switch between characters on the fly to maximize impact and take advantage of each character’s unique abilities.

Playing as a team and knowing what each other is packing is paramount. Each operative is equipped with a different xenotech weapon powered by Fuse. On top of that, there are also four unique Fusion Modes which, when activated, turn each agent into a Fuse-hungry bad ass.

The class-based character system in Fuse allows for each character to travel down a distinct and deep upgrade path while leveling up. The game’s unified progression system means points earned in single player will carry over to multiplayer mode, and vice versa. This is another huge positive checkmark for close-knit teams that want to build out their characters solo or online and then come together for some family bonding.

Behind Fuse is the familiar independent developer Insomniac Games, the creator of well-known favorites like Ratchet & Clank and Resistance. Insomniac is known for being loyal to Sony and Playstation but this time Xbox players get to join the action, too.

Overall, Fuse wins the prime real estate of my PS3’s DVD slot for the moment. I’m loving my time in the online Echelon mode as well as playing through the campaign in co-op. The story is just involved enough to keep you interested while not distracting you from the ease of drop-in/drop-out couch fun.