Army of Two Developed by EA Montreal After a long wait, I finally bought my preordered copy of Army of Two for the 360 on the day it came out. The game is fun, for the most part, and its awesome to play with a friend - be they on Xbox Live or next to you on your couch. Unfortunately, Ao2 has several recurring flaws that become apparent as soon as you delve into the first hour of the game. The flaws occur in both single-player and multiplayer; most significantly in the latter. Tyson Rios and Elliot Salem are private military contractors (PMCs) in the modern-day world. Inspired by real-life PMCs like Blackwater, they are sent to hotspots all across the world to kill terrorist leaders, dismantle weapons factories, and otherwise save the world time and again from the nuclear threat. In the game, you familiarize yourself with the controls and began acquainted with Rios and Salem through the years; starting with their ex-Army Ranger days in 1992, and leading up to 2009. All in all, its one wild ride. Presentation: 8/10 The storyline of the game is believable, especially since real-world PMCs are becoming more apparent in the military now. It is presented in an easy-to-follow timeline with a few conspiracies here and there, climaxing ;D in an epic conclusion. There's also a bit of humor thrown in, but too often, its get repetitive and downright annoying. Army of Two was incredibly short; six missions took up to an hour each, totaling six hours for the whole game. Graphics: 7/10 Ao2's trailers and screenshots showed a beautifully-looking game that rivaled Bioshock and Crysis. Unfortunately, Ao2 didn't meet the quota. The graphics are good, considering what the 360 and PS3 can do, but they just don't seem good enough to stand up to games like Bioshock and Call of Duty 4. Gameplay: 9.5/10 The entire game is about cooperation between yourself and either: (a) the AI controlling your partner, or (b) your friend. Its definitely unique, especially since you cannot go Rambo and try to do the entire level yourself. You will get pwned hard. Fortunately, your partner's AI is fairly good; it kills just as much as you, and it will fight accordingly to your actions. There are many scripted moments in the game that require both of you to press switches simultaneously, or lift up a heavy gate to get through, or do "co-op snipe"; that being that you and your partner snipe two enemies at the same time. The shooting system is reminiscent of Gears of War; practically all of the fighting involves moving from cover to cover, blindfiring. This does create many choke points where everyone; you and the enemies, are just firing without either of you being able to move without getting shot. Sound: 9/10 The soundtrack is simple but elegant, and the guns all sound very realistic. Lasting Appeal: 6.5/10 The major flaws in Army of Two lie in the multiplayer, which one will probably try and they beat the singleplayer. In a nutshell, the multiplayer system is abysmal. There are only three maps at the moment, with two (or three?) game modes. There's a leaderboard online for each combination of map and game mode, totaling NINE leaderboards. The multiplayer modes usually involve running through a map to complete objectives, like killing a well-protected target or carrying a hostage to safety. For each objective completed, and each person killed, one's 2-man team gets money. The team with the most money at the end wins. The thing about multiplayer, though, is that one will end up fighting more NPC soldiers than the other team. There's no Team Deathmatch. Total: 40/50 Summary: Rent it.
Nicely written. I had a lot of expectations about this game, but it seems it isn't as good as it seemed. I found the trailers fantastic. However, I saw the PS3 trailers, but I guess there's not much of a difference.
