Army of Two Review
Army of Two hopes to revolutionize the co-op shooter and succeeds on a few points but comes up short on most of its promises.
The game drops players into the boots and creepy masks of two PMCs (Private Military Contractors), Elliot Salem and Tyson Rios, two ex-Army Rangers who have left the military for a more lucrative career in the private sector. Both the characters fit very typical roles: Elliot is the younger hot shot, and Tyson is your grizzled veteran; facial scars and all. As far as the characters go they are both likable if not a tad predictable. For tough, trained military guys they are both kinda goofs.The banter between the two is interesting and adds some depth, but at times seems wholly out of place. At one point during a firefight Elliot asks Tyson who his favorite member of the Wu-Tang Clan is. I’m not sure talking about rap would be one of my reactions to getting shot at, but on the other hand it is kinda entertaining and serves to break up some of the game’s drudgery.
The game opens in 1993 with Elliot and Tyson’s last mission as rangers in Somalia and serves as a primer for what is to come. The next six missions are stretched out over a decade or so and span the globe; from the war-torn middle east to the hurricane-ravaged southern US. These locals are beautifully rendered and are filled with small details and great lighting that really gives every mission its own unique feeling.
Army of Two takes full advantage of the Unreal 3 Engine, and does some great things with it. In particular the characters and their movements looks gorgeous when shown off in HD. Enemies tend to look a little worse and you end up fighting a whole horde of similar-looking enemies in every mission. Asides from the bosses, in each mission you will typically dispatch the following: standard grunts, snipers or rocket troops, suicide bombers, guys in turrets, and heavily armed and armored soldiers. The last two on that list can really only be brought down using co-op tactics.
Co-op is the crux of this game. Your main tactic is to use what the game calls “aggro”. Aggro is essentially a way of drawing the enemy’s attention toward yourself. Fire a big gun, you draw aggro. Hide behind some cover, you don’t draw aggro. While in most games drawing the enemy’s attention is not desirable, here it’s good. While everyone is looking at you, your partner is basically invisible. Combat really revolves around this idea — one person draws attention, the other sneaks around and flanks. Using this tactic well triggers an Overkill, where the player with the all aggro glows bright red, has unlimited ammo, and deals double or triple damage, and the stealth player gains invisibility and a speed boost. It works well but can get extremely repetitive after a few missions.
Other Co-op moves you’ll use include Co-op Sniping, dragging and healing a wounded teammate, and going Back-to-Back to cover your partner’s back when surrounded. All these moves work fine, but they come at pretty scripted times and so the freedom they offer is very limited.
One of the game’s strong points is its guns. They look good, they sound good, and they shoot right. On top of that is the weapon customization system. You can buy new barrels, stocks, silencers, and larger magazines with the money you earn on missions. Each upgrade will affect different stats for the gun, including damage, accuracy and how much aggro you draw. In addition to all the new parts, you can also choose to “pimp” your gun; plating it in gold and covering it in diamonds. This drastically increases how much aggro is pulled, not to mention making your gun look completely foolish. You’ll also unlock some new armor and buy new masks as you go.
As far as multi-player options go, all the missions are available split-screen and online. If you don’t have a friend to play with, the AI does a very fair job with whatever task you give him, although it’s not with out its problems. Sometimes the AI will try to heal you in the open, as enemies shoot him, point-blank, in the back. The AI will also occasionally run into pathing issues, trapping or confusing your partner. As long as you hold the AI’s hand the whole time and tell him exactly what to do, problems are minimized.
In a game built for co-op, the online vs. game types are extremely buggy. In my few days with the game, I was unable to finish a match without the game just locking up or kicking me out of the game. EA has stated that a patch is on its way. And hopefully that will fix the problems in an interesting multi-player game.
Army of Two is defiantly a step in the right direction for a new franchise. It may be a stumbling step, that trips over a lot of small issues, but the core of what’s here is very strong. If you miss having a game to play like Gears of War, you will defiantly find something new and entertaining here.
+ Great visuals
+ Superb co-op game play
+ Outstanding weapon customization
- Cheesy story
- Short
- Buggy online vs matches
Score = B-