Reviews
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Army of Two
By Russ Capasso
Platform: Xbox 360
Publisher: Electronic Arts
Developer: EA Montreal
It’s safe to say that I’m a man of expectation. There are certain things in life that are expected, especially for things that are paid for. For example, I expect my Coca-Cola to fizzle, I expect my strippers to like me and I most certainly expect my video games to be good, or at very least, enjoyable. At first glance, Army of Two (Ao2), was just another crap shooter that I figured wouldn't amount to much of anything. Alas, I found myself feeling something I haven't in years, - at least my ego likes to think so - wrong. I think what actually made this game playable was the fact that I went in with lowered expectations and had buried the game before even starting in. Talk about karma, I got slapped in the face. Now I won't lie, Ao2 isn't a revolutionary game. But it is entertaining and easily comparable to Gears of War. Actually, it felt like a sequel to that game minus the alien infestation and with much more swearing.
A bit too real?
Ao2 also is one of the first games I've seen to take on real life events and tragedies, and use them as the basis of the story. Video games, at least to me, have always been a way to escape reality. I mean, how many people can really relate to a hedgehog that collects golden rings or a plumber with a retarded brother that eats mushrooms and flowers? In Ao2's case they don't really stray away from some fairly recent, hard hitting topics such as 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina. The story is driven by these events and our recent and very long winded war on terror. Not sure how most gamers feel about this direct connection to reality, but for me I don't think its necessary and honestly I play games to get away from that crap. It seems Ao2 may have done it just to make the game different, maybe stir up a bit of controversy for PR, who knows, but to each his own. Ao2's story is formulaic. Former Army Rangers turned mercenaries are hired by a private company (Blackwater? Here comes reality again.) to do the world a favor and actually kill the bad guys. It seems it's always the former military guys turned mercenaries that save the world from total extinction. Thank god we have them. So in terms of story it's pretty cheesy and kinda lame, but as I said before I went in with low expectations.
I sense something; a gameplay I've not felt since...
The gameplay of Ao2 feels very familiar. It should because its almost identical to GOW. The cover system is the same as GOW, hit the 'A' button to take auto cover against the closest obstacle, if you're far enough away you'll even slide to it. GOW was all about taking cover, providing cover fire and taking out hoards of badies. Ao2 is no different. They even have a melee attack, which covers the screen with a splatter of blood while you take out the evil terrorist with some cool head stomp or face break move. Even the sound, the one when you've cleared a major section of enemies, is the same as GOW. Same exact sound. The only semi-interesting addition is what they call Aggro. Aggro is basically using cover fire to attract fire towards your player making your partner 'invisible' and giving them the ability to flank the enemies. Interesting idea, probably sounded cooler and worked better on paper but in actual gameplay you just run around and shoot dudes.
If looks could kill...
Visually Ao2 looks great. Levels are nicely detailed and the cut scenes are pretty sweet. I noticed later in the game some frame rate issues when a lot was going on, which is pretty annoying but tolerable. I have this standard with games that if they can pull off water graphically then its ok in my book. Sound wise, I was a bit disappointed. Every gun sounded like I was shooting peas out of straw, so you don't really get a sense of difference between the weapons you're using. On the weapon note though, there is a really cool upgrade system. Since you're hired mercenaries, for every job you complete you make some dough. You can use the money to purchase new weapons and even upgrade. I love that kinda shit. Overall a nice system that adds towards the replay value. On that note, can't play it on the hardest setting until you unlock the 'Professional' mode, but trust me, beating it once is enough. Hmm...unlocking the hardest level setting that also sounds oddly familiar, where have I seen that before?
Co-operate or die!!
A few of us here at 8bitreview are big on the co-op play. We enjoy picking up some suds and sitting down to play for hours on end. We take our co-op games serious. Ao2 is all about the co-op and I wouldn't even think about playing on the single player mode. It's not good enough of a game to do so. It's a game where you and a friend blast through it in one sitting and laugh at the cheesiness of the whole thing. There are some cool functions incorporated in the co-op play, like the back to back move, where you and your teammate go back to back providing fire from both directions. The co-op play is where it's at and is the primary feature that makes this game worth picking up.
Ao2 - $59.99, Lunch - $12, beating it in 7hrs and returning it for $20 towards RSV2 – Priceless
Ao2 is definitely not a top shelf shooter. It's an okay one, and that's mostly due to the fact that it's a direct rip-off of GOW. You won't find great AI, which they cover up by just sending a shit load of badies at you. There isn't a great story and overall the game is pretty lame. What Ao2 has is the fun factor going for it, which makes it a worth while play, but only if played with a friend.
Review brought to you by [8bitreview.com]
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