Reviewer: David Lee.
Army of Two is the latest third-person shooter release from EA for the PS3 (and also Xbox 360), and, rather than just offering up another typical genre shooter, Army of Two claims to offer players a focus on strategy and cooperative gameplay in order to succeed. And, with a host of new innovative game mechanics and next-generation visuals, Army of Two certainly looks set to become the new Gears of War.
Army of Two follows the thrilling and perilous money-making adventures of two idiosyncratic mercenaries called Elliot Salem and Tyson Rios. Salem and Rios are not your typical mercenaries though: Rios is a clichéd Arnie-type military grunt -- the type that has biceps the size of tree-trunks and who likes to ‘embark on bug hunts with creatures that bleed acid,’ while partner Salem is a more sensitive, intelligent and tongue-in-cheek character. However, both are equipped with an array of powerful weaponry and scary metal-clad armoured masks, and both are also out for one thing: to make money by taking on covert government missions that no-one else wants. As the player advances through the game’s six relatively short campaigns, the squalid history of the mercenaries eventually unravels and conveniently sets the scene for the crude storyline.
Cooperative gameplay is certainly the main focus of Army of Two and while playing through the obligatory (and useful) training mission, the player is introduced to some fresh and innovative ‘tools of destruction’ that offer assistance throughout the game’s money-making mission structure. Undoubtedly, the most significant of these new elements is the ‘Aggro’ feature. This mechanism allows the player to drag the attention (and bullets) of enemies back and forth between the player-controlled character and his A.I. team mate by either supplying or ordering suppression fire towards the enemy. This effectively, renders the player (or their team mate) as virtually invisible on the battlefield and duly free to flank stubborn, nesting enemies.
The game’s ‘back-to-back’ mode thrusts player and team mate into a slow-motion, Matrix-esque mini-game where Salem and Rios form a back-to-back formation to ensure that all surrounding enemies are covered and picked off. While enjoyable, it’s slightly disappointing that the player can’t initiate this mode manually – the game dictates back-to-back mode initiation through scripted scenes.
There is also a handy dual-snipe mode that allows Salem and Rios to simultaneous pick of multiple unsuspecting targets, which is useful for those occasionally problematic situations where surprise is key and a duo of guards blocks progression.
In single-player campaign mode, the player has the ability to issue some basic commands to the A.I. controlled character, which include the usual regroup, advance and hold positional instructions. All of these commands can also be used in conjunction with the ‘Aggro’ system and gives the Army of Two an extra element of strategy. However, this is let down somewhat by the unpredictable A.I. assigned to the other half of the two-man army, who has a tendency to ignore commands at inopportune moments and often ends up as easy cannon fodder for pressing enemies.
The various countries that Army of Two takes players to across its core campaign provide many varied and exciting missions. Enemies come in the form of suicide bombers, militia and soldiers, all of whom attack from multiple directions. The A.I. of enemies also seems superior to that of the player’s computer-controlled buddy, and players may often find them running and ducking for cover in order to avoid incoming bullets as well as camping behind objects an inflicting damage by firing blindly.
Visually, Army of Two is a great looking game. The main characters and enemies are rendered in glorious high-resolution textures and the lighting effects compliment the varied environments (not that you get much time to admire the scenery). The animation of the characters is just as impressive as their design – indeed, players will never get bored of watching Salem and Rios help each other climb high obstacles or physically congratulate and/or berate each other just for the sheer hell of it. The rag-doll effects are also worth noting too, with well-aimed shots part causing enemies to fall or fly through the air in an eerily realistic manner depending on where they are struck.
Although there are many controls at the player’s disposal in Army of Two, controlling Salem and Rios is an instinctive and uncomplicated affair. Using an imaginative combination of the shoulder buttons and D-pad, the player can easily and swiftly issue orders or even change weapons. Even the SIXAXIS manages to secure a decent amount of utilisation, which involves players tilting the controller back to perform a reload. Frustratingly, and puzzlingly, a separate melee button is not included in the controls, with the melee attack only happening when the player’s ‘Aggro’ level reaches a certain level.
The multitude of game modes available in Army of Two redresses the A.I. associated problems encountered in the single-player campaign mode. Online campaign coop, split-screen coop and ‘versus mode’ are all available and Army of Two really shows its true colours when playing with or against another player.
There are, however, several problems with Army of Two . At the outset it is the unpolished and unfinished feel to the game, while graphical glitches rears their ugly head all too often. For example, shadows appear for certain objects but not others, which makes the game look unsightly at certain points; collision detection between the main characters looking questionable when acting through certain scripted moves; and there are jaggies galore on certain levels. There were also occasions when, upon restarting from a checkpoint, the main characters were re-spawned in a level that contained nothing except a sky – not even a floor.
Although all these problems could easily be fixed with future patches, it is nonetheless exasperating and deplorable that this game passed through the quality control department at EA without its faults being noticed (Note: none of these issues occur in the Xbox 360 version -- Ed).
Despite the snags, Army of Two is still a competent and enthralling third-person shooter that introduces fresh and innovative gameplay ideas to the tried and tested genre. For the solo gamer, Army of Two has somewhat limited appeal, but log on to PSN or invite some mates over for a dose of split-screen action and Army of Two suddenly stands out. It would have been all-too easy for EA to push out a Gears of War clone, but the emphasise on cooperative gameplay and the added elements of strategy, coupled with the game’s numerous online options makes Army of Two a worthy purchase.
Verdict: 80%
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